Audio cuts in and out with spatial audio enabled (ATMOS)

[NotDJK]

I've tried searching the discussions but don't see an explicit mention as to whether this is a known issue or if a resolution exists.

Just purchased this evening and installed; with my headphones set to Atmos for spatial audio, all sound is choppy, cutting in and out. With spatial disabled, sound is normal.

Can anyone confirm if there is a known fix for this? Not a particularly optimistic start to my BG3 experience :(

[Scarr]

Yeah, disable that spatial audio crap and you'll have a better experience. It's a gimmick that nearly all games do not utilize and when you turn it on, it ends up causing problems. Nearly all games expect you to be using Stereo 2 channel headset and they setup their own audio engine ingame to account for that. The game will pan audio and has positional audio without using any windows based spatial sound engines.

[NotDJK]

Spatial works in literally every other game and media I use without causing problems, and when used properly it certainly isn't a gimmick. All I'm asking is whether this is a known issue or fixable for this game, but thanks for your opinion.

[Scarr]

It's a gimmick in gaming unless the game specifically calls for it and enables it in options. If the game does not offer support, don't use it. Don't really care what you do, but I'm letting you know and I think you are aware based on your own experiences. Atmos is OK when watching movies... and only in games that support it. This game does not, turn it off. PS I also purchased Dolby Atmos and I have turned off mine unless I watch a movie or use a game that has it in options.

[NotDJK]

Okay, thank you, that was what I was looking for. The game explicitly doesn't support it, then I'll disable.

[feek]

Just wanted to say I have the same issue. I don't think i'd say it's a gimmick - whether it is preferable is debatable. But what isn't debatable is that the audio shouldn't stutter whether or not it is enabled.

[nlwino]

"But what isn't debatable is that the audio shouldn't stutter whether or not it is enabled."

Exactly this, I understand that this game and most others do not really benefit from spatial audio. But I have a single device that I use for everything including watching movies. Suggesting that people have to constantly switch between audio settings in windows for a game is not a proper solution. It is just an annoying work around at best.

[DarkMantle]

I use Dolby Atmos for home theater when playing on my TV, I have a 5.1.2 setup with a Denon receiver and DALI speakers. The windows spatial sound setting is no gimmick by any means. It's what enables my setup to work properly with 3D audio.

With that said, my suspicion in your case is throughput. At least that's what can happen over HDMI, I assume it's the same potential problem for headsets. Are you using wired or wireless headsets? I have a wired one and I never had this type of problem with it.

[Dank Sidious]

Originally posted by Scarr:

Yeah, disable that spatial audio crap and you'll have a better experience. It's a gimmick that nearly all games do not utilize and when you turn it on, it ends up causing problems. Nearly all games expect you to be using Stereo 2 channel headset and they setup their own audio engine ingame to account for that. The game will pan audio and has positional audio without using any windows based spatial sound engines.

Most modern games recognize if your system is set to 5.1 or 7.1 and work accordingly.
The spatial audio thing isn't as common though.