Realtek HD Audio low and bad quality sound after Windows 10 upgrade

I am using Sony Vaio laptop. Yesterday I upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.

After upgrading, the sound quality of Realtek HD Audio has become very bad and extremely low. There is no bass and the sound is distorted and screeching. I have tried updating the Realtek driver but that didn't change anything.

How can I fix my Realtek HD Audio after upgrading to Windows 10?


Had the same problem. What fixed it for me was to disable the Dolby Digital Plus effects.

Find the properties for your output device, click on the Dolby tab, then click on the power button to turn it off. You can even do it as you're listening to something to tell the difference. Not sure what effect Dolby was going for, but it makes everything sound like elevator music.


I used the following to increase the overall loudness:

  1. Right-click the Realtek HD Audio Manager icon in the system tray, and choose "Sound Manager".

    enter image description here

  2. Find and select the "Sound Effects" tab under the main volume slider

  3. Check the Loudness Equalization box (mine was not checked by default).

    enter image description here

  4. Click "OK" to close the Settings window.

This worked for me. Hopefully it works for you too!