# Windows 7 (x64) Realtek no EAX , WTF?!



## RoutedScripter (Dec 13, 2009)

Hello 

I just installed Win7ultimate 64bit on an old 160GB samsung drive (from 2005 i guess) , well it's been a much better experience since I tried vista a year ago and win7 RC 2 months ago , MIRACLOUSLY the custom home LAN network share worked out of the box (but i disabled "simple file sharing" aka "file sharing wizard" first) The other PC has topology discovery installed from the last time vista testing it couldn't detect XP , but now it's all okay , it also didn't caused me a bios checksum error unlike win7 RC after some updates that did. Also a lot of more , how should I say , I felt a lot more "at home" than in all previous post-xp windowses (but it's still not a home like XP)

Well yeah , surprisingly COD2 installed nicely , runs nicely , and well , until , EAX 2 doesn't work , then , not even EAX 1 , NOTHING , i can't play the damn game with a freaking 8-BIT STEREO ?!?!? on an integrated Realtek HD 7.1 chip with 5.1 Logitech X-540 sorround system 

I checked "everywhere" , there were only tips for , Creative , separate , dedicated(mw2lol) sound card which I don't have , something called alchemy or what , and some other stuff like EAX emulator wtf I don't have idea , but WHO else than bad ol' M$ strikes back , and I mean , how nice it went now they CRAPPED the whole sound , d3 driectsound or what they said they removed out in favour of outrageously of some lol xbox xAudio on the freaking PC , what's next , again M$ give me a break.

This is just dumbing the PC down and making consoles go from rampage to domination , seriosuly this one with sound  , meh , I don't know what to say...

How it sounds ,  I don't think  it's even worth installing other games , just to add up , the system sound doesn't work well , either if I have set the settings , the 5.1 sorround , the volume ,the sound is very noticably weaker than on XP. 

I have the latest realtek R2.38 drivers , mobo is GA-P35-DS4(2.1) bios F14 , I mean , I made everything today so I downloaded every driver on this day....

This Realtek chip can handle EAX 2 , not more , quite old frankly  , but way better than miles 2D 

(For those that are wondering I still have XP on a 500GB drive , nice and clean  Probably will never format that one ... since , it's like rebuilding your house.


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## DirectorC (Dec 13, 2009)

'High end machine' & 'Realtek audio' = ???

Audigy SE.  $30.  Srs.


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 13, 2009)

DirectorC said:


> 'High end machine' & 'Realtek audio' = ???
> 
> Audigy SE.  $30.  Srs.




::That was fast and .... correct ,  I guess that's ... a pity.


There was much in my head about a sound card , but , what pulled me back , is the fact that a lot of people report crappy drivers @ Creative cards = a lot of game crashes , issues... 

Makes me wonder , well , truth is , i never had a sound card , never heard sound card sound improvement over integrated one , hmmm ...


The bottom line is , even If I get 80$ soundblaster , EAX 5 won't work either , (COD2 EAX3 max) ... not just cod2 i intend to try and play newer games too.  There's always XP however  

Half of it and more I say it's pretty much on blind , I don't know a lot about sound cards on PC.


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## DirectorC (Dec 13, 2009)

RuskiSnajper said:


> a lot of people report crappy drivers @ Creative cards = a lot of game crashes , issues



Usually with brand new cards under brand new OS.  Creative has gone from Audigy to X-Fi in the same time MS has gone from Vista to 7.  I never had a problem and haven't seen a whole lot of posts about Creative driver reliability issues.  Heck I was running this Audigy SE with X-Fi Xtreme drivers in Vista just fine.


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## Onderon (Dec 13, 2009)

the D3d direct sound was removed since windows vista, so now all the sounds are worked by hardware and cannot be emulated, this was very discussed at the time, but it was this movement that allowed other companies to fight with creative, like asus that now have one of the best soundcards of the market.

You will have 5.1 sound with the integrated sound but, as EAX used D3d you cant use it any more with integrated audio, creative made an aplication thats called alchemy that is used to bring EAX to games BUT it only work on creative soundcards, asus cards emulate EAX (activate it on the games), in your case you can download an aplication from realtek called 3D SoundBack, its on beta stage but brings back some of the EAX funtionalities to integrated realtek chips.

But as director said sound cards are cheap, i recomend you buy a creative X-fi or an asus sonar, you wont regret that purchase. you will have native EAX, and newer techs, better souind quality and more output power.


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 13, 2009)

Well yeah , probably would take the mid range card if I buy something , a card for around 70$ , I'll surely secure some stuff for it if it really pays off ,... 
when I was researching a bit about sound cards , half a year ago , came across that some entry level Xfi cards had an old Audigy chip ? forgot details...

What about this one http://www.mimovrste.com/artikel/28...und-blaster-x-fi-xtreme-audio-sb0790#pictures

That's about 80$ , I don't know if this one has a good price-preformance , but I think this one can do quite nicely , anyways , it says that only XP is supported (but the site might be wrong)

..oh that's not in english , silly me. take a look if you want anyways.

Zoinks.. I noticed the same card on another site for 30$ less , makes me want to grab it right now


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## Onderon (Dec 13, 2009)

dont buy that one thats the low range one, try to buy the extreme gamer.


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## 2wicked (Dec 13, 2009)

Did you try "3D SoundBack Beta 0.1" it's like alchemy for realtek

(Realtek 3D SoundBack restores audio effects, including surround sound, reverberation, and spatial effects, for legacy game titles when running on Windows Vista.)

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=14&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 13, 2009)

Ofcourse I did , I don't have idea how to operate it , doesn't start and doesn't look like it's working.

Not just eax , the sound overall is inferior to the one on the XP , let me guess , corporate bullshit, forcing us to buy new hardware.

Well , if I double click it , nothing happens , if I start as admin , it opens some 3 programs, 2 of dllhost then it closes it down in matter of moments.


Okay so I set the compatibility to Vista SP2,  and it works , now , let me set it up and test if EAX works in the game ...


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 13, 2009)

Well it wen't , weird ... but okay.


If I enabled COD2 in the 3D sound back , the game would crash upon black screen entering the game , if I set compatibilty to XP SP3 , ti would crash after some time in main menu , Vista SP2 compatibility , works ... but just , it applies the EAX and sorround effects right when you enter the game , but the sound still set to miles 2d , I could set up to EAX2 , it would confirm but it would crash when reloading , the EAX2 stays applied when reentering the game, so it works anyways , ... but so it does on the game level , not on the base level , this means the desktop still has the crappy sound.


Thanks guys , at least games work now  ,  on the other hand , WIN7 is the biggest scam in windows histroy , this is a modded vista , vista SP3  and it sold 4x more than vista it self , lol.  
Nice example of  "PC DLC".


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## assaulter_99 (Dec 13, 2009)

3d soundback works, you just gotta add the games in it and enable it. It s a pity it doesnt work with winamp though, so I m still waiting for a miracle fix.


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## Onderon (Dec 13, 2009)

well we just need to remember that its in beta and its the 0.1 version, and well its been almost a year since it came out it should have moved forward already. 

So they say its not compattible with all games.


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 13, 2009)

Hah , lol , I enabled , it started to work directly in the game as I mentioned before , but ...

It's unplayable ingame , it's like half-baked 3d mixed with software emulation , that makes me hear all the normal voices and sounds in the background , but I hear walk sound for miles at the front very lound , also it sounds really weird , but the effects are a little better it's noticably a higher quality sound and more deeper bass , but that's just something it's maybe set by the mixer in the software , anyways it's unhearable , and ingame EAX settings have half-effect , looks like I'll be playing games on XP for long long time. 

About that soundcard , I do think that 42€ is the best deal I get for that one , and I don't need more capable card cause you probably don't get 60% more value/performance , the gamer version is like 60€ more expensive.


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 14, 2009)

Now I solved the major part ...

For this werid sound , it's was the buffer setting in 3D sound back that was the isse , lowest buffer size from default 30 , to 20 solved the issue , also I don't have cod2 crashes anymore when selecting EAX or Miles 2D (when it reloads in the middle of game or in main menu) 

But something else popped up , the sound is FULLLY sorround with effects and EAX when I enter the game to main menu , but AS SOON AS a menu or button is clicked (with or without the mouse) the sound looses it's sorround capability also it looses some effect as the LOUDNESS noticably changes to lower and it's jumps back to Miles 2D in the settings , If I set to EAX2 ingame on the server , so no menu buttons pressed , i hear a full sorround sound for aabout a second then just looses it's loudness and it's stereo again.

Almost...


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## sixor (Dec 15, 2009)

eax on realtek is not true eax, also vista and win7 has no eax support

but i think i saw in realtwk webpage some program to bring eax back, still beta

i just don´t enable eax, that eats your cpu and fps


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## kamilos876 (Dec 18, 2009)

Why this program "3D SoundBack Beta 0.1" doesn't work on Windows 7?? When I turn on this program, nothing happend :/


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## assaulter_99 (Dec 18, 2009)

It works only with games btw. Have you added then enabled the games?


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## kamilos876 (Dec 18, 2009)

I change Compatibility Mode in 3DSoundBack.exe on Windows Vista(SP2) and now working


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 18, 2009)

kamilos876 said:


> I change Compatibility Mode in 3DSoundBack.exe on Windows Vista(SP2) and now working



Yes , me either. 

Also make sure you set the lowest buffer size to 20 from 30 , to prevent the weird sound.


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## overclocking101 (Dec 18, 2009)

my realtek is borked on 7 as well though not the same issue. my issue is with my 7.1 surround system it wont work at all! nor will 5.1! I have to run my damn speakers at the stereo setting just to get things work work and sound right. its a pitty really it is


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## PP Mguire (Dec 18, 2009)

Sound issues in 7 are all in the drivers. My Titanium Fatal1ty works perfectly and i even use EAX5 in BF2 with the 1.5 patch. 

Its not simply Windows 7 or Vista thats causing your sound problems. The dirvers from the manu (In your case realtek) dont have them optimized correctly to issue hardware level commands to do what the software commands would normally do in an emulated environment (Aka XP). In other words, unless you have an actual Creative chip in your card (some high end P45,P55,X58 onboard addin cards) then everything "EAX" is emulated via software from a purchased license through Creative. In simple, you dont technically have EAX support on a hardware level meaning in Windows 7 you dont have EAX. 

I hope i didnt confuse at all. Its not like EAX is a big deal anyways and as was said if you have a high end machine and sound is that important to you, or EAX for that matter, then purchase an EAX certified sound card. Creative, Asus, and Auzentech all sell XFi chipped based cards that have Windows 7 support.

I have no sound driver issues with crashing whatsoever. All the problems you have heard about or Googled are based off the terrible Creative Vista support for the XFi cards when Vista was first released. This has been resolved for a long while now (before 7 beta).


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## RoutedScripter (Dec 18, 2009)

I really don't care much if it's emulated or true or whaever EAX , it's the OPTION EAX that enables SORROUND that's tied with so , I am really pissed of at MS and crappy realtek drivers and the stupid Creative making a monopoly of some EAX allinone pack , and game devs stupid enought not to put MORE freaking sound options , I mean how CRAPPY these games get , there's volume , and Mhz , And provder , in cod2 , now look MW2 sound options , it's only volume , so I HATE this DUMBING and noobing down kind of plugnplay crappy style of freaking gaming , I mean PC gaming is getting DUMB down , everything is OUT OF THE BOX like consoles and MPs are build for noobs , matchmaking make me sick.  

UT3 is the last example of how the damn settings should be , LOOK you have a "FOV" setting , now tell me HOW many games have "FOV" to set in their settings, pretty much you can count them on 2 hands.

I think this is ALL connected it's all PAIN in the butt.  EAX command makes me SORROUND , i really don't give a DAMN shit about stupid creative proprietary effects , i just want the FREAKING sound to be 5.1 and I don't need any effects if this means that I get sorround , why can't people make this work , why can't somebody like us the PC community make workaround , ... hmm , OH wait , WIN7 and ViStA is crap , nobody plays games on this , no wonder then , it's all a magical circle , you always get to the same result .... it's all CRAP @ PC after XP. 

I don't think that everyone realized here , that I HAVE SORROUND 5.1 speakers , and WIN7 DOES NOT HAVE SORROUND WITH ALL SETTINGS CORRECT. Desktop sounds SUCK. As well as everything ELSE from this god damn OS.

Ofcourse it's terrible support , it's also the OS it self, MS forces some crap on us , WIN7 should be released in 2010 , without any VISTA or any other OS in the middle at ALL. Then it would be a good product , and a good shift towards new generation.


I am seriously tempered .... but not at anyone here in particular hehe.  I think most of people have this same problems , just , this is the explanation I think suits quite a lot of people incl me.


IF anyone's save PC gaming , then it's got to be DNF, that's something no other game can MAKE me think otherwise. ever.


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## PP Mguire (Dec 19, 2009)

Your trying to play old games designed for the old sound API. Of course its gonna make you geared more toward XP. Newer games do 5.1 and other surround without having to enable an EAX option. I have had 5.1 headphones since before 7 came out and have had no problems with doing 5.1 in games.

And most everybody here is using Windows 7 so id say saying nobody plays games on it is pretty far fetched. 

And....MW2 has the option to change speaker config from Windows default to whatever you like.


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## jwh7 (May 1, 2012)

*How to enable BF2 true surround sound for Vista/Win7 (this shouldn't matter for X-Fi)*

I'm posting this because I came across this thread as part of my research into the title's intent.  And it is related to the original subject.    So, in case the same happens to someone else, hopefully this helps...
----------------------------------------------------------
Preface (if you don't care, skip to Procedure):
  After avoiding it for months (installed Win7x64 last summer, then started playing some BF2 again a couple months ago), I finally spent some time digging into BF2's OpenAL surround sound not working in Vista/Win7.  There have been lots...and -lots-...of forum postings all over the place describing file replacements for this, with the OpenAL router/wrapper/native files, none of which worked.  Then there are the EAX questions and ALchemy/SoundBack DirectSound translators adding to the confusion.  Anyway, I researched this for a couple evenings, and finally managed to fix it.  Pretty easy, once you know how.    After searching for the files involved, I actually found a forum posting about it, although it didn't have details for x64 Windows.  Do not confuse this with emulated surround sound (Dolby Headphone and ProLogicI/II/IIx).  I did try PLIIx with my ALC889A (enabled via the Windows Sound device properties' Dolby tab), and it worked...uh...better than I expected, but nothing like true discrete surround sound.
  That said, I've only tested this fix on my main system, and stereo on my laptop.  And for digital output, you'd need Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect to encode the surround channels to PCM, if that works at all for Vista/Win7 under OpenAL.  Lastly, I'm not sure if BF2142 has this issue, but if so, it would be basically the same fix; its the same architecture.  But, eg, if BF2142 makes the enums selectable, this wouldn't matter.  I've not played it.  I seem to recall that Star Wars Battlefront II used the BF2 engine, so it could possibly be architected similarly; I couldn't find details on it.

Procedure [standard reminder/disclaimer to backup any changes you make]:
1. Run BF2 and set Audio renderer to 'Hardware'; this must be done first.  I use: Hardware, High quality, EAX enabled (though EAX and/or acceleration may not be supported anyway).  If this isn't done, BF2 may report that 'the audio settings are incompatible'; and then you can't change them without first reverting back to the original files. (see '1b' below*)  This likely varies with the actual audio hardware.
2. Install OpenAL (formerly openal.org), which is currently at:
http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/Downloads/oalinst.zip
3. Copy the 32-bit version of OpenAL32.dll from:
x86 32-bit: c:\windows\system32\
x64 64-bit: c:\windows\syswow64\ [x64's 'system32' directory is for 64-bit libraries]
...into the Battlefield 2 install directory
Rename the existing/original BF2OpenAL.dll to BF2OpenAL.dll.bf2 or something, then rename the copied OpenAL32.dll to BF2OpenAL.dll
4. Download the latest OpenAL Soft from: http://kcat.strangesoft.net/openal.html
5. Copy soft_oal.dll (from the .zip's win32 directory) into the BF2 install directory (do not rename); copying it to the system32 (or syswow64) directory alone will not work

*1b.  A more robust method to #1 above, especially if you didn't do that step, is to change the default "game.setHardware" to 1 in:
  [BF2 install]\Profiles\Local\Default\sound.con
Depending on access permissions, sound.con might need copied out (or 'Saved As') to the desktop, modified as denoted, then moved back into the BF2 folder.  With this method, at least for my systems, even if BF2 complained about 'incompatible settings', this defaults the audio renderer to 'AUDIOSETTINGS' to allow you to then select 'Hardware' (don't select 'Software'!).

I tested multiplayer to see if PunkBuster and/or BF2 Servers would complain about the OpenAL file changes (and the sound.con change), and it worked fine.  As a control, I then tested my shaders pack (made from the Forgotten Hope mod to fix the Radeon HD3/4xxx series' "black blotches" issue, among other improvements [7-if you're curious]), and it did indeed complain about that.  Therefore, it appears BF2/PB doesn't care about OpenAL changes, luckily.

Detail:
  First, as this still shows up in forums...EAX has nothing to do with using surround sound.  Its is simply for applying per-voice sound effects, irrespective of the number of channels.  Some sound cards were able to do EAX with hardware acceleration prior to Vista (and Realtek was found to not implement the occlusion/obstruction aspects of it correctly, but later 'fixed' it [1]).  Last I knew, only EAX 1.0 and 2.0 were made open standards, so other manufacturers could support them.  However, the wiki page indicates that OpenAL can do up through EAX 4.0 [2].  It appears that the Creative redist of OpenAL supports EAX (see "OpenAL extensions" below).  I'm not sure if they're accelerated (perhaps through ALchemy and maybe SoundBack); but it doesn't matter anymore, given the speed of modern hardware.  OpenAL Soft appears to not support EAX extensions (see its "OpenAL extensions" below), but only OpenAL's own DSP; EFX.

Why BF2 surround doesn't work by default in Vista/Win7, and why OpenAL Soft fixes it:
  This is because the 'Generic Hardware' enumeration was removed for Vista/Win7 OpenAL (with the loss of DirectSound [3]), and thus defaults to the 'Generic Software' enum, which only provides stereo output for BF2.  Note that BF2 has an X-Fi enum through OpenAL for those cards, which is why (AFAIK) X-Fi's don't have an issue with surround/EAX (either through the BF2 wrapper BF2OpenAL.dll or Creative native driver wrapper ct_oal.dll...not sure; I don't have an X-Fi).  Anyway, the game's original wrapper doesn't have an enum for the Windows speaker type setting.  This is evident here (running openal-soft-1.14-bin\openal-info.exe, with files tested in Win7x64's SysWOW64 directory):

-BF2 v1.50 BF2OpenAL.dll renamed to OpenAL32.dll (Changelog from v1.41 says "Updated BF2OpenAL.dll from version 1.1.1.0 to version 2.1.8.1"):

```
Available playback devices:
    Generic Software on Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
    Generic Software on Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Available capture devices:
    Microphone (Realtek High Defini
    Realtek Digital Input (Realtek
Default playback device: Generic Software on Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default capture device: Microphone (Realtek High Defini
ALC version: 1.1

** Info for device "Generic Software on Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)" **
ALC version: 1.1
ALC extensions:
    ALC_ENUMERATE_ALL_EXT, ALC_ENUMERATION_EXT, ALC_EXT_CAPTURE, ALC_EXT_EFX
OpenAL vendor string: Creative Labs Inc.
OpenAL renderer string: Software
OpenAL version string: 1.1
OpenAL extensions:
    EAX, EAX2.0, EAX3.0, EAX4.0, EAX5.0, EAX3.0EMULATED, EAX4.0EMULATED,
    AL_EXT_OFFSET, AL_EXT_LINEAR_DISTANCE, AL_EXT_EXPONENT_DISTANCE
EFX version: 1.0
Max auxiliary sends: 1
Supported filters:
    !!! none !!!
Supported effects:
    !!! none !!!
```

Note that:
1. Only 'Generic Software' is available (no 'Generic Hardware' nor Windows Sound enums)
2. Various EAX versions are supported (or at least listed) in the OpenAL extensions

Now, looking at Creative's OpenAL redist (versions OpenAL32.dll 6.14.357.24 and wrap_oal.dll 2.2.0.5), the only difference is: ALC version: 1964477653.2686916

Btw, the OpenAL default wrapper, wrap_oal.dll, does work, renamed in BF2, but still doesn't give surround sound for the same reason as above (that is, no change to the available/default playback devices), though it might improve other things [4].  Again, 'Generic Hardware' isn't available in Vista/Win7.

To see how the router/wrapper/native files work, see [5].  Basically, the router OpenAL32.dll looks for other *oal.dll files, to provide the wrapper/native enums.  For example, the non-free BlueRippleSound OpenAL driver is rapture3d_oal.dll [6] (would be interesting to try out their User edition...), and Realtek's DS3D translator uses rtk_oal.dll (I did try the latter, to no avail, as part of my testing).  This is why OpenAL32.dll replaces BF2OpenAL.dll as part of the fix; so it can look for other wrapper files, specifically:

If we add the OpenAL Soft wrapper to the system directory, we get:

-OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll and soft_oal.dll:

```
Available playback devices:
    Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
    Generic Software on Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
    Generic Software on Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Available capture devices:
    Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
    Realtek Digital Input (Realtek High Definition Audio)
    Microphone (Realtek High Defini
    Realtek Digital Input (Realtek
Default playback device: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default capture device: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
ALC version: 1964477653.2686916

** Info for device "Generic Software on Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)" **
ALC version: 1.1
ALC extensions:
    ALC_ENUMERATE_ALL_EXT, ALC_ENUMERATION_EXT, ALC_EXT_CAPTURE, ALC_EXT_EFX
OpenAL vendor string: Creative Labs Inc.
OpenAL renderer string: Software
OpenAL version string: 1.1
OpenAL extensions:
    EAX, EAX2.0, EAX3.0, EAX4.0, EAX5.0, EAX3.0EMULATED, EAX4.0EMULATED,
    AL_EXT_OFFSET, AL_EXT_LINEAR_DISTANCE, AL_EXT_EXPONENT_DISTANCE
EFX version: 1.0
Max auxiliary sends: 1
Supported filters:
    !!! none !!!
Supported effects:
    !!! none !!!
```

Hooray!  The Windows Sound enum, 'Speakers...', shows up as available and default; and this setup works in the BF2 folder.  Unfortunately, the 'Generic Software' device is what gets queried, and (I presume) this is why this combination still doesn't provide surround in BF2.

Now, if we instead use -only- the OpenAL Soft wrapper (and rename the default one, wrap_oal.dll), we get...
-OpenAL32.dll and soft_oal.dll:

```
Available playback devices:
    Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Available capture devices:
    Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
    Realtek Digital Input (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default playback device: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default capture device: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
ALC version: 1964477653.2686916

** Info for device "Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)" **
ALC version: 1.1
ALC extensions:
    ALC_ENUMERATE_ALL_EXT, ALC_ENUMERATION_EXT, ALC_EXT_CAPTURE,
    ALC_EXT_DEDICATED, ALC_EXT_disconnect, ALC_EXT_EFX,
    ALC_EXT_thread_local_context, ALC_SOFT_loopback
OpenAL vendor string: OpenAL Community
OpenAL renderer string: OpenAL Soft
OpenAL version string: 1.1 ALSOFT 1.14
OpenAL extensions:
    AL_EXT_ALAW, AL_EXT_DOUBLE, AL_EXT_EXPONENT_DISTANCE, AL_EXT_FLOAT32,
    AL_EXT_IMA4, AL_EXT_LINEAR_DISTANCE, AL_EXT_MCFORMATS, AL_EXT_MULAW,
    AL_EXT_MULAW_MCFORMATS, AL_EXT_OFFSET, AL_EXT_source_distance_model,
    AL_LOKI_quadriphonic, AL_SOFT_buffer_samples, AL_SOFT_buffer_sub_data,
    AL_SOFTX_deferred_updates, AL_SOFT_direct_channels, AL_SOFT_loop_points
EFX version: 1.0
Max auxiliary sends: 4
Supported filters:
    Low-pass
Supported effects:
    EAX Reverb, Reverb, Echo, Ring Modulator, Dedicated Dialog, Dedicated LFE
```

Voila, the Windows Sound device is available, default, AND queried.  And...surround sound finally works (when setup in the BF2 folder, per the Procedure)!  Just having soft_oal.dll in the system directory doesn't work, for some reason; it must be in the BF2 folder.  Unfortunately, you'll note that no EAX extensions show up in the 'OpenAL extensions'.  I did some testing with this fix, with and without EAX, and it didn't seem to make a difference.  I also tried the original files (in stereo) with EAX, and it did seem that sounds occluded more with distance.  I wouldn't say it was necessarily more realistic (I'd expect to hear a tank from quite a distance), but different.  Regardless, I would -much- rather have surround sound than EAX anyway.  It is, after all, why I just wrote all this.  

[1] http://techreport.com/articles.x/11171, with a followup at: http://techreport.com/discussions.x/12970
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Audio_Extensions
[3] http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/OpenAL Wiki/OpenAL® and Windows Vista™.aspx
[4] Changes and bugfixes for wrap_oal.dll: http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/Downloads/Forms/AllItems.aspx
[5] http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/OpenAL Wiki/Enumeration with OpenAL on Windows.aspx
[6] http://www.blueripplesound.com/compatible-games
[7] http://www.battlefieldsingleplayer.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16430&view=findpost&p=177619


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## Smartcom5 (Dec 15, 2012)

*Thank you very well!*



jwh7 said:


> […]It is, after all, why I just wrote all this.
> 
> […]



I _really_ like such those posts which actually sums up from the very basics to the highest end while grant someone a huge background on information and a real deep insight on it!
Thanks in advance, helps me _alot_!


In this sense

Smartcom


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