SoundBlaster sound card not working since recent windows update

euniqe · May 27, 2019

Hey everyone.

So since the latest big Windows 10 64bit update (the kind of one that has the "We're setting things up for you" welcome screen upon login) my sound card has been performing really strangely. Update history states: "Feature update to Windows 10, version 1809, Successfully installed on ‎10/‎03/‎2019"

I have a Creative SoundBlaster Recon 3D PCIe sound card. I'm running a pair of powered speakers for the front L/R outputs through a 3.5mm jack, a powered subwoofer from the sub output through a 3.5mm jack, and a microphone into 3.5mm jack. I need the sound card software in order to establish a high-pass filter for the front speakers, and for the equalizer (I'm yet to find any decent windows-based equalizer but I digress). If I didn't need the high-pass filter I would simply bridge the connections from a full-range output, as the sub has its own low-pass filter, but the powered speakers do not have a high-pass filter and, given a full-range input, play all the frequencies I want the sub to play instead, limiting power handling and making things sound wrong.

I have an ASUS P8Z77V-LX motherboard, that only has two-channel audio and no switchable output for a subwoofer, and even if this wasn't the case, there is no way to apply a high-pass filter for the front speakers with Realtek audio software. The Creative software is my only way.

The problem i'm having, is that ever since the update the channels will switch randomly. By this, I mean for example front-left will become front-right, or rear-right, or any of the other 4 channels. This happens, randomly, without warning, seemingly without reason. Sometimes the sub plays loud for no reason. Sometimes one of the front-speakers will go silent entirely. Sometimes the subwoofer will go silent entirely. This is especially annoying in video games like DiRT Rally, where it will often mute the co-driver, making the game unplayable. This situation is intolerable in all respects.

I have never encountered this problem before. I have not found anything remotely related googling. The latest update for the drivers of the sound card is in 2015.

I understand full-well that I am using outdated hardware. But until the windows update, everything has been working perfectly in an otherwise flawless system.

If I attempt to troubleshoot the sound card using the windows troubleshooter, i have the option to open "Audio Enhancements" and If i de-select the "Allow extra signal processing by the audio device - [Enable audio enhancements]" checkbox under "Signal enhancements", another problem arises. The channels somewhat fix themselves, sub stays sub, except left-front and right-front only switch occasionally with each other. This makes the situation a lot more tolerable, albeit still broken. The other problem that arises, however, is that the sound starts going BZZZT- BZZTTTTT every now and then, as audio plays. i.e the BZZTT only happens when audio is being produced, and to the degree of the intensity of the audio. As of this evening, when i uninstalled a reinstalled the drivers, software and physically the soundcard for like the tenth time, this no longer happens when de-selecting the Audio Enhancements checkbox, nothing happens at all now. The multi-channel-swapping problem has remained for good.

In the meantime I am using a 3.5mm double-adaptor and using the full-range speaker output from the motherboard to split the audio into two full-range signals for the front speakers and the subwoofer (the subwoofer has its own available low-pass filter) but it doesn't sound especially great as the front speakers are trying to play subwoofer frequncies and the sound is messed up. Its the lesser of the two evils, as at least the channels aren't being swapped. Basically, the motherboard audio works fine. It's solely the sound card that is having issues. It must also be said that the channel-swapping also happens when headphones are plugged into the headphone jack on the front of the case, which uses the HD_AUDIO connector plugged into the soundcard inside the PC case, as does (did) the BZZTT sound.

My biggest issue, is that there is no cheap way to fix this. I haven't found any USB or PCIe sound-card currently on sale in my country (Australia) that has a high-pass filter available. It's literally the only thing I need, and seemingly no products are available. The alternative to a dedicated sound card, is buying a new motherboard with inbuilt 5.1 or 7.1 channel sound, hoping the motherboard software has a high-pass filter. Considering it's a standard feature on almost all motherboards these days, this shouldn't be hard to find. The problem with this, is that I would have to also buy a new CPU and RAM because my old stuff won't fit (LGA 1155, DDR3...) Which makes it an incredibly expensive option considering I have perfect working hardware. I have an i7 3770 and 16gb of DDR3 and absolutely no reason to shelve these things.

Im writing this here today because I feel i'm out of any workable remedies. I don't know if there's anything I can do inside windows to fix the current soundcard, I can't find any sound card to replace this one that are suitable, and I can't afford to replace a motherboard, ram and cpu when they all work fine, just to get a damn high-pass filter on my front speakers. I'm out of options, and I hope someone can help me out. Thanks.