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Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with Intel processors => Topic started by: ZedZedski on December 31, 2015, 10:03:54 pm

Title: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on December 31, 2015, 10:03:54 pm
Hi!
System specs:
CPU: i5 6600k Skylake OC 4.2 Ghz
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 7
RAM: G-Skill 16 GB (4x4) DDR4 2400 Mhz
GPU: Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 Windforce
PSU: EVGA Supernova B2 750W
CPU Cooling: DeepCool Captain 120 Liquid Cooling

Running Windows 10 up to date. All drivers are up to date. BIOS version is up to date v F6.

I have problems with my onboard audio. I use head phones and speakers. The sound sometimes become distorted and super loud (is becoming more and more frequent with every day). When this happens sound level cannot be controlled anymore. No matter how loud or quiet you put the sound stays as it is - loud and distorted.
At first I thought it is my new headsets (Razer Kraken Pro 2015) but it happens also on my speakers. So, clearly it is onboard sound. Also, I tried reinstalling Windows 10 as a fresh copy and nothing changed. Also, I thought it might be because of NVIDIA Shadowplay or my GPU but it happens with other GPU's as well.

Anyone experience similar issues? Any ways to fix this? Or should I RMA motherboard?
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: jsimon1080 on January 15, 2016, 02:34:51 am
Hi,

I have the exact same problem and I have to reboot my computer when it happens.

I think it started when I updated the Thunderbolt firmware to get 3.0, but I also updated the Creative Audio Drivers to version RC2 (2016/01/07) around the same time.

It seems to happen when I play with the device output (speakers to headphones or headphones to speakers).

I would like to try with the old drivers, but they are not available anymore!

Any solution to this problem??

-js
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: elc00l on January 16, 2016, 03:37:28 pm
Hi,

I haven't noticed problem you described but I don't use headphones mode regularly.
I can provide you a link for older version of Creative Audio Drivers, it was RC1.11 if I remember correctly: http://1drv.ms/1ZDp6pz
You can test with those.

I have another problem.
I have 5.1 speakers connected and the same set in SB Pro Studio. Immediately after windows start, there's no sound from left and right front speakers (tested on Speakers/Headphones tab), I have to switch between headphones and back to speakers, then there's full sound from all the speakers. Could you check if you have similar?
I hoped that RC2 version will fix it but it haven't.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Lavax on January 20, 2016, 08:36:41 pm
I have the same problems discribed above. Sometimes the sound is horribly distorted and I have to restart the computer.
And on every startup I have to switch from headphone to speaker mode to have correct 5.1 sound.

Is there any fix? This is getting annoying. I expect some support for a premium mainboard.

My system:
Intel i7 6600
MSI Geforce 970
Windows 10 64bit up2date
Creative Audio driver RC2

Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on March 04, 2016, 01:35:51 am
Bump!

Anyone else is experiencing the same issue. It seems that I'm not the only one here with the same problem.
This is really getting annoying for a premium class motherboard.

I chose this motherboard to see if Gigabyte can offer something great for a value. Seems like I will have to sell this motherboard and forget about Gigabyte products.

Anyone from Gigabyte can respond to this? Are there any fixes? Obviously motherboard is not for RMA as this seems to be a common issue.

P.S. I will upload a video once I have the same issue happening again. Happens every 2 to 3 days.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on March 04, 2016, 01:38:41 am
Hi,

I haven't noticed problem you described but I don't use headphones mode regularly.
I can provide you a link for older version of Creative Audio Drivers, it was RC1.11 if I remember correctly: http://1drv.ms/1ZDp6pz
You can test with those.

I have another problem.
I have 5.1 speakers connected and the same set in SB Pro Studio. Immediately after windows start, there's no sound from left and right front speakers (tested on Speakers/Headphones tab), I have to switch between headphones and back to speakers, then there's full sound from all the speakers. Could you check if you have similar?
I hoped that RC2 version will fix it but it haven't.
The problem I'm having is happening on Headphones and on Speakers. It really doesn't matter what I use. But to answer your question, no, I did not experience any issues as you described.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Elsie on March 04, 2016, 07:12:55 pm
I have the same issue, it doesn't happen often but the only way around is a reboot.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 04, 2016, 11:30:31 pm
Same!

OS: Windows 10 x64

Drivers: I tried the RC1 and RC2. Both have the problem. Now I'm trying the oldest drivers (the ones before RC1, they should be revision 1041 if I'm not wrong).

I had the problem on day 1, since I bought the system, on RC2 drivers. After reverting to RC1 drivers, I had no problem for two weeks, then yesterday it showed again all of a sudden. Reboot fixes but after a few minutes the problem happens again. I tried to disable C1E state, but that didn't solve anything. Now I moved to the oldest driver and I've been testing it since a few minutes ago. Newegg is really *full* of this crap, and Gigabyte does nothing. They should update drivers or BIOS or recognise a faulty audio chipset maybe and recall the boards.

I can't RMA, alas, because I cannot deprive of the motherboard and have to work with this PC. Think I'll buy a cheap PCIe soundcard and use it instead of this crappy onboard audio.

And guess what? This audio chipset isn't new to this ****: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb34Vamv9kw

UPDATE: oldest driver didn't solve the issue. I uninstalled all Creative software, reverted to RC2 and disabled audio enhancements in Windows control panel. Last chance I give to this thing. Really disappointed with Gigabyte. I regret I didn't buy Asus as I always did in the past. Shame on my bad idea and first and last time in all my life with Gigabyte. Really poor, poor support if all they're able to effectively do is damn and plain nothing.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: DC42 on March 05, 2016, 12:37:25 pm
Hello...

I lose the on-board audio upon a reboot. Happens every time. Uninstalling the Creative drivers, reboot, install the latest drivers from the GB site (tried the disc' as well) but this has not resolved the issue. Pretty vanilla set up (more music orientated than games these days), web surfing, basic tasks etc..

Lost faith in Creative some time ago but never like Realtek audio so gave this a shot. If there are no immediate fixes will have to get a sound card.

F6 bios 12/16/2015. Any thoughts? Quality of audio once back up and rolling is good. Have some Klipsch 2.1's with sub so it sounds pretty sweet.

DC42

GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 04G-P4-3967-KR 4GB SSC GAMING w/ACX 2.0+

Rosewill Capstone-G750, Capstone G Series 750W Modular Power Supply, 80 PLUS Gold Certified, Single +12V Rail, SLI & Crossfire

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666 (PC4 21300)

SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5" 256GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7KE256BW

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 05, 2016, 03:26:51 pm
UPDATE: please, try to change constantly from 5.1 to 2.1 in your SoundBlaster Pro Studio while for example listening to music and being connected to a Teamspeak server and you'll see the problem happen (it already shows if you run Teamspeak while onboard audio is being playing something else, too). The problem can be reproduced in this way on my machine and, when reproduced, can also stopped without rebooting, by only constantly changing from those two options until the sound comes back normal and not distorted. This means that the damn thing is software (without the SoundBlaster Pro Studio and with Microsoft drivers I have no problem, but I can't use the microphone on the headphones from the front panel audio, with the Microsoft drivers)! Gygabyte, wake up!

P.S.: I bought a Xonar. On its way from Amazon, anyway
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 06, 2016, 01:32:48 am
I'll develop my previous post.

Yesterday I got the issue six times. Today three times. I made an interesting discovery, though, that is that you haven't to reboot to make the sound go back to normal: it's sufficient to open the SoundBlaster program in the systray and switch a few times between 2.1 Stereo and 5.1 until magically all comes back normal. On the other hand, it's pretty odd that, apart from the issue, once you select headphones in that same program, next time you switch to stereo you can listen to all the sounds continuing to come from headphones too (and the audio system appears much more stable in this way: perhaps is it so because, while in 2.1 or 5.1, it does not use the OP-AMP that it instead uses while in headphone mode?).

My discovery brings me to think that the problem could reside in software or driver but, on the other hand, makes me despair that Gigabyte will ever provide a concrete and real solution, because on Internet you can find, in a wide arc of time, a lot of reports about Gigabyte's SoundCore 3di-based motherboards affected by the same problem and never - I repeat: never - fixed.

Should I be wrong and should the problem be hardware-related, perhaps with a precise set of producted mainboards, I think that it's not the SoundCore chipset to be blamed though, but the (faulty) OP-AMP on the motherboard. I suspect this because I read also that a couple of guys solved our same problem by replacing the OP-AMP.

Now, a new OP-AMP for this motherboard, on Amazon, costs about 30 € though, at least from my country (Italy). For about the same amount of money, honestly I ordered today a dedicated Asus Xonar, that will be shipped to me on next Wednesday. That should bring an end to this absurd problem, I guess, and anyway more audio quality, to be honest, since with this SoundCore 3di I could listen some high-pitch noise in headphones, when the volume was maxed up (so shielding is not that great too, on our Gaming 7, despite Gigabyte's promises). I simply haven't the time to rule this problem out by multiple and blind tries, because this PC is highly needed for urgent and continuous job (it's built with gaming components because I like to dedicate some spare time to videogames, but that doesn't exclude that the rig is mainly used for work).

For your further reference, today evening I updated my BIOS from F7j to F7r (yes, I was using beta because of the notorious Skylake bug with complex calculations; and I simply upgraded tonight to latest beta). Since then, I had no problem, but I suspect it would be only a matter of time. After experiencing the issue once the very first day I built the system, in fact, I never experienced it in the following three weeks, until yesterday. So time is really random on this problem.

Or could it be that the issue showed again yesterday because only a few minutes earlier my Windows 10 x64 updated itself to latest public stable build? That would confirm that the problem happens at software or driver level, and another confirmation of this would be also that still yesterday, while I was repeatedly having the problem reboot after reboot, I could stop it by reverting to Microsoft drivers and uninstalling the SoundBlaster utility. But, in this way, I lost the possibility to use the microphone from the front-panel of my case (Corsair Carbide 500R)... So, wherever you look at this situation, it's a great mess.

One thing is sure: I spent a lot of money on Gaming 7 instead of buying Gaming 5/6 or Asus Maximus VIII (Hero) because I was convinced by the well-advertised (by Gigabyte) SoundCore 3di chipset. I'm now very disappointed I was substantially forced to buy a dedicated soundcard: sure, thanks to the shipping Asus Xonar I'll solve the problem (at least I hope!) and I'll have a better experience with the sound compartment from now on, but a part of money I spent on Gaming 7 will be obviously trashed. And I don't like trashing money, so, Gigabyte, be sure that you'll never - never - see my wallet again. And I'll advise against you any other people asking me for a good suggestion about hardware. Yes, it's a drop of money in the ocean you're swimming into, so I know you can't care more about this. But revolts start always from tiny gestures.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: elc00l on March 07, 2016, 06:15:48 pm
Hi guys,

Maybe it's hardware issue on your motherboard. I have my Gaming 7 for some time already and never experienced distortion you describe and I listen to the music quite a lot. The only issues I have is with 5.1 surround after system startup and audio latency problems (pops/hiss) but this is because of onboard intel NIC (also very annoying).
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: csemoses on March 08, 2016, 07:40:45 am
Z170 gaming 7 here. I've had it for a few months now.
My Xonar Essence STX appeared to have mic issues, so i switched to the onboard audio.

It only took about 4 days for this issues to occur.Was playing a game, spamming the 1 key, and all of a sudden i had MAX volume for entire system. Painful on the ears. either no volume at all, or max volume (system showed 2/100 volume, sounds extremely loud).

This problem really needs to be fixed. Gigabyte is ripe for a lawsuit based on peoples hearing being damaged with the extreme sound put out when this occurs.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: wiggly1uk2000 on March 08, 2016, 02:18:03 pm
Have you guys looked at the Windows sound setting for Communications? Try setting it to 'Do nothing' and see if it makes a difference to your issue.

Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 09, 2016, 03:32:04 pm
It didn't make any difference for me
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: wiggly1uk2000 on March 09, 2016, 08:05:49 pm
It didn't make any difference for me

Oh well, worth a try!
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Elsie on March 10, 2016, 09:46:39 am
Whilst I have had the audio issue, it's not happened for a few days. I did try the switching between 2.1 and 5.1 but that didn't cause the issue. However, I am using the front panel jacks; not sure if when it happened the last time I was using my Rockat Kave headset plugged into the back panel ports. I'll try again tonight using the headset plugged into the back panel. 
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 10, 2016, 10:29:37 am
Front/back port is ininfluent for my system: the problem appears whatever port I use. The switch between 2.1 and 5.1 deactivates and activates the issue once onboard audio goes mad, before rebooting. And since the swith disables the issue, you can avoid to reboot anyway.

Now testing my system on beta BIOS F7r and 16-bit 44khz audio quality. It's been stable for the last four days. In the meanwhile, reports of the issue continue growing on Amazon and Newegg. On the former, you can read a lot of posts about distorted audio on Gaming 7 even as feedback to other motherboards: for example one guy gave Asus Maximus VIII Hero 5 stars on Amazon with the premise that he bought it after asking for a refund for a Gaming 7 having this serious audio issue.

I find quite shocking nobody from Gigabyte posted anything here for a premium product of theirs, while on the other side, a guy from Creative crew took notice of the problem when he read about it on Overclock.net forum and told all of us, up there, that he was going to inform their OEM guys and try to get in touch with Gigabyte to ask for clarifications. So, it seems that Gigabyte's terrible implementation of SoundCore 3Di - due to a bunch of faulty hardware (OP-AMP?) or, more probably, to bad drivers/software, especially on Windows 10 x64 - is becoming embarassing and unbearable for Creative too, because it makes one of their chipset appear a bad product while on the paper its specifications are really good.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: DC42 on March 10, 2016, 07:21:05 pm
Hey all,

So I am getting real annoyed over this. Just had to reboot and lost my sound again just like every other time. Going to try to post something at Creative (forum) and see what their response is if any.

DC

Hello...

I lose the on-board audio upon a reboot. Happens every time. Uninstalling the Creative drivers, reboot, install the latest drivers from the GB site (tried the disc' as well) but this has not resolved the issue. Pretty vanilla set up (more music orientated than games these days), web surfing, basic tasks etc..

Lost faith in Creative some time ago but never like Realtek audio so gave this a shot. If there are no immediate fixes will have to get a sound card.

F6 bios 12/16/2015. Any thoughts? Quality of audio once back up and rolling is good. Have some Klipsch 2.1's with sub so it sounds pretty sweet.

DC42

GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 04G-P4-3967-KR 4GB SSC GAMING w/ACX 2.0+

Rosewill Capstone-G750, Capstone G Series 750W Modular Power Supply, 80 PLUS Gold Certified, Single +12V Rail, SLI & Crossfire

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666 (PC4 21300)

SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5" 256GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7KE256BW

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 11, 2016, 12:51:14 am
DC42, your problem is really different from the one stated here by us others. Our problem is the distortion of the audio all of a sudden while playing.

It's a problem that is going on for a lot of Gigabyte motherboards based on Sound Core3Di, especially when running Windows 10. It's time Gigabyte takes its responsibilities and does something. Read the post of this guy in August 2015 (http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php?topic=16313.0) on this same forum, with Sniper M5 (mounting Sound Core3Di) and listen to his audio sample (https://lucario.info/archive/g1sm5sound.mp3), that it's the same garbled sound we have from time to time.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: DC42 on March 11, 2016, 12:55:14 am
Yeah sorry just getting a bit frustrated. I opened a ticket with Gigabyte and we shall see how that goes. Creative would be no help as there was not even a good location in the forum to post. I'll follow this issue and wish you all the best. Any good news with mine I will create a new thread.  :)

DC42

DC42, your problem is really different from the one stated here by us others. Our problem is the distortion of the audio all of a sudden while playing.

It's a problem that is going on for a lot of Gigabyte motherboards based on SoundCore 3di, especially when running Windows 10. It's time Gigabyte takes its responsibilities and do something. Read the post of this guy in August 2015 (http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php?topic=16313.0) on this same forum, with Sniper M5 (SoundCore 3di based!) and listen to his audio sample (https://lucario.info/archive/g1sm5sound.mp3), that it's the same garbled we have from time to time.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Elsie on March 12, 2016, 11:59:13 pm
It's happening on my PC again right now. Tried switching between 2.1 - 5.1 but it makes no difference.

Gonna have to reboot.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 13, 2016, 06:01:34 pm
It's happening on my PC again right now. Tried switching between 2.1 - 5.1 but it makes no difference.

In my case, I must do that not only once, but a few times untill all magically come back normal (and appears again if I continue switching...)
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: el jefe 77 on March 14, 2016, 05:13:26 pm
I too was having this issue and may still have it.  I updated to the beta F7r bios to see if that fixes it, but I think it may be a matter of time (other F7r users have reported it).  Under F6 bios, reducing the Windows shared sound output to CD quality seem to prevent it from happening or at least make it less frequent.   

Hopefully, if enough of us complain, we can get some sort of response from Gigabyte.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on March 20, 2016, 01:30:41 pm
Thanks everyone for replying and following up on this. It seems that this is a major problem and Gigabyte should recall all these motherboards. I'm in the same shoes as others mentioned here, using this PC build not only for gaming but mostly for work. Gaming is just a way to getaway for an hour or two and relax in the evening after work.

I guess Gigabyte will not do anything until people really start waking up and spamming them with e-mails about this problem.

In December when I bought Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 GPU I was about to return the GPU to the store for an exchange to a different brand and buy a new motherboard from ASUS or MSI. I regret now that I didn't. This is the first time I went with Gigabyte over the last 10 years. My first Gigabyte product was back in 2002. Since 2005 I haven't been buying anything from Gigabyte. I thought I will give another shot 10 years later but I guess this is the last time I'm buying anything from Gigabyte if this is how they are treating their customers.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on March 20, 2016, 01:31:49 pm
Same!

And guess what? This audio chipset isn't new to this ****: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb34Vamv9kw


This is the exact problem I get. Thank you for posting this video.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on March 28, 2016, 02:27:25 am
So after having this board since September, 2015 I decided to sell the board. It was an annoying and frustrating 6 month with no solution to this problem from Gigabyte. So, I sold the board today March 27, 2016.
NO MORE GIGABYTE FOR ME.
Will be also selling my Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 soon, once the Pascal and Polaris is released. I don't think that I will go with Gigabyte anymore.

Thanks but no thanks.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Leppermessiah on March 28, 2016, 05:24:32 am
Is this only affecting those who are using 5.1 audio or headphones?  I've never experienced this problem, but I have a 2.1 setup and use bluetooth headphones.

I think it's ridiculous that Gigabyte doesn't monitor their own message board.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on March 29, 2016, 02:41:54 pm
Is this only affecting those who are using 5.1 audio or headphones?  I've never experienced this problem, but I have a 2.1 setup and use bluetooth headphones.

I think it's ridiculous that Gigabyte doesn't monitor their own message board.
It is happening no matter what you use, headphones, 2.1 or 5.1 or even Optical.
Also, Gigabyte's BIOS is annoying. The mouse is laggy and from time to time the whole BIOS would crash for no reason at POST.
I just replaced my motherboard to ASUS Maximus Viii Hero and I regret that I did not go with that motherboard from the very beginning.
Gigabyte really need to learn first how to respond to their customers and find solutions for major problems to their products (just like ASUS does, just checkout Amazon comments section on their products). Moreover, Gigabyte need to find better software developers cause most of their software either is buggy or is not working as expected, not mentioning BIOS, where they can't even fix lagging mouse by a simple BIOS update (I used all available BIOS versions).
The reason I picked Gigabyte motherboard when I was building my rig was the Creative Audio chip. On the paper it is the best on the market but Gigabyte screwed it up and made it to be the worst. On my new ASUS motherboard the sound is so much better and no stupid crashing.

I'm glad at least that my Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 is not giving me any issues yet and works flawless. At least something from Gigabyte that works right.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on March 31, 2016, 05:25:01 pm
Asus Maximus VIII is a very good motherboard, but terrible for audio. Asus forums are really full of complaints about it because it emits pops and clicks now and then, so consider yourself a lucky boy if yours does not exhibit this issue, ZedZedski :D

I think MSI is the safest solution for Z170, at the moment: that's at least what I'm suggesting to friends of mine, lastly. It's a pity, because on the paper Gigabyte's motherboards are superior both to Asus and MSI. If it weren't for this terrible audio implementation...

(Oh, incidentally, it's true that the mouse in BIOS, on Gaming 7, is laggy, but only if you don't update the BIOS to latest release).

That said, I'm on my 18th day without no more a single problem with the audio on the Gaming 7 (*crossing fingers*). What did I change, you ask? Simple: I disabled ALL the Windows enhancements AND ALL the audio enhancements in Creative panel too, both for playing and recording (including Crystal Voice, alas).

Sure, audio quality is worse than with the enhancements on, but still good for my 2.1 speakers and my HyperCloudX headphones.

If it'll continue working fine in the future days, it means that the audio problem resides certainly in drivers (poorly coded by Gigabyte crew) and is not hardware-related.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on April 02, 2016, 05:58:58 am
Asus Maximus VIII is a very good motherboard, but terrible for audio. Asus forums are really full of complaints about it because it emits pops and clicks now and then, so consider yourself a lucky boy if yours does not exhibit this issue, ZedZedski :D

I think MSI is the safest solution for Z170, at the moment: that's at least what I'm suggesting to friends of mine, lastly. It's a pity, because on the paper Gigabyte's motherboards are superior both to Asus and MSI. If it weren't for this terrible audio implementation...

(Oh, incidentally, it's true that the mouse in BIOS, on Gaming 7, is laggy, but only if you don't update the BIOS to latest release).

That said, I'm on my 18th day without no more a single problem with the audio on the Gaming 7 (*crossing fingers*). What did I change, you ask? Simple: I disabled ALL the Windows enhancements AND ALL the audio enhancements in Creative panel too, both for playing and recording (including Crystal Voice, alas).

Sure, audio quality is worse than with the enhancements on, but still good for my 2.1 speakers and my HyperCloudX headphones.

If it'll continue working fine in the future days, it means that the audio problem resides certainly in drivers (poorly coded by Gigabyte crew) and is not hardware-related.
Audio is superb on Maximus Viii Hero. If you read my comment then you will notice what I said, that it is even better in real world rather than it was for Gaming 7. Trust me, I had that motherboatd long enough Septembe 6, 2015 till March 26, 2016 to be more precise.
I tried everything, including what you did and the problem persistet. Sometimes, I had a luck and would not have the audio problem for weeks but sometimes it was day after a day and sometimes multiple times per day. Mostly would crash in games and Skype. Oh and the sound was horrible while playing StarWars Battlefront. Now with ASUS I can fully enjoy that game with much better audio quality.
As for laggy mouse. I've been updating Bios ever since I got that motherboard. I kept BIOS and drivers up to date in hopes that the issue will be gone.
As for ticking sounds about Audio on Maximus Viii you saw on the forum, you should do more research. That ticking sound is when you power on and power off the system. It does that because there is a protective relay that does not screw up the ampliphier. Something, that perhaps Gigabyte should have done on their boards.
Moreover thet quality build is so much better on ASUS board.
There are more problems that Gigabyte had, especially software related. However, some of it was more or less fixed with newer updates but yet still had a lot of bugs. I'm referring to the utilities.
Furthermore, Gigabyte Gaming 7 has issues with memory and CPU overclocking. Even if you use XMP profiles etc. From time to time BIOS would crash for no reason. Also, overclocking system sux on Gigabyte. I had no problems overclocking ASUS board. The system is so much more advanced on ASUS and BIOS is so much more better on ASUS, especially no more laggy mouse. Also, ASUS BIOS has way more overclock options. No wonder it is the most award winning overclocker currently on the market.
I wish you all the good luck with this Gaming 7 board, as I had the most annoying 6 month.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: dmdilks on April 04, 2016, 02:23:36 pm
You know that you might not like what I'm going to say here. But lets look at the true of the matter. You know that it is only windows 10 that is having the problem. Is there any body running windows 7 or 8 that is having a problem. If it was hardware problem it would be across the board with all OS.

Plus somebody said that Gigabyte should fix the drivers for this. All Gigabyte does is uses the chip-set from those companies and they drivers. Plus yes it says 01/07/0216 but it is the same driver that was release by Creative in Aug 2015.

They are still using the windows 7 driver and calling it windows 10. This is from Gigabytes site. If you look at 7 or 8 or 10 it is the same driver.

Creative Audio driver
OS:Windows 7 32bit,Windows 7 64bit,
Windows 8.1 32bit,Windows 8.1 64bit,   -   RC2   101.95 MB   2016/01/07
Windows 10 32bit,Windows 10 64bit

I'm sorry guys till Creative really makes a stand alone driver for windows 10 you will have problems. Plus that is why I got away from them years ago because of their poor support for new OS they did the same thing on windows 7 when it came out.

Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: slippers4t on April 05, 2016, 10:24:58 am
I also am experiencing this problem though on slightly different hardware.

I have a GA Z170X-UD5 TH with Realtek on-board premium audio. I installed the drivers Gigabyte provide from their website (not generic Realtek audio) and the audio level is really high.

Currently I have the volume set at 10%, my old system which had a Xonar sound card the audio level was at 65% for comfortable listening with the same headphones. Quality wise it's on par with the Xonar but the loudness is grating to say the least, even some games I have turn down their volume even further.

I suspect it is a deliberate thing, the audio level is being amplified in the driver, they have their own internal level and it is turned up to the max. Similar to media players with an gain/amplification/normalize setting.

I saw this many years ago with Asus/MSI on board audio which is why I went looking for a dedicated sound card in the first place, some did the same thing like Creative with their external cards.

The only ones I found which didn't were the Xonar line, so my advice is consider getting any card compatible with the UNi Xonar driver package, do not use the stock supplied drivers, install the UNi package in minimalist mode and that solves the problem.

Not happy about that solution myself as my xonar is PCI so I have to go buy a new PCI-e one.

It's not a Windows 10 issue Google search Realtek audio too loud and you will find results going back over a decade. If by chance any one from Gigabyte is reading this send a note to Realtek or any of your own engineers and get them to tweak the driver so it drops the audio levels.


Edit: Having not had to deal with this problem over the past several years I have looked around for any fixes and sort of found one, it's called Equalizer APO an application that can modify the amplification gain setting.

Install the app and select the output in use then reboot PC, run the app and you will see 1:pre-amplification area with a "gain" -dB value, change this value to -25.00dB and that will counter act the too loud volume, I have it currently at 64% and it is tolerable (prior to this anything above 10 was painful).

Only change via text because the GUI slider only goes as low as -20.00dB which is not enough. This proves in my mind at least the fault is in the drivers, they have the volume gain cranked to the max because some people complain about too low volume but they don't provide any setting in their own control panel to adjust it for those with sensitive ears. Realtek have their own "normalization" feature in the settings but you can tell something is wrong as you can hear line noise and hissing with it enabled, it's being pushed too far on top of the driver amp.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on April 06, 2016, 04:55:27 pm
You know that it is only windows 10 that is having the problem. Is there any body running windows 7 or 8 that is having a problem. If it was hardware problem it would be across the board with all OS.
I experienced same issue in Windows 8.1 since day one when I first assembled PC.
I don't think it is the OS issue.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on April 08, 2016, 11:28:09 am
Yes, you can find the same problems with 7 and 8/8.1 on Youtube. I agree, though, that the problem seems not to be hardware, because on GNU/Linux I never had it, so it seems to me that drivers are the culprit.

About the fact that Creative should do something, well, that's not true: agreements at hands, when a motherboard producer buys some hardware from another manufacturer, like in this case Creative, the hardware is sold like OEM. This means that the manufacturer (Creative) gives its hardware (the Recon3di chipset) to the motherboard seller (Gigabyte), under clear condition that the development of the drivers competes always to the latter (Gigabyte), provided that the copyright of the drivers isn't changed (that's why Windows reports drivers coming from "Creative"). That's how things work and is normal, because the manufacturer (Creative) has all the interest to sell its own implementation of the chipset (Recon3D) they're passing in OEM version to the motherboard producer (Gigabyte).

That said, ZedZedski, I still consider you've been lucky with your Maximus, because a lot of samples of that board have really a lot of audio issues: look, for example, this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?80325-Audio-Problem-Asus-Maximus-VIII-Hero), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?82738-maximus-viii-audio-issues-big-thanks-to-rog-community), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?77867-Maximus-VIII-Gene-sound-problem-in-windows-10), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?82320-This-audio-issue-has-to-go-Please-see-for-audio-files), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?81878-Sound-Issues-with-1302-on-Max-VIII-hero) and this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?76546-Popping-sound-issue-on-VIII-HERO).  I could go on with literally dozens of links about pops, crackling, hisses on Maximus VIII while playing sound.

So, I was pretty honest to say, in my previous post, that Maximus VIII Hero is a really good board overall, apart from serious audio issues. But, talking only about audio, the flaw that affects Asus Maximus VIII is much more common than the Gigabyte's one we're discussing about here and it's not a point in favor of (the audio on) Asus' ROG flagship board (Z170's implementation on Sabertooth is much better than Maximus VIII, imho).

Anyway, wouldn't like to go off-topic. Think we should concentrate on the issue of the Gigabyte board(s). For your personal reference, guys, 21 days without any problem, since I disabled Windows and Creative enhancements.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on April 08, 2016, 06:15:57 pm


That said, ZedZedski, I still consider you've been lucky with your Maximus, because a lot of samples of that board have really a lot of audio issues: look, for example, this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?80325-Audio-Problem-Asus-Maximus-VIII-Hero), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?82738-maximus-viii-audio-issues-big-thanks-to-rog-community), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?77867-Maximus-VIII-Gene-sound-problem-in-windows-10), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?82320-This-audio-issue-has-to-go-Please-see-for-audio-files), this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?81878-Sound-Issues-with-1302-on-Max-VIII-hero) and this (https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?76546-Popping-sound-issue-on-VIII-HERO).  I could go on with literally dozens of links about pops, crackling, hisses on Maximus VIII while playing sound.

Ok, but at least there is a solution if you read articles. At least ASUS is taking care of it and found a fix. I don't have it cause right away I updated BIOS to the latest version and that is why probably I never had that problem.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Saruman on April 10, 2016, 03:40:37 pm
At least ASUS is taking care of it and found a fix.

Dunno about a definitive fix but yes, there's no doubt Asus put its hand on consciousness and is trying to give support to solve the issue, while Gigabyte didn't spend even a word and is not updating its audio drivers (the last ones are Windows 7/8 drivers, rebranded to work under 10, but they weren't built from scratch for the new OS).
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: wxguesser26 on April 11, 2016, 09:48:49 pm
Hello all.  I have this same motherboard in 4 computers in my house right now.  Two use Windows 7 64 bit, the other two use Windows 10 64 bit.  Other than that, every computer has the same build with regards to processor, video card and memory.  Only one Win 7 computer has issues.  Not what is being explained here though.  About every 3 to 5 days I have to uninstall the sound drivers and reinstall them to get the speakers to work again once the computer comes back from sleep mode.  The Win 10 computers haven't had any issues at all as of yet.  My wife uses one of the Win 10 computers while playing Arc with iTunes running in the background.  My son uses the other Win 10 playing games and watching you tube videos (or just listening to them in the background while playing a game).  He hasn't complained about any sound issues as of yet, though his is the newest build of only a week right now.  The rest have been up and running for 3 months now.

There is no overclocking going on in any of the set-ups and everything is pretty much at the default in the bios, other than the motherboard lighting.  Turned all that off.  Running Bios F6 with the RC2 driver for audio.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: kto on April 11, 2016, 11:34:25 pm
windows 10 64bit with 5.1 speakers
Ive been using this board for 3 months now, for the first month everything seemed normal or maybe i didnt notice it much. But now my issue is the sound muffles and lowers then goes back to normal, then muffles by itself randomly, and may stay there from anywhere between a few seconds to minutes at a time, happens anywhere between 1-3 times a day to 2-3 days without it happening. switching from headphones, to 2.1 to 5.1 doesnt resolve anyhting, restarting the computer might work, but its still 50/50 chance of it not working. Ive tried everything, bios from f3-f7, latest audio driver, disable everything i can, enable everything i can.
its kinda depressing gigabyte hasnt even responded at all to this issue, even a little post like "we're working on it" would help a little bit.  :'(
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: silvercondor on April 12, 2016, 12:54:28 pm
Hi,

My problem was as follows: loud hissing noises from front panel and rear panel headphone jacks. bought an audio op amp and replaced the one provided with the board, the hissing noises reduced by A TON. there is still a slight hiss but you won't notice it if something's playing... hope this helps someone out there.

btw i live in Singapore and came across this thread while googling for a solution. The op amp i purchased was the exact same one provided OPA 2131PA
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: devinmosher on April 13, 2016, 09:59:07 am
Just wanted to say I've been following this sine I encountered this problem as well. Uninstalling W10 drivers and installing W8.1 has so far worked for me. I am a windows 10 user. Try it out. Good luck
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: kto on April 15, 2016, 11:30:04 pm
Just wanted to say I've been following this sine I encountered this problem as well. Uninstalling W10 drivers and installing W8.1 has so far worked for me. I am a windows 10 user. Try it out. Good luck

Windows 7 32bit,Windows 7 64bit,Windows 8.1 32bit,Windows 8.1 64bit,Windows 10 32bit,Windows 10 64bit all use the same RC2 driver.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: system450 on April 17, 2016, 11:24:11 am
Hi,

I haven't noticed problem you described but I don't use headphones mode regularly.
I can provide you a link for older version of Creative Audio Drivers, it was RC1.11 if I remember correctly: http://1drv.ms/1ZDp6pz
You can test with those.

I have another problem.
I have 5.1 speakers connected and the same set in SB Pro Studio. Immediately after windows start, there's no sound from left and right front speakers (tested on Speakers/Headphones tab), I have to switch between headphones and back to speakers, then there's full sound from all the speakers. Could you check if you have similar?
I hoped that RC2 version will fix it but it haven't.

You have to plug in the front speakers jack into the plug near the mic plug. The one near the rear and center/sub plug is for headphones.
I did so and after Windows start everything is ok ! The 5.1 works correctly.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: elc00l on April 18, 2016, 05:00:47 pm
You have to plug in the front speakers jack into the plug near the mic plug. The one near the rear and center/sub plug is for headphones.
I did so and after Windows start everything is ok ! The 5.1 works correctly.
Very interesting finding :) You're right, I just checked and it is like you say, even manual mention this, I just never read this part as I thought that it's like on my previous X-fi soundcard - front/headphones are interchangeable. However sound is a bit different now when front speakers are not connected to headphones jack, most probably because audio was amplified previously. Thank you.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on April 19, 2016, 08:43:18 pm
At least ASUS is taking care of it and found a fix.

Dunno about a definitive fix but yes, there's no doubt Asus put its hand on consciousness and is trying to give support to solve the issue, while Gigabyte didn't spend even a word and is not updating its audio drivers (the last ones are Windows 7/8 drivers, rebranded to work under 10, but they weren't built from scratch for the new OS).
Anyways, the reason I sold Gigabyte board and got ASUS instead was not only because of sound. There were a lot more issues and features that did not work properly and I had the board long enough to try resolve them. However, shouldn't it be like that I buy a brand new board and I use it without any problems?
Btw, it's been over a month now since I got ASUS and still no problems and everything works perfect. To be more precise got the board on March 28, 2016.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: devinmosher on April 23, 2016, 02:49:43 pm
At least ASUS is taking care of it and found a fix.

Dunno about a definitive fix but yes, there's no doubt Asus put its hand on consciousness and is trying to give support to solve the issue, while Gigabyte didn't spend even a word and is not updating its audio drivers (the last ones are Windows 7/8 drivers, rebranded to work under 10, but they weren't built from scratch for the new OS).
Anyways, the reason I sold Gigabyte board and got ASUS instead was not only because of sound. There were a lot more issues and features that did not work properly and I had the board long enough to try resolve them. However, shouldn't it be like that I buy a brand new board and I use it without any problems?
Btw, it's been over a month now since I got ASUS and still no problems and everything works perfect. To be more precise got the board on March 28, 2016.

I will definitely be going back to ASUS after this board. First gigabyte board and i honestly dont care what reputation they have....this was a bad enough first impression to steer me away from ever getting another gigabyte board. I can honestly say that I have never had an issue with an ASUS board to date. Lucky? Maybe....but good enough for me to continue buying their boards.
Needless to say, it's pretty sad that gigabytes last driver release for this board was nearly 4 months ago and with no support in sight from Creative, I am hard pressed to buy any of thier products again as well. Its quite sad to say the least that when they put out such a horrible product they dont even try to fix it.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Leppermessiah on April 23, 2016, 05:31:16 pm
Has anyone tried replacing the op-amp?  Seems like an inexpensive and easy solution if it works.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: kangoo on May 24, 2016, 04:16:38 pm
in case anyone still has this problem it would be good to check with the latest bios, the most updated list is usually at tt forums or at giga website (F8l is the latest one)

has anyone tried to speak with giga support directly? they have some kind of ticket system at their site too
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: SoundBlaster Problems on May 30, 2016, 01:28:52 pm
Ok, I built this system less than a week ago using the Gaming 7 motherboard.  The first day I noticed the audio was really LOUD.  Like I would have to set the volume to 10% for it to be at a normal sounding level.  I chalked it up to the fact that I hadn't yet messed around with Creative's software (the mixer, EQ, etc.) and didn't think much of it at the time.

Then last night I was playing a game and suddenly I heard this weird distorted screeching sound mixed with everything sounding like it was underwater.  A reboot fixed it but only temporarily.   Later on I went to Youtube to listen to some music and noticed that the volume was really low.  I messed around with all the mixers and EQ in the Creative suite but that didn't fix it.  I wasn't getting any screeching, but the treble sounded really flushed out and the vocals were really low.  It is nothing like my old system where everything sounded correct.  My last board was a Gigabyte board that I bought in 2010 and its audio was far superior (Realtek chipset I think).  That's pretty sad.

I figured I had a bad board and was getting ready to RMA it, but I found this thread through a google search.  I am glad I am not alone.  The bottom line is that I am not having just one problem, but am having multiple issues with the audio:

1) The screeching sound that someone posted a sample of -- that is EXACTLY what I am getting.
2) Weird volume levels randomly (either too loud or too quiet).
3) Terrible sounding treble and high notes.  (Bass seems OK).
4) An underwater type of muffling to the audio at times.

All of these don't happen at once.  It's usually just one at a time.  Rebooting might fix it for a while but it always comes back.  I really want this crap fixed.  If it were a minor problem (like something wrong with a PCI slot) I could live with it.  But when it's audio, I can't live with that.  I have to have audio on a board that I payed $200 for.

I should have known better than to buy a board with Creative audio.  Creative is a company that most real audiophiles cannot stand.  Go to any audiophile internet forum and tell them you use a creative chipset or soundcard and they will laugh.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: michaeldowns on June 01, 2016, 03:44:10 am
Bump!

On my Gigabyte GA-Z170X Gaming 7 - BIOS F8l system, there is a constant high frequency background hiss. It is a low volume but clearly audible hiss. I don't perceive it as a hum, or AC mains issue.

It seems to be some kind of RFI unrelated to a 50/60 hz hum.

The onboard audio subsystem for this board is an advertised feature and should be shielded against RFI, but apparently it is not done well enough.

 I came across this thread also searching for a solution.

 **** Just to be clear, as of today: ALL DRIVERS, APPS and BIOS ARE THE MOST CURRENT VERSION ****


 ********************************
 CPU - Intel I7-6700K - OC to 4.5 GHz
 Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z170X Gaming 7 - BIOS F8l
 Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) (F4-3200C14D-32GVK)
 Graphics - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming 4GB GDDR5 Pcie
 O/S SSD - Samsung 950 PRO Series 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2
 Data HDD - Seagate 4TB SSHD (Solid State Hybrid Drive) SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache (ST4000DX001)
 ODD - Pioneer Blu-Ray Writer (BDR-2209)
 Liquid Cooler - Enermax Liqmax II 240 (ELC-LMR240-BS)
 Thermal Compound - Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 High Performance (4G RG-TF4-TGU1-GP)
 PSU - CORSAIR HXi HX1000i 1000W Platinum Certified, Full Modular (CP-9020074-NA)
 Chassis - Cooler Master Silencio 652S - Silent Mid Tower (SIL-652-KKN2)
 O/S - Win10 Pro x64
 ********************************
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: jcgo16 on June 06, 2016, 01:10:27 am
i rma my motherboard, same issue @michaeldowns,

so much hissing, i did find out if you remove your gpu it no more hiss, but there is a popping sound on the audio

that's what i found out, i think there's a problem with the audio and the motherboard itself
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: sygnus21 on June 07, 2016, 12:27:47 am
Don't really have anything, but I have both a Z87 (G1 Sniper 5) and this Z170X (GA-Z170X Gaming GT) and noticed both boards are being reported as having issues with the built in audio system. This is a shame because this is also one of the great selling points of the board(s). Seems Gigabyte need to take a hard look at their implementation here.

Anyway for me I never bought either of these boards for their built in audio and only use my dedicated SoundBlaster ZxR card. No problems there. I guess my point is I still don't trust built in audio solutions regardless of who makes or implements them.

At any rate sorry to hear you guys/gals are having such issues here. Hope it gets resolved. I for one won't be messing with the onboard soundcard of the Gaming GT.

Peace  8)
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: SoundBlaster Problems on June 13, 2016, 04:50:21 pm
So, here I am two weeks after my post above.  The audio issues were non-existent for several days and then just now I was playing Overwatch and suddenly the awful screeching and underwater distortion came back in full force randomly.  The only thing I can do is restart my PC which will "fix it" for a while (until it comes back).

What should I do?  Contact the seller?  Contact Gigabyte for an RMA?  I really don't want to be without my board for several weeks.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: sygnus21 on June 13, 2016, 05:42:41 pm
Sad to say but if you want quicker answers and responses you might try the other Gigabyte forums here: Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club (http://Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club). Unfortunately this forum doesn't seem to be very active, and questions\comments can go unanswered for days, if ever  :(
 
 
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: SoundBlaster Problems on June 13, 2016, 06:05:14 pm
Sad to say but if you want quicker answers and responses you might try the other Gigabyte forums here: Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club (http://Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club). Unfortunately this forum doesn't seem to be very active, and questions\comments can go unanswered for days, if ever  :(
 
 

Link doesn't work.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Leppermessiah on June 13, 2016, 06:45:16 pm
Sad to say but if you want quicker answers and responses you might try the other Gigabyte forums here: Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club (http://Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club). Unfortunately this forum doesn't seem to be very active, and questions\comments can go unanswered for days, if ever  :(
 
 

Link doesn't work.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1571741/gigabyte-z170-h170-b150-discussion-help-and-owners-club-ultra-durable-and-gaming-editions
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: SoundBlaster Problems on June 13, 2016, 10:25:42 pm
Sad to say but if you want quicker answers and responses you might try the other Gigabyte forums here: Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club (http://Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club). Unfortunately this forum doesn't seem to be very active, and questions\comments can go unanswered for days, if ever  :(
 
 

Link doesn't work.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1571741/gigabyte-z170-h170-b150-discussion-help-and-owners-club-ultra-durable-and-gaming-editions

Thanks.  I've posted over at OCN for years and have already been in that thread.

I called Gigabyte tech support and the guy told me to try and reseat the amplifier.  He doesn't think it's a driver issue but probably something causing "interference" on the hardware itself.  A loose amp, he reckons, could be the culprit.  Makes sense, but I am doubting it.  Has anyone else tried this or tried replacing the amp with any success?
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: sygnus21 on June 14, 2016, 05:40:39 pm
Sad to say but if you want quicker answers and responses you might try the other Gigabyte forums here: Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club (http://Gigabyte Z170 \ H170 \ B150 Discussion, Help and Owners Club). Unfortunately this forum doesn't seem to be very active, and questions\comments can go unanswered for days, if ever  :(
 
 

Link doesn't work.

Sorry about that, don't know what happened but I see someone else posted the workable link. Good luck.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on June 16, 2016, 04:11:37 am
So, it's been over 2 month since I got rid of Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 motherboard and went with ASUS Maximus Viii Hero. So far I had not a single problem with ASUS and everything works flawless, including BIOS, which is a paradise compared to Gigabyte's garbage BIOS.
As I said before, I will never buy any Gigabyte products since Gigabyte don't care about their customers. I will be selling my Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 and buying ASUS ROG Strix 1080.
This was last time I bought anything from Gigabyte. Thanks for none careless customer support, Gigabyte!
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: legal on June 25, 2016, 08:33:59 pm
So, it's been over 2 month since I got rid of Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 motherboard and went with ASUS Maximus Viii Hero. So far I had not a single problem with ASUS and everything works flawless, including BIOS, which is a paradise compared to Gigabyte's garbage BIOS.
As I said before, I will never buy any Gigabyte products since Gigabyte don't care about their customers. I will be selling my Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 and buying ASUS ROG Strix 1080.
This was last time I bought anything from Gigabyte. Thanks for none careless customer support, Gigabyte!

A pity that in Brazil a mother board costs so expensive, I'm stuck with this card to my next upgrade and this was the worst I ever bought in my life, working with computers for 20 years, this board reminds me of the old PC chips so unstable and poor support. Audio onboard with wheezing is an unforgivable failure in a $ 200 card, problems with instabilities, slow boot-enabled xmp profile, windows need to be reinstalled every month since corrupts anything, it's a joke. Worst of all, lose hope, because already in the market for 10 months and has not a single bios to function properly so far.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: czar4you on July 07, 2016, 03:17:09 pm
Same issue here. I had re-installed windows 10 64bit and same issue. Played around with drivers and no luck.
Installed windows 8.1 64bit with drivers that came with CD and no issues with sound anymore. It sucks that im unable to fix this issue with widndows 12 because i really wanted to utilize DX12

In addition, i have noticed memory leaks with network killer nic software. Its easy to reproduce. Use utorrent, leave it running for x # of days and all the sudden 20GB of RAM is used. I fixed a issue by installing just a driver and not the software.

After this, im not sure if i will be getting a gigabyte product again. Asus most likely.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Allied10 on July 09, 2016, 07:17:13 pm
czar4you,

I've been having the same sound distortion and extreme volume problems with my Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT. I tried updating the BIOS and Sound Card drivers many times, with no avail.

I recently tried custom drivers for my onboard creative card (PAX drivers). So far they are working well. I installed them as "driver only", but plan to try the software suite if the problem remains fixed.

Here is a link to the download:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/community/threads/gigabyte-z170-recon3d-drivers-help.233458/ (http://www.hardwareheaven.com/community/threads/gigabyte-z170-recon3d-drivers-help.233458/)

-Allied
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on July 19, 2016, 12:33:54 am
So, here I am two weeks after my post above.  The audio issues were non-existent for several days and then just now I was playing Overwatch and suddenly the awful screeching and underwater distortion came back in full force randomly.  The only thing I can do is restart my PC which will "fix it" for a while (until it comes back).

What should I do?  Contact the seller?  Contact Gigabyte for an RMA?  I really don't want to be without my board for several weeks.
Sell the board and buy ASUS or MSI.
That's what I did. Sold the board and bought ASUS Z170 Maximus Viii Hero. Had this board for over 3 month now and no problems or whatsoever. Everything works flawless and overclocks so much better than that Gigabyte Gaming 7 garbage...
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: shadowsports on July 19, 2016, 02:31:44 pm
Has anyone with this issue opened a ticket with Gig. support?
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: legal on July 19, 2016, 08:18:30 pm
Has anyone with this issue opened a ticket with Gig. support?

Use this driver:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/nzetmrz751o6r3r/PAX_mb_driver_audio_creative_100series_2016_V1.00.7z

Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: SoundBlaster Problems on July 20, 2016, 06:37:17 am
Has anyone with this issue opened a ticket with Gig. support?

Yes, I have.  They told me to make sure my OP-AMP was correctly seated (it was) and then told me to send the board in if I wanted to replace it.  I declined because I will either get the same board back or another one just like it.  Screw that.  I am stuck with it.

However, I can say the third-party drivers have fixed my issue thus far.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: czar4you on August 02, 2016, 03:33:33 am
czar4you,

I've been having the same sound distortion and extreme volume problems with my Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT. I tried updating the BIOS and Sound Card drivers many times, with no avail.

I recently tried custom drivers for my onboard creative card (PAX drivers). So far they are working well. I installed them as "driver only", but plan to try the software suite if the problem remains fixed.

Here is a link to the download:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/community/threads/gigabyte-z170-recon3d-drivers-help.233458/ (http://www.hardwareheaven.com/community/threads/gigabyte-z170-recon3d-drivers-help.233458/)

-Allied

Thanks. Just installed it as just a driver. We will see what happens.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: shan2752 on August 04, 2016, 10:32:14 am

For those using headphones, a simple workaround to your problem is to use headphones that utilize a USB port such as the HyperX Cloud 2.  This headset has a separate DSP so you wont be using the onboard audio.  I'm using the onboard audio via the headphone jack but honestly I have a hard time noticing any difference.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Gosan on March 14, 2017, 09:15:19 am
I'm having the same issue with my board.  Did the posted drivers solve your issues? Downloading them now. Will try them in the morning.

The front panel microphone (for my headset) wasn't working either. I ended up getting it to work for about a week, but I forget what I did. Since then I had updated drivers, bios, etc... One of those things ended up causing the microphone to stop working, once more, and I have yet to get it running again. I've been using the back panel for the time being (with the random audio distortion issue). Would love to be able to use the front panel though if anyone has a solution for that, or if it is one-in-the-same it would be nice to knock out that problem as well.

Here's hoping the posted drivers are the solution. I will bump this thread with the link again below. If it works you may not hear back from me, but I will do my best to post a follow up in a week or two if no one else has by then.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/nzetmrz751o6r3r/PAX_mb_driver_audio_creative_100series_2016_V1.00.7z
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Sandokan on March 15, 2017, 04:36:59 pm
In my experience actually PAX drivers didn't solves audio issues with Z170X Gaming 7. Also Op-amp it is not the cause of broken audio (anyway this is a few cents $/€ component).
After a lot of test I found that there are some compatibility issues about Creative audio drivers. I found a lot of errors related to Creative drivers into the Windows Reliability Monitor. It seems that Creative drivers are not fully compatible with Windows and other audio devices.
I made test with RC1, RC2 drivers provided by Gigabyte and different versions provided by Windows Update. In my case I found this work around starting from a fresh Windows 10 installation:

- install Creative RC2 driver version without optional stuff (only drivers and control panel).
- install AMD graphic and hdmi audio driver provided by Window update (I have a R9 Fury)
- install last AMD drivers without updating AMD HDMI audio drivers
- deactivate "Turn on fast startup" option (https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-is-windows-10s-fast-startup/)

In this way I do not have errors into Windows Reliability Monitor and my audio issues dissapered magically. If errors appears maybe some driver was overwritten (in this case rollback it) and try again.

I opened a ticket to Gigabyte support and  they published 2 new driver versions in the while. I didn't made test with these 2 january driver versions provided by Gigabyte to avoid brokening something. I'm waiting that PAX will give a look to them before.

I suggest to you to give a look to Windows Reliability Monitor before attempt any action.

As a rule for the future I will avoid to bought any motherboard with Creative audio chip. Only Realtek...

Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Sandokan on March 26, 2017, 07:56:32 pm
I made another Windows 10 fresh install.

This time I let Windows Update install last Creative drivers then I installed ONLY the Creative Control Panel provided with last Creative drivers on Gigabyte's site (a custom install it is needed). In a second time I done a full AMD radeon installation. All things seems works good and I don't ave audio issues or driver errors. 
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Jsh4rp on March 31, 2017, 06:23:37 pm
Will a sound card that I put on psi fix this?
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: ZedZedski on April 04, 2017, 03:00:07 am
In my experience actually PAX drivers didn't solves audio issues with Z170X Gaming 7. Also Op-amp it is not the cause of broken audio (anyway this is a few cents $/€ component).
After a lot of test I found that there are some compatibility issues about Creative audio drivers. I found a lot of errors related to Creative drivers into the Windows Reliability Monitor. It seems that Creative drivers are not fully compatible with Windows and other audio devices.
I made test with RC1, RC2 drivers provided by Gigabyte and different versions provided by Windows Update. In my case I found this work around starting from a fresh Windows 10 installation:

- install Creative RC2 driver version without optional stuff (only drivers and control panel).
- install AMD graphic and hdmi audio driver provided by Window update (I have a R9 Fury)
- install last AMD drivers without updating AMD HDMI audio drivers
- deactivate "Turn on fast startup" option (https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-is-windows-10s-fast-startup/)

In this way I do not have errors into Windows Reliability Monitor and my audio issues dissapered magically. If errors appears maybe some driver was overwritten (in this case rollback it) and try again.

I opened a ticket to Gigabyte support and  they published 2 new driver versions in the while. I didn't made test with these 2 january driver versions provided by Gigabyte to avoid brokening something. I'm waiting that PAX will give a look to them before.

I suggest to you to give a look to Windows Reliability Monitor before attempt any action.

As a rule for the future I will avoid to bought any motherboard with Creative audio chip. Only Realtek...

It's been over a year since I opened this thread and I still see people having issues with this board. Just save yourself from headaches and just get rid of Gigabyte board and go with something more reliable, like ASUS or MSI. Ever since I got rid of this BS Gigabyte board back in 2016 April and went with ASUS Z170 Maximus VIII Hero I never ever had any problems with ASUS up until today. Yup, had this ASUS board for a year now and it is fantastic and just installed i7 7700k and you get full support from ASUS with BIOS updates and things work fantastic. Last BIOS update was February 12, 2017. They release updates at least once per 2 month and add support for new parts, like for example, last update added support for RAM that is over 4200 Mhz. This board on paper can't handle this RAM but ASUS made it happen through BIOS updates :-)
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: FakkOff on April 12, 2017, 04:36:01 am
Which (core) products???? FakkOff...

Because of this issue this will be the first AND LAST mobo I purchase from Gigafuk... Just saying.
At the end of the day it doesn't matter WHO'S at fault (Creative/Gigabyte) it matters who's name is on the box/board. Gigabyte has had OVER A YEAR to work this out with Creative. My guess, Gig has moved on and don't care about "previous gen" boards. Sad either way.... FakkOff!!
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Elsie on April 13, 2017, 01:43:07 pm
Happened to me again last night playing BF2 (yes two, I know it's old but it still has a lot of servers) and in the middle of a game BAM! massive sound distortion, especially with the in game voices. No choice but to reboot.

 I honestly think that Gigabyte don't give a flying fart for this "obsolete" board that I paid a premium for 18 months ago - and that sucks. My next board will not be from Gigabyte. It's not just this issue; it's looking at the videos from Jayz2Cents/Bitwit/PaulsHardware etc when they show the BIOS screens from other manufacturers. ASUS and MSI BIOS make Gigabyte BIOS look basic and dull.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: albert_ender on April 21, 2017, 05:06:14 pm
I have the same audio issue. randomally happens
The problem divided into 2 parts
1) when pc startsup no audio at all
     I solve the problem by shutdown+power cut+Restart pc
2) In any kind a session suddenly audio gets very noisy interference
    I solved it as I mentioned above

I believe that it is gigabyte audio chipset (gigabyte proud with this chipset shame of them)
If it is driver problem they do not think to solve and give us the solution

My motherboard is
G1.Sniper.M5
Win7 ultimate 64bit
This problem almost always I had and now too

Here Mr. Saruman said about the OP-AMP for this motherboard.
I think this issue
How can I be sure I have this chip on board and How can I replace it by another one (partNo?)


Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Pokey on April 22, 2017, 01:43:00 am
B U M P

Windows 7.
NVIDIA GEFORCE 970
BLAH
BLAH
BLAH
...the issue is the Motherboard/soundcard not my other specs.

This is a bummer, I have had my machine running for about 5 months now. Built around this motherboard GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 (rev. 1.0).

Im extremly dissappointed. My sound crashs frequently. Only fix is a restart, and it happens again. Most frequently it happens when in audio chat. The noise crashs to what sounsd like 8BIT and gets extremly loud. How can so many people have the same issue, and a solution has not been created? why did I leave Asus... I tried new drivers.... problem still happens... Not sure next step.  The other issue, while i have headphones and speakers plugged simultaneously. and boot up. THe speakers will not work. So i end up having to boot without the headphones connected, Then plug them in afterwards to back of pc... very annoying as its in back of computer desk hard to access. Sometimes if I unplug and plug in my audio jacks into the Golden ports in the back that gets the speakrs to work but then the headphones crap out.

All together......something is a miss with this onboard sound card? do i have options for sound cards.. 2 of what look like PCI slots a available? what can i do to get a new sound card instead of working with a PC i have to restart constantly to get good sound
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: albert_ender on April 22, 2017, 03:13:15 pm
Saruman hi,
Is Replacing another amp-op new chip solve the problem ?
Currently I have TI OPA2134 and with mobo I received another chip called by TI 4562NA.
If I replace the TI 4562NA into mobo will solve this xxxxx problem?
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Elsie on September 10, 2017, 05:45:10 pm
Yes, I know this is an old topic for an old motherboard but it is one that Gigabyte AND Creative have ignored.

In the end, I've bought myself a Logitech g430 headset and disabled the on-board audio card and uninstalled the Creative drivers. I'me absolutely convinced it is a driver issue as it would randomly crop up in the middle of a session and go straight after a reboot.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: albert_ender on September 11, 2017, 10:16:28 am
Yes, I know this is an old topic for an old motherboard but it is one that Gigabyte AND Creative have ignored.

In the end, I've bought myself a Logitech g430 headset and disabled the on-board audio card and uninstalled the Creative drivers. I'me absolutely convinced it is a driver issue as it would randomly crop up in the middle of a session and go straight after a reboot.

I believe as you wrote gigabyte & creative they have serious driver issue but they prefer ignore it.
This is the reason after 4 gigabyte sytems I have now first time I bought ASUS. no more gigabyte for me.

Something is not clear for me . If you disabled the on board audio how is your Logitech g430 headset can receive audio signals?
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Elsie on September 12, 2017, 12:15:17 am
Yes, I know this is an old topic for an old motherboard but it is one that Gigabyte AND Creative have ignored.

In the end, I've bought myself a Logitech g430 headset and disabled the on-board audio card and uninstalled the Creative drivers. I'me absolutely convinced it is a driver issue as it would randomly crop up in the middle of a session and go straight after a reboot.

I believe as you wrote gigabyte & creative they have serious driver issue but they prefer ignore it.
This is the reason after 4 gigabyte sytems I have now first time I bought ASUS. no more gigabyte for me.

Something is not clear for me . If you disabled the on board audio how is your Logitech g430 headset can receive audio signals?

The G430 Headset comes with a USB dongle that acts as a sound card. The headphones plug into the dongle and after I made sure I was getting sound via the USB dongle/headphones, I uninstalled the Creative software and on (forced reboot), went into the UEFI and disabled the onboard audio. All the sound is now processed via the USB dongle to my headphones.
Title: Re: Z170Z Gaming 7 Audio Problem
Post by: Horara FUNN on August 12, 2018, 08:23:59 pm
A lot of people complaint about sound distortion problem of the said motherboard, I have the same problem too. I did all the things you can think of trying to fix it but no way! ... ... Finally, I did a bold thing and I fix it!!!!

I spread contact cleaner at the codec chip heavily for two times (of course, with all power off and detacted), wait untill it all dried. And it got FIXED!!!! I have the confidence to do it before I don't have the problem for years until suddently it comes up. I tried everytings and it is not likely a hardware or software problem.

Anyway, try it at your own risk. Be sure to off power and wait longer for it to dry.