[Solved] Distorted headphone sound after upgrade

[EntropyZ]

Have you tried uninstalling the driver and just using the generic windows drivers? Make sure to check the box to remove the drivers from the system in the device manager if you didn't try that already.

Well what happens then is the volume is normal but the audio quality is still the same.

I'll go as far as rip an AC'97 front panel and connect that to the motherboard and see how it likes it.

Edit: Some of the smaller cables disintegrated while I tried to connect it to the motherboard. So, that went well. And that cable came from a case that was active in duty. I'm going to sleep, I've had enough of this for 5 hours now.

 

[evernessince]

Yeah, it sucks when you spend good money on something and it doesn't work. To proceed though we really need to find out if it is a software issue. Have you tried a windows 7 or windows 10 live cd?

 

[Hood]

I think I would suspect the $75 motherboard has a bad audio chip or circuits. I've had audio problems with cheap boards before, they're using the cheapest components available, and as you mentioned, the Realtek ALC892 is a legacy chip and hardly found anymore on new boards. I had that chip on a Z77 board a few years ago, and it sounded okay, but my Z97 board with ALC1150 sounds much better. Sorry, I know it's not any help, and audio problems can be very frustrating. My belief is that replacing the board will solve it. If RMA is not possible, consider upgrading to a better board, one with ALC1150 or ALC1220. Unfortunately, AM4 boards all have older audio chips until you get into $120 territory, such as the Asus Rog Strix B350-F Gaming, which has the new ALC1220 chip with ROG SupremeFX. Good luck, I hope you solve it soon.

 

[EntropyZ]

I'll try to get Windows 7 working, Ryzen isn't really supported on Win 7, there is patcher I always thought about how that works, probably just adds some drivers to add compatibility. An earlier Win 10 install had the same sound issues, so I might have more luck with something older that I know has less problems.

If nothing works, I'm RMA'ing it and there's no telling how long I will out of a system.

Edit: I managed to get Ubuntu to start, I put some Slayer on. Guess what. The front audio is still broken. So at this point I either live with it or send the motherboard back... in pieces. Would be nice if I could just use any ol' B350 board but I have in mind color scheme, form factor and also price, which limits my choice to 2 motherboards.