Audio is using "imaginary" center speaker of my 2.0 speakers

[Shalrath]

Hi,

Since one of the recent updates of my Arch Linux (sorry for not keeping track of the wine versions installed), I have the following issue:

I noticed that in several games (Skyrim, Wolfenstein: The new Order, Bulletstorm), I can't hear characters talking anymore when I look at them directly. When I turn 90°, I hear them from the correct side of my stereo speakers.

I think of this possible explanation: Somehow wine is set to 5.1 surround. When I directly look at the character who is talking, his voice is output through the center speaker, which I don't have.

I already used winecfg to set all my audio devices from 5.1 to stereo, but this didn't change anything. The games don't have such a setting in their menus. Before said system update, I didn't have this problem. I am using ALSA directly with no sound server in between.

Thanks in advance!

[dimesio]

The symptoms sound exactly like https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37957, but the users in that bug reported that the controls added to winecfg fixed the problem for them. Comment 19 in that bug mentions that the interface is somewhat confusing, so please make sure you really have set the output device that Wine is using to stereo. You should also check your system sound settings to make sure that the default device is set to stereo.

If it's neither of those, try reinstalling the games to a clean wineprefix in current Wine. It's possible that some old registry setting or other tweak may be interfering.

You might also want to try using a sound server. I am using Pulseaudio with winealsa (no winepulse), and have not experienced any problems with the voices in Skyrim.

If none of that works, file a bug.

[Shalrath]

I just figured out that winecfg is not the solution, but the cause of the problem. I checked, and all my devices are set to Stereo just as the description in the bug tracker advises. So i started over with a new wineprefix and I could select my sound cars as stereo device in Wolfenstein (which shows the speaker configuration but can't change it). After running winecfg once (and setting my devices to stereo), my default sound card disappers from the selection in Wolfenstein. I can still acess it using "system default", but this is 5.1. I never got it back under its real name and the 2.0 option. So just never run winecfg after creating a new wineprefix and everything is fine.

[dimesio]

If you haven't upgraded to 1.7.43, do so; it includes a fix for https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=38313, which may be the problem you're seeing.

[Shalrath]

Seems to be reproducible. Created a new wineprefix, started the game without ever running winecfg and my 2.0 sound device was there again.

P.S.: I am using 1.7.43. I'm always talking about the sound settings menu that has been introduced by said fix.

[dimesio]

This might be fixed by commit ed318c91f2edae0b37c6a9483eae05c9f594dea4, which changes the default to stereo instead of 5.1 surround. If you can't test current git, test 1.7.44 when it comes out.