XPS 15 9650 headphone balance and distortion issues

The plug is well inserted, but I wonder if this is a problem with sensing the TRS vs TRRS plug....

Hello. It should not matter whether the plug is TRS TRRS, because the headphone contacts in the jack are supposed to be designed to mate with either. As far as sensing -- the jack either senses the presence of a plug, or it doesn't. So I doubt that either of those things are an issue.

...or a defective jack.

Dell no longer provides a comprehensive set of audio hardware diagnostics tools like it used to, which were helpful in situations like this. The alternate way I suggest to diagnose, is to switch between the Realtek driver and the Windows native audio driver. If the jack works okay with the native driver, then the problem is with the Realtek driver, probably related to the convoluted audio manager/Maxx software. There has only been one Dell version of the driver for the XPS 9560, so no other version to try except the one directly from the Realtek site.

If you get the same symptoms with the native driver and the Realtek driver, then the fault is not with the Realtek driver, which makes the possibility of hardware failure high. A slight possibility is buggy firmware -- the BIOS.

Here are my directions for switching drivers, which used to work fine, but some newer laptop with Windows 10 are having trouble with them.

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Expand the "Sound, video & game controllers" and right click on "Realtek High Definition Audio".
3. Select to "Update Driver Software".
4. Click on "Browse my computer for driver software".
5. Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
6. Put a check in the box "Show compatible hardware" if not already checked [but SEE NOTE].
7. In the list of devices, click "High Definition Audio" (the native driver).
8. Click "Next".
9. On the Update Driver Warning box, click "Yes" (install the driver).
10. Restart the laptop if prompted. If not prompted, sometimes you have to restart, sometimes not.
[To get back to the Realtek driver, do it again but reverse the names in steps 2 and 7.]

NOTE: if you have a 2-in-1 model and do not see a "High Definition Audio" option after step 6, then uncheck "Show compatible hardware". Then in step 7, if you see 2 "High Definition Audio" devices, select the 2nd one. On some models the native driver is called Intel High Definition Audio.

Another way of doing it is to remove the Realtek driver files:

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Expand the "Sound, Video & Game Controllers" section.
3. Right click on "Realtek High Definition Audio" and select to uninstall.
4. Put a check mark in the option to delete the driver software, and then ok.
5. Restart the laptop and go back to the Device Manager and check again for a Realtek driver. Keep uninstalling & restarting until Realtek no longer appears under Sound...Controllers and "High Definition Audio Device" appears in its place. "High Definition Audio Device" is the name of the native driver.
[The reason you might have to go through the process more than once is because the driver files for more than one Realtek driver could be on the hard drive. When a Realtek driver is removed, the next one gets installed if Windows can locate the files. Windows installs its generic driver only after all Realtek files have been removed.]

When you say the internal speakers are working normally, then the internal speakers do allow the balance to be changed without the distortion?

Is your Adobe audio utility installed on this system?  If so, are you certain it is not involved?

If you aren't using Waves, how are you designating what is plugged into the port?  I do not show any instance of a Realtek Audio mixer.

Even if the headset has been tested, it might still be a good idea to try another  .. or external speakers if you have any..

Someone the other day stated the Gove music, which I don't use, behaved differently than other sources.

All that being said, there is always a chance some type of damage or manufacturing problem is involved.

It should not matter whether the plug is TRS TRRS

That was a typo. It should have been TRS or TRRS.

I just want to re-iterate that. The combo jacks are specifically designed to work not only with headsets, but also with headphones. Headphones have TRS plugs. There would be no point in headphones having a TRRS plug.

Thank you jimco, I got that. There are adapters around for this, but it's designed to use either/or.

Thank you Saltgrass. The internal speakers work fine.

re: adobe audtion - just to verify using a signal I can see the waveform is at the same level. This defect is present playing audio from youtube as well as media player. Also Dell's troubleshooting.

re: realtek audio mixer and waves - Waves allows you to turn off the "enhancement" within their app, but there is no way to not run it and get the jack to work, I don't think. I have tested the problem with Playback Devices/Realtek Audio/Configure which brings up a GUI to test your speakers. Failed this test. Also, if you double click the Realtek icon there, you get to Speakers/Headphones Properties which has a levels tab. From here you can adjust balance.  I also tested this on Dell's support audio troubleshooting walk-thru. They provide a signal level test which failed.

If I were to hazard a guess as to what is wrong with this, I would say it's Waves. This is the kind of bloat an audio tech would immediately disable as a matter of policy. So far I don't see how to get it out of the loop and still use headphones.

Folks seem to blame Waves, possibly because it is something new.  It does continuously poll the connections so it does take some processor time but I have not noticed a problem.

If you had set a default configuration for your headset, you might try deleting all of those and start over..

I have an OLD Inspiron 600m and when it arrived, sound was not working out of one side of the speakers.  They replaced the speakers, but of course that was not the problem.  Somewhere on the Motherboard was a bad trace or cold solder joint or whatever.  So you never really now for sure.  I replaced the motherboard on my own and it is still working..

The dock has its own audio drivers.  Since it is a Thunderbold/USB output it would seem not to be related to the combined audio port on the system.  I do not have that dock so I cannot confirm.

For me, when you introduce info such as unknown sound sources which I cannot verify, I tend to disregard it.

If you want to disable Waves, you an do that and plug in the headphone before you boot.  The headphone should be picked up correctly although I don't know what its default settings are.

So, let me review.  The problem you have is related to one headset connected to the combined audio port. ...

It would really help if you had another headset to test.  Using a Bluetooth device may yield even more data but not help with the physical connection with which you are having the problem.

Is there a way you could put the sound sample on your OneDrive and give us a link?

Hello Jimco and @Saltgrass, I wanted to get back to you with developments.

When I read your driver suggestions, I thought it might be time to elevate this to tech support.

We spent almost two hours updating drivers and testing, to no avail. Then I did a couple more tests, and I'll just include and excerpt of my reply to the very nice support person, and wonder if you have any further thoughts...

... I also purchased a Dell thunderbolt dock that I had not tested yet. And I noticed that it has a headphone jack.

The headphone jack on the thunderbolt dock is working correctly. Left signal is panned hard left, right is panned hard right, there is no perceptible cross-talk or distortion. The driver for this shows up as Realtek USB Audio.

Since our troubleshooting process involves user interaction, I want to be very specific about what I am hearing from the laptop headphone jack. In order to test further, I am listening to pink noise and 440 Hz test tones.

• When I solo the left channel, I hear a distorted signal in the left channel with no low frequencies, and in the right channel I hear only the missing low frequencies, like an LFE channel purposefully extracted.

• When I solo the right channel, I hear nothing in the left channel, and the right channel seems about 6 db louder, has its lows intact but is somewhat distorted.

I would also like to note that we did not test something that is in the signal path: the Waves MaxxAudioPro app. Not only is it responsible for getting user feedback on what is plugged in, it claims to be an ”enhancer”. It has the capability of doing many bad things to the sound, but disabling it from within the app doesn’t help the issue. The fact that I am hearing what sounds like a misplaced LFE channel makes me suspect this enhancer app is trying to decode or create some kind of 5.1 mix and is crossed up. I don’t see how a physically faulty jack could be causing only low frequencies to be extracted. It has a "dimension" tab that even has a grayed out “stereo to surround” switch I can’t interact with. I would start looking there. I suspect this app is broken.

Their website seems to have no useful info I can find, and I can’t disable this app without disabling the headphone jack.

HI SG, thanks.

The headphones do not work with Waves disabled. I have tested this. There is a single TRRS jack on the computer that must be user configured every time something is plugged in. Waves seems to be in charge of this.

The balance/distortion/crosstalk  issue is present with two sets of Sony earbuds, a pair of Sony MDR-V6 cans and a pair of ADAM A7 studio monitors. Not limited to one reproducer.

The issue is not limited to one sound source. The problem is present in  "Playback Devices/Realtek Audio/Configure" which provides a test signal, in the Waves app test signal, and in Dell's online audio troubleshooting app. Also, Netflix, Youtube,WAV files I'm familiar with. Everything and every app I've tried sounds like ***. I did not start with pink noise, I just used that to help characterize the problem more accurately.

I mention the Dell Thunderbolt Dock audio jack as a control, since it sounds good it's not my headphones.

LIke I said, I was on with tech support for two hours and we pretty much covered everything.except the Waves app. Oddly, it doesn't seem to be part of their diagnostic procedure, I only thought of it later!  I don't think I'm jumping to conclusions here. But I must say as an audio technician, putting an "enhancer" in the signal path, which is defaults to "on", and is required to get the headphones to work is not doing anyone any favors. I guess someone at Waves got paid, anyway.

But I've got an RMA. so more will be revealed I hope.

I think it's probably a distraction to send you a pink noise test file. Netflix sounds bad over here, it's not just my test media.

I would also like to note that we did not test something that is in the signal path: the Waves MaxxAudioPro app.

My first suggestion had that in mind. The native driver does not use that software. As I said, if the jack works okay with the native driver, then the problem is with the Realtek driver, probably related to the convoluted audio manager/Maxx software. If the headphone signal retains the same symptoms while using the native driver, that would strongly point to the hardware as the cause.

However there is a big caveat. This business of no headphone signal without first checking the popup is a new thing on Dell laptops. I haven't been able to get anyone who has one of these encumbered models to try the test yet, so I can't know for sure that the popup requirement will be overridden. There is no intrinsic reason for a combo jack to need the popup. My older Latitude has a combo jack that works fine, even though it never had either WavesMaxx or popups. So the proof is in the pudding. If there is no headphone signal when the native driver is in use, then the test is useless, but can't know until someone tries it.

I haven't been able to get anyone who has one of these encumbered models to try the test yet, so I can't know for sure that the popup requirement will be overridden.

What exactly would you like done, jimco? 

With Waves disabled I can boot with the headset plugged in and it functions.  After choosing the correct device in the popup, I can disable the Waves services and the headset stays in place.

What exactly would you like done, jimco?

Thanks for the offer.

With Waves disabled I can boot with the headset plugged in and it functions.  After choosing the correct device in the popup, I can disable the Waves services and the headset stays in place.

That's with the native driver or the Realtek/Waves driver? What I was talking about was the native driver test that I outlined in my first post in this thread.

Normally, one of the benefits of the test is that the native driver does not use the Realtek/Waves software. With the Realtek/Waves software removed from the audio path, one gets a truer picture of the state of the hardware. At least that is the way it has been, up till now.

I have had many dozens of Dell owners to run the test since Dell eliminated the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics utility. The test is not as good as the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics was, but it has helped me to diagnose many issues. If Dell and Realtek have somehow gotten their software to interfere with the native driver on some of the laptops, then the test might no longer be valid.

The next time you have the native driver installed for whatever reason, plug in headphones after booting up, and see if the signal comes through. [If using a headset, don't bother testing the mic.] If the headphones work and there is no Waves enhancement, then the test is still good.

If the headphones don't work, that would mean that Realtek/Waves is still controlling the jack, which would be bad for several reasons. The headphone jack of a laptop computer is a basic audio function that the native driver has always supported, and if Realtek/Waves can prevent the native driver from supporting that function, it is the same thing as having a virus infecting the audio path.

Ok, I will duplicate your request during the day today.  Any specifications or conditions for the test you may want to designate.  If you want to friend so this can be done offline, that would be OK.

Using the native driver may do as you suggest but that is a mixed bag since the Microsoft drivers are not written for a specific device.

I am not currently having any distortion on my system, although I do hear things like data transmissions when using a headset.  On the popup you can choose Headphone or Headset, which might make a difference when using a TRS headset, which I will be using.

I should be finished this afternoon at some point.

The headphones, TRS & TRRS, both work.  The Microphone works on the TRRS.

The volume levels are quite a bit higher and the microphone seems to pick up more.

Playback shows Speakers and Headphones separately.

Once back online, Realtek driver reinstalled and I would get a configuration error popup when I unplugged the headset...  Waves does seem to be integrated into the Realtek driver and I see no way to uninstall just it.