Unwanted audio compression ( dynamics )

[Johnthelabman]

Hello there,
A VERY important issue has been discovered after installing this PC in a professional ( sound ) recording studio.

The audio ( sound dynamics NOT data ) is being compressed when played back.
As you can appreciate, this compression is very much an unwanted side effect in a studio and needs to be disabled for proper use.

Any help is very much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,
John S

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Johnthelabman

Thank you for posting on HP Forums, 

Riddle_Decipher is at your service. 

As I Understand there is an unwanted audio compression on your PC,

No worries, as I'll be glad to help you, that said, I'll need a few more details to dissect your concern & provide an accurate solution: 

Did you attempt reinstalling or updating the Audio drivers?

If you haven't reinstalled it yet, here's how you need to do it:

1. Click Start, type "Device Manager," and press Enter.
2. Expand the "Sound, video, and game controllers" section.
3. Right-Click on your soundcard and select "Uninstall."  Remove driver only if prompted.
4. Reboot your notebook and allow Windows to reinstall the device.
5. Verify whether the problem is resolved and post the result.

If it isn't, I suggest you go back into the Device Manager and select "Delete this driver" when uninstalling the audio driver again, then Click here to find and install the latest drivers from the HP website.

Let me know how that pans out

I hope you have a good day ahead,

And Feel free to ask any other queries as  well,

Considering, this forum has some of the best people in the world available and ready to help.

{If this resolved your concern, Click on "Accept as Solution" & the Purple Thumbs up}.

[Johnthelabman]

Hello Riddle_Decipher,

Very many thanks for getting back to me quickly.

I just tried your suggestion to uninstall and re-install the audio drivers, but only to find the problem is still present and exactly the same as before.

Any new suggestions would be welcome.

Best wishes,

John S

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Johnthelabman

Thank you for replying with this detailed response 😉 

I appreciate your time and efforts,

You could use the recovery manager to revert to factory shipped driver as an alternative,

Please Click here to access the steps to recover the driver, you may have to delete the driver as mentioned previously and then try this step instead.

Keep me posted,

If the information I've provided was helpful, 

Give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

That'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.

[Johnthelabman]

Hello again Riddle_Dicipher,

Thank you for your suggestion to roll back to the original driver, which I've just done.

Unfortunately nothing has changed. Dynamics compression is still present.

Look forward to your advice.

Best wishes,

John S

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Johnthelabman

Thank you for replying with this detailed response 😉 

I appreciate your time and efforts,

I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, that said, there should be an "Enhancement Settings" option where you are able to adjust the bass; try 9 or 12dB at 75Hz.

If that doesn't resolve the issue, here are a few drivers you can try.

Version 6.0.1.7195

sp66107.exe

Version 1.20 Rev.A

sp69618.exe

Version 6.0.1.7553 Rev.A

sp72139.exe

Updating the audio drivers

1. Download one (or all) of the files

2. Click the windows key + R

3. Type "devmgmt.msc" and then click "OK"

4.  Click the "View" tab, then on "Show hidden devices"

5. Click on the little "+" beside "Audio / Sound..."

6. Right-click on the audio device, then click properties

7. Go to the "Driver" tab

8. Click on "Update Driver"

9. Select the option that says "Browse my computer for driver software"

10. The file will be located at "C:\SWSetup\sp66107 (or sp69618, sp72139)" The path will be: Computer > OS (C: ) > SWSETUP > sp66107 (or sp69618, sp72139) (Make sure the check box called "Include subfolders" is checked)

11.  Click "Next"

12. Reboot the computer

Keep me posted,

If the information I've provided was helpful, 

Give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

That'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.

[Johnthelabman]

Dear Riddle_Decipher,

I'm happy to report the very last Driver listed ( Version 6.0.1.7553 Rev.A ) did the job fixing the problem, so I send my heartfelt thanks for your patients and help with this matter 🙂

The Desktop machine now successfully plays back audio, flat and without dynamics compression applied. This is obviously very important for audio production, so maybe HP shouldn’t assume everyone wants their sound played back compressed as a default ( but maybe as an option perhaps ).

The ‘Enhancement Setting’ option to adjust the bass ( 9 or 12dB at 75Hz ) should not really be advised as it’s an equalisation quality change which would affect any ( wideband ) audio compressor to ‘compress less’.

I have one other question to ask.

During all this testing, I found to my surprise my HP Notebook ( M4A94EA#ABU ) which I bought about a year and a half ago has exactly the same problem of dynamics compression during playback.

Would you recommend I try and install the same Driver as above to fix it ?

All the best wishes and thanks again,
John S

[Rainbow23]

Hi @Johnthelabman,

Thank you for your reply, I'll be more than glad to help you.

I understand that the issue persists with another HP Notebook - 15-ac017na.

Please follow the link to download the audio drivers from the link: Audio Driver

Let me know if this works.

You have a good day ahead.

[Johnthelabman]

Hello Rainbow23,

Many thanks for your suggestion to download the audio driver, which I've just done.

It appears that same driver exists on my notebook, but I over-wrote it anyway.

Unfortunately the compression problem is still present.

Any new advice would be welcome.

Best wishes,

John S

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Johnthelabman

Thank you for replying with this detailed response 😉 

I appreciate your time and efforts,

I had a few questions before we proceed any further to get a permanent fix:

Does the audio compression issue occur on an external speaker as well? or a headphone?

If the issue persists on the external speaker as well, I recommend you run a hardware test on the sound,

however, if the issue doesn't occur on the external speaker or the headphone, it could be a faulty speaker.

If I have helped you resolve the issue, 

Feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon 

Followed by clicking on 'Accepted as Solution' 

And Have a great day ahead!