DTS Audio Control Panel Audio Enhancements dont stay off

[GX9]

DTS Audio Control Panel Audio Enhancements dont stay off. I turned them off, but when i restart the music sounds like it has re-enabled the enhancments, although when i open the DTS Control Panel it is still unchecked. I know its on because then I tick the check box the sound quality does not change, but when I untick it it changes again. This happens everytime i restart. I would like it if the Audio Enhancements stay off. Its frustrating to check uncheck the box everytime i restart the laptop. Thank You!

[Mrstenter]

Hi @GX9 ,

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forums and Welcome. It is a great site for information and questions. I have looked into your issue about your HP Spectre 360x and issues with  DTS Audio Control Panel Audio Enhancements not staying off.

When the system restarts it loads default settings for hardware. I would uninstall the  DTS Audio Control Panel Audio Software from Programs and Features to see if this helps you out.

Please let me know how this goes.

Thanks.

[GX9]

While trying to do what u just advised, I found out that DTS Audio Control Panel is not in the Programs and Features list. I believe that it is tied with the Realtek audio driver which is required for the audio to work.

[Mrstenter]

Hi @GX9 ,

In the Programs and Features listing in the control panel. Do you see software for HD Audio listed there?

I would uninstall it.

Thanks.

[GX9]

The only thing listed there related to audio is the Realtek I2S, which i believe is essential for audio to work. I was hoping for a fix like a new driver or software to update the DTS Audio Control Panel. It is clearly not behaving as it should since it defaults to Audio Enhancements on even when unchecked. Anyway if there is nothing you guys can do at the moment its fine, ill just manually check and uncheck the thing each time i restart the laptop.

Thank you for your time and effort.

[daxliniere]

It's not just when you restart. If you plug in headphones, DTS "enhancements" are automatically turned on, even though the checkbox remains unticked.

How can I confirm that? Tick the box, sound will start the same, now UNTICK the box, sound will change (for the better).
When you connect/disconnect headphones, you can see the sliders move position even though they are greyed out and 'enhancements' are disabled.

On another matter, I'm a record producer and audio engineer (Puzzle Factory Sound Studio). NONE of these so called enhancements do anything positive for the music. These 'enhancements' might be useful for obtaining a better sound from the tiny in-built speakers, but they should not be enabled by default when headphones are connected. They make your product sound like it has a defective DAC or headphone amp.

My hardware/software combo is Spectre x360 (13-4009tu) running Windows 10.

Feel free to contact me off-forum if you would like more information. (HP tech support only, please.)

All the best,

Dax Liniere.

[andrewiam_com]

I am having the same issues on my x360 4101dx.  It's even worse for me because when listening to this song I hear crackling while the "enhancements" are on.  You can hear it best around the 20 second mark, inb4 commentary on my tastes in music and the track being 128kbps.  The settings resets for me on every reboot and I recall the same problem with my old Elitebook and even my old ASRock motherboard.  I don't see any way to remove Realtek's bulls*** DTS panel either.  I'll keep looking and poke at the registry.  From what I recall from my Elitebook, removing the Control Panel won't fix it so the Control Panel is probably just an interface for the driver.  For reference, the codec is speculated to be the Realtek ALC 3242 (ALC 286).  I'll try some tests and report back; nag me if I'm not back within two days. 

[andrewiam_com]

Somehow I fixed it!  I installed Realtek's drivers from their website (direct download link here), rebooted, then uninstalled the I2S drivers that came with the laptop, then rebooted again, playing the test audio stream each time.  I now have no crackling and what sounds like no "optimizations".  I'm worried that opening the DTS Control Panel will start the behavior again but I'll do it in the name of science. 

[andrewiam_com]

After nervously opening the DTS Control Panel I found that it seems to be "disconnected" from the driver/chipset.  The Optimizations sliders and enable checkbox have no effect on the audio, in other words, optimizations are permanently disabled.  Best of luck to the rest of you and I hope installing Realtek's drivers and then removing HP's Realtek I2S driver works for you guys too.  I have no idea how this will affect microphone noise cancellation but it records just fine.  In the end, I have Intel Smart Sound as an Audio Device (driver version 10.0.10240.16384), Intel Smart Sound as a Sound Controller (driver version 8.4.2.105), and Realtek HW Audio Codes as a Sound Controller (driver version 6.4.10041.127).  In the Programs list I have Realtek High Definition Audio Driver version 6.0.1.7541 and Realtek I2S Audio version 6.4.10041.127. 

[daxliniere]

Nice work, Andrew. I'm just about to restart my system to confirm it's solved for me, too.

I, too, installed the RealTek drivers straight from their website (to no avail).

See you on the flipside!