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[TintoConCasera]

So I was meaning to start playing Hi-Fi Rush today, game already installed and me being very hyped thanks to all the good things I've read here about the game.

Little did I know that this game came with a very nasty bug: the game will stutter and the audio will skip a few seconds if your audio device is connected through wireless to your system. Obviously this would be very annoying in any game, but even more in this one since it's a rhythm based one.

"Fuck me sideways" I though, since I've never seen such a thing before. Following rofif 's gospel, I went to pcgamingwiki, but nothing was stated there about the issue. Did some google research but nah, just a bunch of articles telling the usual stuff like updating your drivers, restaring the PC, reinstalling the game, killing your first born child and so on.

I was starting to lose faith until I stumbled upon a Steam forum post written by some dude saying that he fixed the issue by installing fxsound, one of those softwares that acts as an equalizer of sorts, modifying how the sound is mixed and stuff like that. Thing is, for some reason, this fixed the issue and now I've been playing the game for some time with 0 problems.

I'm posting all this for two reasons: first, because it might help someone else, but also because I wanted to ask: Do you use this kind of software? And why would it fix this kind of issue?

 

[rofif]

So I was meaning to start playing Hi-Fi Rush today, game already installed and me being very hyped thanks to all the good things I've read here about the game.

Little did I know that this game came with a very nasty bug: the game will stutter and the audio will skip a few seconds if your audio device is connected through wireless to your system. Obviously this would be very annoying in any game, but even more in this one since it's a rhythm based one.

"Fuck me sideways" I though, since I've never seen such a thing before. Following rofif 's gospel, I went to pcgamingwiki, but nothing was stated there about the issue. Did some google research but nah, just a bunch of articles telling the usual stuff like updating your drivers, restaring the PC, reinstalling the game, killing your first born child and so on.

I was starting to lose faith until I stumbled upon a Steam forum post written by some dude saying that he fixed the issue by installing fxsound, one of those softwares that acts as an equalizer of sorts, modifying how the sound is mixed and stuff like that. Thing is, for some reason, this fixed the issue and now I've been playing the game for some time with 0 problems.

I'm posting all this for two reasons: first, because it might help someone else, but also because I wanted to ask: Do you use this kind of software? And why would it fix this kind of issue?

ah yes. Steam forums. They have some idea and fixes sooner than pcgamingwiki usually

 

[TintoConCasera]

ah yes. Steam forums. They have some idea and fixes sooner than pcgamingwiki usually

That sure was a relief, I was already assuming I'd need to play this on my desk monitor instead of the TV.

Weird stuff for sure. I play most of my games with the headphones plugged to the xbox gamepad, and lo and behold, it has only failed with the latest MS exclusive.

 

[nikos]

Never.

Audio profiles, EQing, etc. shouldn't be used with properly mixed audio. It should be experienced as intended. It's similar as adding artificial saturation, sharpness etc. to an image, except worse.

If it's solving a particular issue with that game, allowing you to play it, then go for it. It's hard to say why exactly it's solving the issue because there are so many variables.

 

[OZ9000]

Never.

Audio profiles, EQing, etc. shouldn't be used with properly mixed audio. It should be experienced as intended. It's similar as adding artificial saturation, sharpness etc. to an image, except worse.

If it's solving a particular issue with that game, allowing you to play it, then go for it. It's hard to say why exactly it's solving the issue because there are so many variables.

I have a 2.1 setup with a dedicated subwoofer with an AV receiver. My setup is:

PC -> TV -> ARC -> Receiver
PS5 -> TV -> ARC -> Receiver

For some reason, bass isn't as impactful when playing PC games or watching movies compared to the PS5. I was playing Halo Infinite and it sounded so flat compared to God Of War Ragnarok. How do I fix my 'PC audio'? Is this a limitation of my 1660Ti which is outputting the audio via the GPU? The audio panel says it can only output 2.0 sound.

 

[Killer8]

HeSuVi for headphone surround virtualization. I had a good laugh about all the hype surrounding PS5 3D audio, when this PC app has been doing it better for years in every game.

 

[lukilladog]

The APO equalizer is some sophisticated stuff, coupled with a more simple interface like Peace, it has so many features. I use it because I sticked to onboard audio on my latest build which has flat sound, not a bad thing as it made clear to me that my Xonar was messing with mid tones and hurting detail, a little Eq. tweaking reestablishes that boost to lows and highs one tends to like from sound cards, but without going overboard, playing racing games and shooters with headphones is no longer tiresome.

 

[TintoConCasera]

HeSuVi for headphone surround virtualization. I had a good laugh about all the hype surrounding PS5 3D audio, when this PC app has been doing it better for years in every game.

I'll have to check that out, thanks!

 

[SlimySnake]

Getting Dolby Atmos to run on my PC was a nightmare. First i had to install the Dolby Atmos app on Windows. Then after realizing I dont have to pay them $20 a month for it, i finally got it setup only for it to not work half the time and i cant have it enabled all the time because youtube on chrome freaks out if its not stereo.

5.1 Surround support is even more trash. doesnt work half the time.

 

[Mister Wolf]

No but I do you the surround sound post processing of my soundbar.

 

[winjer]

I put all my fans at 100%, when playing Flight Simulator.

 

[OZ9000]

Getting Dolby Atmos to run on my PC was a nightmare. First i had to install the Dolby Atmos app on Windows. Then after realizing I dont have to pay them $20 a month for it, i finally got it setup only for it to not work half the time and i cant have it enabled all the time because youtube on chrome freaks out if its not stereo.

5.1 Surround support is even more trash. doesnt work half the time.

Audio is literally garbage in windows. I hate how it doesn't recognise more than 2 channels.

 

[flying_sq]

Weird, I use a Razer Nari Ultimate, and while I have my issues with it, audio delay was never one of them. It goes on 2.4ghz though instead of Bluetooth. Maybe that's your issue?

 

[lukilladog]

Never.

Audio profiles, EQing, etc. shouldn't be used with properly mixed audio. It should be experienced as intended. It's similar as adding artificial saturation, sharpness etc. to an image, except worse.

If it's solving a particular issue with that game, allowing you to play it, then go for it. It's hard to say why exactly it's solving the issue because there are so many variables.

What about audio mixes intended to be reproduced on PS5>Flatscreen/sound bar?. That is not gonna sound too good on a PC with flat audio.

 

[Danknugz]

Getting Dolby Atmos to run on my PC was a nightmare. First i had to install the Dolby Atmos app on Windows. Then after realizing I dont have to pay them $20 a month for it, i finally got it setup only for it to not work half the time and i cant have it enabled all the time because youtube on chrome freaks out if its not stereo.

5.1 Surround support is even more trash. doesnt work half the time.

i've had similar experiences in the past and usually just go with the trusty 1/4" jack and lately just iphone earbuds with an extension that probably is diluting the signal.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Audio is literally garbage in windows. I hate how it doesn't recognise more than 2 channels.

7 is less than 2?

 

[baphomet]

I'm sure the 1 click auto bass boost button knows how to mix audio better than the guy being paid 6 figures who does it for a living.

 

[Husky]

Never.

Audio profiles, EQing, etc. shouldn't be used with properly mixed audio. It should be experienced as intended. It's similar as adding artificial saturation, sharpness etc. to an image, except worse.

If it's solving a particular issue with that game, allowing you to play it, then go for it. It's hard to say why exactly it's solving the issue because there are so many variables.

Just how I feel. I enjoy hearing accurate sound reproduction.
(and my god I hate image sharpening, the only Steam Guide I've ever made was for how to disable a sharpening filter)

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

If you have a decent sound card the EQ with it should at least do a decent job and give you some control. If you're using SoC or built in audio my first move would be upgrading to a real sound card. After that apply whatever you want in terms of software EQ, hardware EQ, Atmos etc. Profiles are your friend too e.g. music, video, game etc.

 

[alphachino]

Check out fxsounds.

The audio might be mixed properly, but your speakers possibly are not tuned.

Anyway, it’s free software, very light and the UI is good

 

[danklord]

HeSuVi for headphone surround virtualization. I had a good laugh about all the hype surrounding PS5 3D audio, when this PC app has been doing it better for years in every game.

Well that was a game changing recommendation! And certainly took over my afternoon.

Just got it all working and am impressed. Which HRIR do you usually run?

 

[El Muerto]

I used to use the Razer spatial audio app when it was free and it worked pretty well. Now I just use windows sonic for the spatial audio, similar to what the Xbox uses for 3d sound when playing at my desk. If i'm playing on my tv then i use a mini pc as a steam link, and my tv passes the arc'd audio to my hdmi receiver for 5.1 audio.

 

[Killer8]

Well that was a game changing recommendation! And certainly took over my afternoon.

Just got it all working and am impressed. Which HRIR do you usually run?

Glad you're enjoying it.

I normally just run the Dolby Atmos for headphones without reverb profile. It actually sounds a lot better than the Windows native version of Atmos.

The app can also act as an equalizer for your headphones. My Sennheisers set up with it sounds even better than the default Windows setup.

 

[calistan]

Possibly not related to the OP’s issue, but I found that Windows 10 had an annoying habit of reverting the headphones spatial audio driver to Windows Sonic without warning. I’d set it to Dolby Atmos, but every couple of days I’d think it was sounding a bit flat and I’d notice the audio setting had changed back to Windows Sonic.

There’s loads of stuff on various help forums about that problem, but no solutions. Registry edits, etc, nothing worked until I saw a post that said switching to Windows 11 fixed it. Which it does. I “upgraded” a few weeks ago and the audio problems are all gone.

 

[dcx4610]

Never.

Audio profiles, EQing, etc. shouldn't be used with properly mixed audio. It should be experienced as intended. It's similar as adding artificial saturation, sharpness etc. to an image, except worse.

If it's solving a particular issue with that game, allowing you to play it, then go for it. It's hard to say why exactly it's solving the issue because there are so many variables.

Sorry but 100% disagree. Audio is subjective. Audio engineers often use a flat EQ when listening crucially but the master is often done with what sounds best in a car or even on a phone since so many people don’t care anymore.

I’ve personally witnessed a band approve a master by holding up a phone to a speaker. What sounds good to you, may not sound good to others.

I’ve always been a fan of the smiley face curve where highs are crisp and the mids are slightly clipped.

As for the OP, it sounds like a game bug but you might want to invest in a sound card. If you care about audio, a dedicated card will give you cleaner and more stable audio and software to get sound how you like it.

I love my Sound Blaster AE-9 but if you can’t swing that, the AE-5 is very good and will be a solid upgrade over onboard. Plus, sound card tech can last decades so you could use it for future builds.

 

[OZ9000]

Check out fxsounds.

The audio might be mixed properly, but your speakers possibly are not tuned.

Anyway, it’s free software, very light and the UI is good

Just downloaded this.

HOLY SHIT.

My sound system sounds so alive. Everything sounds 10x better now.

 

[nemiroff]

Well, I'm using "Sound Lock" to flatten audio output. It f.ex. "fixes" the deafening kill streaks in COD.. A neat little free app actually, works well in many scenarios.

 

[V1LÆM]

Only audio software I have is the stuff that was installed with my motherboard drivers. I only use it for set an equalizer.

Never felt the need for anything else.

Check out fxsounds.

The audio might be mixed properly, but your speakers possibly are not tuned.

Anyway, it’s free software, very light and the UI is good

Downloaded that and trying it out.

edit: I might be imagining it but it sounds better.

 

[OZ9000]

Only audio software I have is the stuff that was installed with my motherboard drivers. I only use it for set an equalizer.

Never felt the need for anything else.


Downloaded that and trying it out.

edit: I might be imagining it but it sounds better.

I have my PC hooked to an AV receiver with a 2.1 setup including subwoofer. Generally sounds so muted compared to PS5/Netflix/Amazon. This app has changed all of that. The sound is much more fuller and the bass is now present.