Bluetooth Sound

[Tdaffy]

Only in DCS.

1)  Bluetooth headphones sound like I'm underwater, inside of a can.

2)  Checked and updated all drivers/updates...etc for the PC and DCS.

3)  Always check to ensure they are fully charged.

4)  No issues anywhere else outside of DCS.  (I can't clone the problem in any other game/software/environment)

5)  SRS on launch, and not on launch  (same result)

6)  Multiple bluetooth headsets tried with same issues.  All wired headsets work great right away.

7)  The bluetooth headphones will work randomly, sometimes, after I relaunch DCS a few times.

Is there any known issues that I've overlooked, and if so, where could I look into it?  Thank you for your help.

(I play DCS with Warbirds...so I've only experienced this problem with warbirds.  Not sure if thats an issue, but in case it is please let me know)

S!  Thank you.

[Tdaffy]

May have figured some of it out. From what I can tell (very much NOT a tech person), it appears as though….sometimes….dcs chooses to access my microphone and wether it’s muted or not, causes what sounds like a lot of pass through. I can just not allow any apps to access and that seems to prevent it from happening. Of course, I can’t use srs then, but at least I’m getting good sound. 
tried two different wired headsets….both worked fine with no issues even when I allowed apps to access. Tried three different Bluetooth headsets (one set earbuds), and each one had the same problem on multiple launches with and without any other software running. 
this is where I’m at for now. Any input appreciated. Thanks. 
(I reinstalled DCS once too). 

[Dragon1-1]

I'll tell you what's happening: DCS is using your "communications" device instead of the "listening" device. Bluetooth doesn't actually have the bandwidth to support both headphones and a microphone. What it does is split it into two devices that Windows sees. One for talking with a microphone, but crappy sound quality, and one with good sound, but no mike. If the wrong one is selected, you get that "inside of a can" sound because it's downsampled to fit through the bandwidth. Wired headsets work because they don't have this problem. 

What you need to do is make sure that DCS is selecting the correct audio device. However, that will indeed knock out your mike, because of inherent limitations of Bluetooth. You simply can't have both on at the same time. One way to get around that is to buy an external wired mike or to get headphones with a 2.4GHz radio link instead (these tend to be pricey). I use VR, so the headset microphone with sound from headphones also works (I removed the headset speakers because my headphones are better).

Edited March 9, 2024 by Dragon1-1