[roxxii lenaghan]

For those wanting the latest realtek drivers which can actually ADD functionality to your existing setup as well as potentially rule out a driver related issue that MAY be the fault of the manufacturer of your motherboard/laptop/computer......

Latest Realtek HD 2.67 Drivers as of January 8th 2012

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5513

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4902

http://www.realtek.com/Downloads/downloadsCheck.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=23&PFid=23&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

Latest Realtek AC'97 Drivers as of January 8th 2012

http://www.ngohq.com/news/16393-realtek-ac97-driver-6305-a.html

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4902

http://www.realtek.com/Downloads/downloadsCheck.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

[Darrell Fawcett]

For those of us with onboard Realtek High Definition audio that do not have an option other than "Stereo"

You can increase the volume "fAudioMasterVolume" setting in C:/Users//My Documents/My Games/Skyrim/SkyrimPrefs.ini to 3.0000

However, that will only make the sound louder. The problem is that Skyrim is outputting 5.1 audio that isn't properly mixed into stereo. Some people may be fine with just making it loud enough to hear, but it won't fix the low sound quality. Changing your system's audio output settings to 5.1 instead of stereo *does* work, but only if you actually have an option for 5.1 available, which some of us do not.

1) Updating to the latest Realtek drivers makes no difference.
2) There is no option for 5.1 in either the Realtek control panel OR in the Windows control panel.

I am working on various avenues that might be a fix for this, including downmixing the audio files in the .bsa one by one, using AC3Filter as a real-time downmixer, modifying the .inf files in the Realtek installer, and lastly trying to get the Windows High Definition Audio drivers to work instead. If anyone has an installer for Realtek drivers that gives them an option for 5.1, then please share that file with the community.

In the meanwhile, if you can afford to invest in a USB sound card and external speakers, then that should work just fine.

[Roberta Obrien]

fAudioMasterVolume doesn't work for the majority of us.
Loudness equalization sounds horrible !!!
A patch, a patch, a patch !!!

[roxxii lenaghan]

Upon setting as 5.1 with loud equalizer and surround.

You will only hear the voice of the npc if you were looking at their direction. Look elsewhere it does not produce their voice.

This does not happen on stereo but the volume are softer.

[Karen anwyn Green]

It was completely fixed for me by enabling Loudness equalization in Windows.

[Amanda savory]

Yeah, I've got my PC volume on max. The issue seems to be with Skyrim, because (1) other software isn't set so low and (2) it happens whether I'm using my built-in speakers or my USB audio device (Line 6 GX, actually) that I plug headphones into. Anything less than top volume is too low. Turning it to max gets it to an acceptable, normal level, but I find it odd that that's the maximum. Most other games I have to turn the volume below max or they're too loud.

[Sophie Morrell]

Some of the above posters may be lucky to not have this problem, but they aren't really helping either. This is a real issue in this game -- and only this game -- for many people.

The following threads contain some notes about the persistent audio issues:

• http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1329260-b1gbaddaddys-big-post-of-fixes-and-tweaks/
  
• http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1260478-fix-for-low-volume-on-realtek-hd-onboard/
  
• http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1308380-low-volume-sound-issue-merged-similar-topics/

For my Asus Xonar, setting the Windows sound output to 5.1 and making the Xonar driver mix it down to headphone stereo seemed to fix the issue without affecting the sound in anything else. Seems like the game's just mindlessly mixing audio for a specific output buffer format or something.

[K J S]

If anyone else is having this issue, please post here with your windows version and if you have tried all the fixes I have so I can get some data on this.

Yes.
Specs in my sig.

Tried the same things you did, Only went to 9.00 instead of 4.00. That did not a damn thing..
Except for reinstalling or sound cards. I don't know how to roll back my sound card to realtek and I don't feel like dishing out the bucks for the PC guy to come out here..

Interested in solutions.. This is ridiculous .
Already dished out 153.00 for a stick of Ram and my drivers sorted.
How much does it cost to play this game??!!

-edit-
I also do not have loudness equation.

Sound card : SB Live! 24 bit

-edit-
Resorted to subtitles because I can not hear what they are freaking saying!

[Roanne Bardsley]

I'm on Vista, but presume using the Realtek HD Audio Manager app should work for Windows XP/7 too (assuming you have Realtek sound of course).

Nope, Realtek Onboard HD here on a windows XP sp3 machine - The preferences software can be machine specific, we have the latest drivers for our motherboard but the preferences software for Realtek HD does not have any of the options which most commonly on this topic solves the problem. Tried to see if I can get a different version of the Realtek HD audio preferences software which would integrate with the most current driver software for my machine .. No joy.

I also can find nowhere either in RealteK HD preferences, or Windows XP sound preferences (no matter how far I delve into the various advanced options), to set either 44,100 or Loudness Equalization for our 2.1 speaker setup. Also tried the various use a different speaker setup suggestions .. Then aswell as quiet sound I also get different sound effects missing as they spacially move around you (because obviously the speakers they should be coming out of are not present) ..

I have never had a need for a Sound Card (apparently its part of the games minimum specifications), but I am un-willing to go and shell out for a Sound Card when there's a possibility it would not solve the problem.
Besides that, hell onboard sound on newer motherboards far out-performs sound cards of only a few years anyway, unless you are a serious audiophile who needs a dedicated sound card these days?.

So, anyway, same problems here, un-solveable - Turn it up to play, then forget when going back to windows and get your ears blown off .. Its like turning the movie up on TV so you can hear it then being blasted out of the house by the adverts, everyone scrambles to find the remote

[Robert]

Loudness equalization fixes it for me but i have to disable it if i play another PC game, For example if i play L4D2 with sound equalization on i get large CPU usage spikes spaced about 1 minute apart, Not sure why but it does happen, turn it off and it goes away.

It does need fixing for us poor sods without a seperate sound card, Well worth investing in one though.

[joseluis perez]

Loudness equalization is a band-aid fix only...I don't like any enhancement that colours the original sound (which loudness equalization does). This is a very real problem for many of us, and telling us to press the loudness button (a suggestion a Bethesda employee has posted in these forums) is an unacceptable and embarrassing solution. I've got games 10 years old that have this sound issue figured out...why can't Bethesda?

I'm not ripping on the forum posters, playing the game, who suggested loudness as a fix...it is a suggestion that makes the best of a silly situation, and kudos for helping others with that. But I don't see sound issues on Bethesda's radar for problems to address, and being told by their own forum staff to apply this band-aid solution doesn't bode well.

[Strawberry]

The onus is on Bethesda to fix this, *every* other app has normalized volume and lets you use your media buttons except Skyrim. There is really nothing more to be said about where to lay the blame.

/I also cannot physically fit a 3rd party sound card into my system just to to even try it out since its all taken up by video cards

[sam]

/I also cannot physically fit a 3rd party sound card into my system just to to even try it out since its all taken up by video cards

You can't beat blowing your own trumpet lol

[Stat Wrecker]

You can't beat blowing your own trumpet lol

Hey if its long enough to reach... But yah a lot of people who still spend money on actual stand alone sound cards tend to snoot about how they have no such problems but forget to mention that their media buttons are still paralyzed and its very likely their cards are just inherently normalizing the volume by default.

[Khamaji Taylor]

A lot of people have been having the issue with the game being too quiet with certain audio setups. Sure, there's the Loudness normalization option, but I'd rather not have to turn something on and off every time I play one specific game, because that would get old. When playing music, the loudness equalization tends to kick in kind of late, and muffles the normal volume of whatever song you've started playing, which in most cases is unwanted. Are there any other fixes for this? Or is an update in the works to include it?

[Blessed DIVA]

A couple people, including myself, have had issues with Skyrim being too quiet with certain audio setups. Has there been a fix for this yet?

I don't want to check Loudness Equalization every time I play Skyrim. I turn it off because it limits the volume of the music I'm playing on my computer, and it tends to kick on a little late, which gets annoying.

[willow]

No mention of a sound fix in the patch note.

[Lucky Girl]

One thing that people have had varied luck with is changing their sound setup from 5.1 to stereo, or from stereo to 5.1.

I used to be running stereo sound on my laptop, as I would only ever use the built-in stereo speakers or a stereo headset. However, I told the audio driver that I was using a 5.1 system instead, and somehow it has made everything louder. I assume it's some difference in downmixing the audio to stereo - maybe the audio drivers/hardware does a better job than the game does.

[Solina971]

I had this problem on my old system. I ended up changing the value of fAudioMasterVolume in my "../Documents/My Games/Skyrim" folder to 20. Sound was fine after that. Just don't change it in-game afterwards, or it will reset to the max being 1.

Satoon

[Evaa]

Hi, this ever not fix by the 1.4 beta, but the framerate is now marvellous !!! (Gtx570 + i920)

[mimi_lys]

A lot of people have been having the issue with the game being too quiet with certain audio setups. Sure, there's the Loudness normalization option, but I'd rather not have to turn something on and off every time I play one specific game, because that would get old. When playing music, the loudness equalization tends to kick in kind of late, and muffles the normal volume of whatever song you've started playing, which in most cases is unwanted. Are there any other fixes for this? Or is an update in the works to include it?

Hi, the beta 1.4 doesn't fix it.
I'm bored

[Big mike]

Hi, I've test, this is not fixed.
I'm unhappy but the framerate optimisation is marvellous.

[Eibe Novy]

I see 1.4 beta still hasn't addressed this at all.

[Chloé]

One thing that people have had varied luck with is changing their sound setup from 5.1 to stereo, or from stereo to 5.1.

I used to be running stereo sound on my laptop, as I would only ever use the built-in stereo speakers or a stereo headset. However, I told the audio driver that I was using a 5.1 system instead, and somehow it has made everything louder. I assume it's some difference in downmixing the audio to stereo - maybe the audio drivers/hardware does a better job than the game does.

I don't understand how this game can't support a basic 2.1 speaker configuration.

[R.I.P]

/sign

I will NOT screw up the audiomixing on my system just because of a bug. This has to be a console related "optimization" the developers made and which is now causing all this trouble for PC users, because in Fallout 3 there hasn't been something like that. And this kind of bug is pretty common for multi-platform games nowadays (but get's fixed much more quickly than in this case). There are rumours the devs had to made some last minute changes to the creation engine due to copyright issues and had to implement a lot of new code they came up with on their own. Let's see if this gets ironed out in resonable time... It's quite annoying.

I doubt it's related to consoles.