This post is more than 5 years old
6 Posts
0
79726
Latest Version of Dell Audio is missing "Show Meters" button. (Windows 10, Dell XPS 8700)
EDIT: Rewritten for clarity
On Realtek ALC3861 Audio Driver (ver. 6.0.1.7525, A00) for Windows 10, there is no longer a button labeled "Show Meters" under Speakers/Headphones > Maxx Audio Pro in the bottom right corner (please see attached screenshot). This button in previous versions of the driver for Windows 7 opened a new window with sliders to balance front and back speakers in a surround sound setup.
What I did:
Updated my OS from 7 to 10 and updated the Realtek audio drivers accordingly - to the above mentioned version.
What I expected:
The "Show Meters" button would be present in the newest Realtek driver.
What really happened:
Upon upgrade to the newest driver, the "Show Meters" button disappeared.
I have reinstalled the newest driver multiple times with no avail and tried the driver from Windows 8.1 and the default driver from Realtek with worse affects (Dell Audio window is missing most elements/drop down options, etc)
If anyone would know how to address the issue, if this is intentional, or who to escalate this to, I would appreciate it.
Chance9025
6 Posts
2
December 23rd, 2015 21:00
I feel that I should be more observant. In Control Panel > Sound > Playback > Select the Realtek device > Properties > Levels there are the exact changes I need. I don't know why I didn't notice until now. Could explain why there was no "Show Meters" button in this release but I thought Windows 7 also had the same leveling and there was the leveling in Dell Audio as well.
I'm still going with a new sound card from Creative however, seen a super nice $70 one that looks awesome and seems to have features to match.
Chance9025
6 Posts
0
December 21st, 2015 18:00
Anyone?
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
•
54.2K Posts
0
December 21st, 2015 22:00
Since you did the update to 10, it may not have updated the Intel chipset driver. Did you look for newer Windows 10 Intel Lynx Point (Z87) chipset driver on the Intel site? Assumed you tested the Windows 10 R2.79 driver here? The XPS 8900 uses the same sound card. You could try to install it. I am not sure if it will actually know the system model when installing but worth testing.
XPS-8900_Audio_Driver_4FY5P_WN32_6.0.1.7541_A00.EXE
9/14/15
Windows 10
Version 6.0.1.7541, A00
Chance9025
6 Posts
0
December 21st, 2015 22:00
Thanks for the response.
I have tried the generic Realtek driver to no avail. Results in the problem seen here: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3513/t/19643322. This is the same result when drivers from Windows 7 or 8.1 are used instead of 10.
Have not looked at the chipset driver however, will see if it needs updating and will respond if it changes anything. I will also try the 8900 driver you linked. Will edit this post or create a new one if it fixes anything.
Thank you again for taking the time to respond.
Chance9025
6 Posts
0
December 22nd, 2015 10:00
Yep, none of those solved the issue. I do think it is a driver issue.
On another note, Dell Audio has started crashing whenever I try plugging in a headset. I can plug in a microphone, but I can't plug in a headset without it crashing. Know of any fixes? Would resetting Windows 10 fix anything?
With all the problems I have had with Dell Audio, would buying a low end audio card allow me to use a different audio manager?
Thanks!
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
•
54.2K Posts
0
December 22nd, 2015 17:00
A recent PCIe x1 sound card would work and it would use its own audio manager. Make sure it has Windows 10 support on the box or website.