No voices with headphones

Hi all,

I've just been setting up my new computer and have come across a very strange issue. Whenever I watch any video, on chrome for example, I can't hear any voices when i'm listening through my headphones. Listening through the standard speakers is fine, but with headphones they're either gone completely or replaced with some garbled mess.

I'm using the built in sound on my Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI motherboard, and the Realtek HD Audio Manager that was installed with the drivers. I've been reading around and it says that there is a karaoke mode that removes the voices, but from what I can see that is disabled already.

Has anyone else had this problem, and can shed some light on how to sort it?

Sounds like a hardware problem. Issue with the cable, or the connectors. Does it still happen if you plug the headphones into the rear audio connectors rather than the front?

Check the headphone cable is fully inserted at both ends, and that the front panel connector is fully pressed onto the motherboard, also test the cable for loose connections or try another one.

What headphones are you using?
If they are meant for portable use and have a 4 pole plug then it's possible to have a connection mismatch, which can, in some cases cause the frequencies that cover vocals to be cut dramatically. I had to resort to using an extension lead that works with both 3 and 4 pole 3.5mm connectors between the headphones (IEMs in my case) and the sound card.

I started to get issues like this with my old headphones - it was solved by pulling the connector slightly out of the socket, but you had to get it in exactly the right position (so those phones have been retired).

They are Gioteck ones that I originally got for use with my PS4, but had been using them with my old PC with no problem. I've just read on their website though that because they have a built in mic that when using them with a computer that has separate green and pink jacks you need to get a splitter.

Could that be the problem? As they are headphones and a mic in one, that just plugging them into the headphone jack doesn't work?

Does the same thing happen with both ports on the back and the front?

I've tried it in all the ports in the back, with most of them I don't get any sound out at all. When I plug it into what the software identifies as a general speaker port, I get sound when I test it within that software, but then nothing anywhere else

Just tried it with some standard headphones as well, without a mic attached, so there's definitely nothing wrong with the headphones

So you get the same problem with standard headphones?

I was thinking what rids57 has already mentioned, that it could be because the headset has a 4 pole jack; which is certain if they have a microphone and only one jack.

PC audio doesn't use combined audio out and microphone sockets like smartphones and tablets, so the extra 4th channel can cause a mismatch. You need a splitter adaptor to separate the headphone audio from the microphone, into the 2 separate 3.5mm jacks for PC use.

If you're getting the same problem with standard headphones though, then it's likely that can't be the problem, or at least there is something else which is contributing to the problem.

Odd though, if speakers work fine when connected to the same socket that the headphone do not work properly from. Speakers use the same 3 channels any standard pair of headphones will; left and right audio channels and ground. What should work for speakers, should also work for headphones.