Terrible sound quality in Mac OS 10.15.6

[kelheor]

After update I found that sound quality is terrible - like in cheap 1$ speakers. This issue happens only on Mac OS - no issues on Windows (I have dual boot). I tried to update EFI and install ALCPlugFix - it didn't help. Maybe somebody have an idea on how to fix that?

[stevezhengshiqi]

Currently, there’s no good solution for sound quality issues. You could try different layout-ids or using third party apps like Boom 3D.

[kelheor]

Do you also have such an issue? Or it randomly occurs only on certain laptops?

[MarFre22]

Hi,

I have been using Boom 3D, which have a similar sound quality to Dolby Atmos (I think), but only boosts the sound quality on Headphones/earphones through Jack port.
After testing some audio "boost" apps, neither of them improve the speakers sound. Like you said, I can confirm the sound it's horrible (always was) really worse than windows.

Hope for some help.

[stevezhengshiqi]

Do you also have such an issue? Or it randomly occurs only on certain laptops?

There are situations that sound volume is smaller after the system update on my device. It’s not a problem for me since I am not heavily dependent on the speaker.

@MarFre22 I am pretty sure that no one would help on the sound issue. You could have a research on it on your own. I shared my development process on #96

[Menchen]

@MarFre22 You should check your speaker (Build-In Output) in the Audio MIDI Setup app (It's a system app that comes with macOS). It should be 2 channel 24-bit 48kHz.

On my testing the audio quality is good. I don't really remember how it was on Windows as I only used 2 days...
But the difference should be only post-processing...

[MarFre22]

@stevezhengshiqi
Thank you for referring your develop, I forgot it in the middle of so many issues. Thanks to you (and Menchen of course) for your heavy work!

@Menchen
I don't know how I didn't have that option like yours, thanks! Tomorrow I will test better.
Yes, it's a post-processing thing. In windows, without Dolby Atmos, the sound quality is more or less the same as the default in MacOS. But, for some reason, any sound enhancement app that, I tested, can't do post-processing on the speakers (headphones only).

[Menchen]

@MarFre22 It's in /Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup.app or /System/Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup.app Make sure that no headphone or BT audio device is connected.

Also using audio post-processing software is not recommended... It "may" cause malfunction to ALCPlugFix(Or maybe it just a hibernation issue on my side)... And In my opinion, the default sound is more natural... with Apps like Boom3D the audio sound "Fake" and loses details...

[MarFre22]

@Menchen
After some testing, the sound quality remains the same. I don't know why the audio enchantment apps doesn't work on speakers.

I haven't been affected by hibernation issues due to these apps (I think so...). In my case, I need it because it's the only way I could find in order to try to reduce the difference of sound quality between Windows+Dolby and Mac.

[kelheor]

Well, reupdating EFI again with script helped to return sound quality to previous level. No more crackling and hissing sounds even on default alert sound. Maybe something wasn't installed properly after update. I also set higher frequency (44.1 -> 48kHz) in MIDI app.

@MarFre22 Did you tested sound on different surfaces? For example, sound on wooden table and sound on cooling pad will be different, since speakers at the bottom of notebook.

[MarFre22]

@kelheor
Yes I tested on cooling pad and on my hands. Unfortunately, the sound on speakers with or without any audio enchantment app is the same, which is far worse in bass than Windows+Dolby Atmos (without Dolby atmos is more or less the same).

Thanks for mentioned that. I also have the crackling problem (after some time using the same EFI). Sometimes I can't fix it by cleaning just the kext cache. Did you apply the audio fix again?

[kelheor]

@MarFre22 No, but as I understand, this fix is mostly for headphones and I'm not using them.

[MarFre22]

Sometimes my hackintosh takes a while to start the apps in the menu bar. I saw on the console app there is a flood of warnings related with Sound. Maybe a malfunction with ALCPlugFix that @Menchen said?

• With SoundSource:
  erro 18:40:55.348526+0100 SoundSource AddInstanceForFactory: No factory registered for id <CFUUID 0x600000a139e0> F8BB1C28-BAE8-11D6-9C31-00039315CD46
  erro 18:40:55.382566+0100 SoundSource HALC_ShellDriverPlugIn::Open: Can't get a pointer to the Open routine
  erro 18:40:55.382921+0100 SoundSource HALC_ShellDriverPlugIn::Open: Can't get a pointer to the Open routine

• With CoreAudio:
  erro 18:40:55.628508+0100 coreaudiod HALS_Object_GetPropertyData_DAI32: the object does not implement the property
  erro 18:40:55.629129+0100 coreaudiod HALS_Object_GetPropertyData_DAI32: the object does not implement the property

• With SystemSoundServer:
  erro 18:40:55.635978+0100 systemsoundserverd HALC_ShellDriverPlugIn::Open: Can't get a pointer to the Open routine

• With Boom 3D:
  erro 18:40:58.510847+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellDriverPlugIn::Open: Can't get a pointer to the Open routine
  erro 18:40:58.511321+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellDriverPlugIn::Open: Can't get a pointer to the Open routine
  erro 18:40:58.511696+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellDriverPlugIn::Open: Can't get a pointer to the Open routine
  erro 18:40:58.577234+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellObject::HasProperty: initial inner method call failed, Error: 560947818 ()
  erro 18:40:58.577682+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellObject::HasProperty: initial inner method call failed, Error: 560947818 ()
  erro 18:40:58.578485+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellObject::HasProperty: initial inner method call failed, Error: 560947818 ()
  erro 18:40:58.578751+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellObject::HasProperty: initial inner method call failed, Error: 560947818 ()
  erro 18:40:58.579000+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellObject::HasProperty: initial inner method call failed, Error: 560947818 ()
  erro 18:40:58.579248+0100 Boom 3D HALC_ShellObject::HasProperty: initial inner method call failed, Error: 560947818 ()

[salvmontagna]

Hi,
I'm also getting this sound problem. It sounds like a computer closed inside a box. Any solution? I'm on mi notebook pro gtx version.

[stevezhengshiqi]

@MarFre22 That's because you are using third-party sound applications on a hackintosh. They are not designed to support Realtek sound cards on hacks.

@s-monti97 I am afraid not. Don't expect solutions from EFI.

[MarFre22]

@MarFre22 That's because you are using third-party sound applications on a hackintosh. They are not designed to support Realtek sound cards on hacks.

@s-monti97 I am afraid not. Don't expect solutions from EFI.

@stevezhengshiqi , oh it changes everything, thank you for the clarification. Would be nice to make a emulated layer that can make realtek hardware more friendly to these apps.

[ManuGithubSteam]

@kelheor @s-monti97

I would recommend a fresh install of 10.15.7. I did that and do not have sound problems. I even recorded the Sound in Windows and played it back in Mac to compare (because i found that thread before even installing 15.7). I would say they sound exactly the same. However audiophiles maybe can hear a difference from 10 % or so but they sound good. Been listening to ACDC for hours now....

Your data is not lost so i would just go for it.

[Ab2774]

Hi, I don't know if this is will work for you guys or not but I'm just sharing my experience:
In my old laptop with ALC230 and Kaby Lake-U processor, the audio quality was fantastic, just as it is on Windows, unfortunately, over time, the chassis broke, the hinge got loose, and the screen also broke, so I figured that it's not worth fixing, instead, I had another laptop with ALC236 and Kaby Lake-R processor, I transferred all my data to it and it's working fine, the only problem that I noticed is that the audio quality was so bad, the bass was unclear, I tried all of the layouts but all came with the same result, however, I copied the data from the layout20.xml (which is the layout I was using on my old laptop) of ALC230 to the layout14.xml (which is the layout I'm using on my new laptop) of ALC236 as an experiment, unexpectedly, the quality changed and it sounded just like it was intended, so, I'm gonna create a new layout which has the improved layout.xml.
The bottom line is that invalid values in the layout.xml can result in a terrible quality sound and changing them can resolve this issue.
Cheers!

[Kyeanu]

if you're still looking for solutions, after getting a slow and bad audio and got boom audio not working anymore since Big Sur Update, I finally found a small soft called SpeakerAmps which is brilliant to get a more normal audio volume and quality, just play with settings until you understand and fine a good setup