PS4 Overall Volume (Still) Too LowPS4

[diesel97]

If it was just a matter of turning a knob. It wouldn't be a problem..... it's the online rooms, balance.

So every online room has a different volume? not in my experience

 

[ThaFlash_LA]

I understand that volume is lower than most games but is really an issue? Every game I own I have to adjust the volume. If I played Pcars1 at 25 volume (in general) and I have to play Pcars2 at 35 so what. My volume goes to a 100, just push a few buttons and enjoy. Every different game, shooter, horror, etc need to be adjusted

A couple things. 1: It's not just the volume, it's the volume of specific sounds and frequencies. You can't just increase the volume of the low end engine noise unfortunately.

The second one, which doesn't affect me at all, but seems to be an overall PS4 issue is for people with headphones. You can easily hit max volume on your headphones and still have the game volume be not as loud as you want. This will require you to use an amp to get some volume, and that may add extra distortion. Plus, usually maxing out the volume on headphones results in some distorted sounds.

I don't care about voice chat volume. You can adjust that separately and independent of game audio, and I just run a separate headset purely for voice chat.

 

[yogi bear]

So every online room has a different volume? not in my experience

The engine volume, tires, chat room, etc. do not all have separate volume knobs.
What I was saying is, p1 volumes were all good. P2 volumes not. Many agree with me.

 

[yogi bear]

I just did some tests, LFE at 65, then 85, then 100. I tried the 320tc, amg gt, m6 lm, and sesto elemento.

Helmet cam definitely muffles sounds.

There’s some droning rumble coming from the engines, but as you get higher into the powerband, the low frequency effects die down. And if you’ve ever been in a car you know that higher rpms does not translate into less vibrations.

The sound quality, clarity and surround effects are great though.

Nothing more annoying to me than hearing a Lamborghini engine through my front speakers in cockpit view while playing forza.

Now, you might be thinking that I just have my sub turned down low, but with the same settings, the entire building shakes during marvel movies, and is actually a bit much in the Batman films, and if you want to play a Migos, or 21 Savage song, you better give a warning.

Replays are much much louder, a bit bassier , nothing like what you would actually feel, but I’d really like replay type sound in cockpit.

Some tuning with my receiver and I have it at a good spot in the M6 lm car.

Edit: last sentence and spelling.

I just did some tests with my head set...put in p1....sounds good. Put in p2 not so good...
Sorry, I'm not fluent in technobabble.

 

[Gr8_Lakes]

I understand that volume is lower than most games but is really an issue? Every game I own I have to adjust the volume. If I played Pcars1 at 25 volume (in general) and I have to play Pcars2 at 35 so what. My volume goes to a 100, just push a few buttons and enjoy. Every different game, shooter, horror, etc need to be adjusted

Yup, for me it's an issue. I have every adjustment maxed out, but I still want more volume. This wasn't the case in Project Cars 1, where I used about 85%-90% volume. Granted, I like the noise, and I like it loud. I listen to music loud, and I listen to my headphones in racing sims loud. My ears, my choice in every other game I've played on PS4 and XBox One, but just not even an option in PCars 2. I don't have PCars 2 on XBox One, so I don't know if it also has an issue on that console.

As @yogi bear explained, when racing in online lobbies with voice chat, the voices of your friends completely overpowers the sound of the car (I'm pretty sure that's what he meant by balance). I mix the volumes so that the car is at max (100), and chat volume is just loud enough to hear clearly. Still, I can hardly hear the car when somebody is speaking. This applies to both the in game chat as well as party chat. Again, completely different experience in PCars 1 and every other sim I play.

Unfortunately, my play time is pretty limited to when the the rest of the family is in bed sleeping, so headphones are a must for me.

 

[yogi bear]

Yup, for me it's an issue. I have every adjustment maxed out, but I still want more volume. This wasn't the case in Project Cars 1, where I used about 85%-90% volume. Granted, I like the noise, and I like it loud. I listen to music loud, and I listen to my headphones in racing sims loud. My ears, my choice in every other game I've played on PS4 and XBox One, but just not even an option in PCars 2. I don't have PCars 2 on XBox One, so I don't know if it also has an issue on that console.

As @yogi bear explained, when racing in online lobbies with voice chat, the voices of your friends completely overpowers the sound of the car (I'm pretty sure that's what he meant by balance). I mix the volumes so that the car is at max (100), and chat volume is just loud enough to hear clearly. Still, I can hardly hear the car when somebody is speaking. This applies to both the in game chat as well as party chat. Again, completely different experience in PCars 1 and every other sim I play.

Unfortunately, my play time is pretty limited to when the the rest of the family is in bed sleeping, so headphones are a must for me.

Yep...that sums it up nicely. However I do not expect a favorable response if any from Ian bell or any moderators.
From some of the previous responses I read, they do not take kindly to critique.

 

[ThaFlash_LA]

@Gr8_Lakes regsrding the chat/game volume balance; I have had similar issues with other games. I can’t help you with that. I think it’s really hard to balance that sort of stuff. I play a lot of rainbow 6 and wildlands with my friends and during firefights I’m not hearing the chat. If I’m hearing the chat well then I miss a lot of game details.

Headset for chat and speakers for game audio is my solution.

 

[Napalm_LT]

That’s funny, I feel like today’s games are being made for the lowest common audio denominator. PCars has good sound, I wouldn’t consider it great. There’s a lot more clarity to be had, way more of the frequency range can be used, and it feels like it’s optimized for 2 speaker headsets rather than a 7.2 system.

I briefly owned the PS4 platinum headset, I returned it after a day because even with sony’s Proprietary 3D spatial audio ona first party game, it was pretty inferior to real surround sound.

You won’t have the same quality of audio through lossy codecs and DAC’s and wireless transmitters that you will with dedicated solid state amps and processors, and heavy wired setups nor should you expect to. When it comes to audio there’s still no substitute for size when you want big sound.

I play only with PS3 7.1 headset and can't understand what are you talking about guys. I don't have any complaints due to PC2 volume at all. Yes it quieter that PC1, but I just turn up volume a bit and have volume level I like (it is far less than max). I also have Logitech G933 headset, but don't use them in PC2 due incompatibility to mute chat audio when need. I use PS4 pro

 

[Scaff]

I play only with PS3 7.1 headset and can't understand what are you talking about guys. I don't have any complaints due to PC2 volume at all. Yes it quieter that PC1, but I just turn up volume a bit and have volume level I like (it is far less than max). I also have Logitech G933 headset, but don't use them in PC2 due incompatibility to mute chat audio when need. I use PS4 pro

The issue is if you don't have a 5.1 / 7.1 headset or AV system.

As these have the ability (in most cases) to deal with lower compression audio, the only downside being that the initial volume is lower (as many have said, just live when you play a Blu-ray).

Those who do not have these options however are stuck, as no compressed audio options (which are better for TV speakers, etc) are available with PC2.

Two options do exist which may help.

Either switch on the headphone mix (even if you are not using headphones) as this may put some form of compression in place. Note that PC2 says your PS4 output has to be stereo for this to work.

Or if your TV has one, put it in Night Mode, as this will compress the audio.

If anyone could try either of these options it would be interesting to hear if they think it helps.

 

[Georgeagea]

I play only with PS3 7.1 headset and can't understand what are you talking about guys. I don't have any complaints due to PC2 volume at all. Yes it quieter that PC1, but I just turn up volume a bit and have volume level I like (it is far less than max). I also have Logitech G933 headset, but don't use them in PC2 due incompatibility to mute chat audio when need. I use PS4 pro

For me the main issue is the inability to lower the in-game chat volume in online racing.
When we will be able to do that, the balance will be shifted and game sounds will be higher.
In fact, I believe that the game sounds are low BECAUSE of that very high in-game chat volume! Think of it as party chat balance options when you crank it all the way to the "party chat" side of the balance! The problem is that it's not modifiable!

The other main issue is that the game itself is quieter than other games but yeah we can increase the volume.

EDIT: I also can only play using my headphones! I have the Kingston HyperX Cloud 2. I plug it in USB and enable the virtual 7.1 surround sound! It does improve the sound a little bit but it doesn't solve the issue at all. It just amplifies the sounds and give it some kind of hall effect (in racing games).

 

[yogi bear]

The issue is if you don't have a 5.1 / 7.1 headset or AV system.

As these have the ability (in most cases) to deal with lower compression audio, the only downside being that the initial volume is lower (as many have said, just live when you play a Blu-ray).

Those who do not have these options however are stuck, as no compressed audio options (which are better for TV speakers, etc) are available with PC2.

Two options do exist which may help.

Either switch on the headphone mix (even if you are not using headphones) as this may put some form of compression in place. Note that PC2 says your PS4 output has to be stereo for this to work.

Or if your TV has one, put it in Night Mode, as this will compress the audio.

If anyone could try either of these options it would be interesting to hear if they think it helps.

What was the problem with pc1 sound? Why not put pc2 sound back to pc1?

 

[Scaff]

What was the problem with pc1 sound? Why not put pc2 sound back to pc1?

That depends (right now) on what you are listening to PC2 on.

On my system I would not swap back to PC sounds, yes I do have to turn the volume up, however the mix is better overall in PC2, the spacial placement and panning is better on PC2 and the sample files are of a lower compression (and may even be lossless). All of which is great if you happen to be listening with a system that can deal with that.

However if you not then it simply sound a lot quieter and with a lot of the detail missing, as most TV speakers and headphones can recreate the dynamic range required, resulting in quiet audio that seems empty and lacking in detail, particularly at the extremes of bass and treble.

 

[OdeFinn]

@Scaff what's your thoughts about this?

"Humans hear frequencies from 20 Hz up to 20,000 Hz. The lowest bound, 20 Hz, with a wavelength of nearly 20 meters, is a frequency we feel rather than actually hear. This test helps you benchmark the lowest limit of your audio system's frequency extension.

Because of their increased wavelength (nearly 20 meters at 20 Hz), achieving high output at low frequencies usually requires large drivers (subwoofers). Headphones or earbuds, have less trouble playing back those low frequencies despite their small size: by sealing your ear canal, they create a volume that acts as a pressure chamber. This phenomenon is totally different from what you hear when listening to a speaker playing in the open air. Without the cabin effect — another name for the same phenomenon — earbuds would produce hardly any bass.

A sealed space, or pressure chamber, lifts the low frequencies by 12 dB/octave below a frequency related to the dimensions of the enclosed volume. With an ear canal that is approximately 2 cm long, this magical frequency is located at about 5 kHz. With more than five octaves separating the bass range from this frequency, imagine the bass boost!"

Btw. Tested (again) my headset and it playback from 20Hz clearly.
For simple testing links with low frequency test files:
https://www.genelec.com/audio-test-signals
http://sinan.ussakli.net/basstest/

 

[yogi bear]

That depends (right now) on what you are listening to PC2 on.

On my system I would not swap back to PC sounds, yes I do have to turn the volume up, however the mix is better overall in PC2, the spacial placement and panning is better on PC2 and the sample files are of a lower compression (and may even be lossless). All of which is great if you happen to be listening with a system that can deal with that.

However if you not then it simply sound a lot quieter and with a lot of the detail missing, as most TV speakers and headphones can recreate the dynamic range required, resulting in quiet audio that seems empty and lacking in detail, particularly at the extremes of bass and treble.

As I said in earlier posts. I am using the same headset with bass boost. It sounds fine on pc1. I never heard any complaints about the sound in pc1. Why was it changed to spacial placement, panning, lower lossless compression bob loblaw bob loblaw. Majority of players do not have a technobabble sound system.

 

[Scaff]

@Scaff what's your thoughts about this?

"Humans hear frequencies from 20 Hz up to 20,000 Hz. The lowest bound, 20 Hz, with a wavelength of nearly 20 meters, is a frequency we feel rather than actually hear. This test helps you benchmark the lowest limit of your audio system's frequency extension.

Because of their increased wavelength (nearly 20 meters at 20 Hz), achieving high output at low frequencies usually requires large drivers (subwoofers). Headphones or earbuds, have less trouble playing back those low frequencies despite their small size: by sealing your ear canal, they create a volume that acts as a pressure chamber. This phenomenon is totally different from what you hear when listening to a speaker playing in the open air. Without the cabin effect — another name for the same phenomenon — earbuds would produce hardly any bass.

A sealed space, or pressure chamber, lifts the low frequencies by 12 dB/octave below a frequency related to the dimensions of the enclosed volume. With an ear canal that is approximately 2 cm long, this magical frequency is located at about 5 kHz. With more than five octaves separating the bass range from this frequency, imagine the bass boost!"

Btw. Tested (again) my headset and it playback from 20Hz clearly.
For simple testing links with low frequency test files:
https://www.genelec.com/audio-test-signals
http://sinan.ussakli.net/basstest/

You do know that LFE drops below 20Hz?

My tactile amp, and it's was tactile users that SMS had in mind with the LFE boost, runs with frequency as low as 5Hz.

As I said in earlier posts. I am using the same headset with bass boost. It sounds fine on pc1. I never heard any complaints about the sound in pc1. Why was it changed to spacial placement, panning, lower lossless compression bob loblaw bob loblaw. Majority of players do not have a technobabble sound system.

That's not a question I can answer, only SMS would be able to.

 

[ThaFlash_LA]

@Scaff what's your thoughts about this?

"Humans hear frequencies from 20 Hz up to 20,000 Hz. The lowest bound, 20 Hz, with a wavelength of nearly 20 meters, is a frequency we feel rather than actually hear. This test helps you benchmark the lowest limit of your audio system's frequency extension.

Because of their increased wavelength (nearly 20 meters at 20 Hz), achieving high output at low frequencies usually requires large drivers (subwoofers). Headphones or earbuds, have less trouble playing back those low frequencies despite their small size: by sealing your ear canal, they create a volume that acts as a pressure chamber. This phenomenon is totally different from what you hear when listening to a speaker playing in the open air. Without the cabin effect — another name for the same phenomenon — earbuds would produce hardly any bass.

A sealed space, or pressure chamber, lifts the low frequencies by 12 dB/octave below a frequency related to the dimensions of the enclosed volume. With an ear canal that is approximately 2 cm long, this magical frequency is located at about 5 kHz. With more than five octaves separating the bass range from this frequency, imagine the bass boost!"

Btw. Tested (again) my headset and it playback from 20Hz clearly.
For simple testing links with low frequency test files:
https://www.genelec.com/audio-test-signals
http://sinan.ussakli.net/basstest/

You won’t be able to tell anything meaningful without being able to hook up the audio line of your headphone to a meter that will measure what frequencies it’s trying to play.

Your best bet is to find something that will stress your headphones entire dynamic range. How well can it play 15 different sounds ranging from the lowest to the highest frequencies? And run it from your PS4 because that’s whats processing your audio.

 

[IfAndOr]

as no compressed audio options (which are better for TV speakers, etc) are available with PC2.

Have you (or more correctly anyone having a problem) tried turning on the headphone mix option? I'm not entirely sure what it does but it does sound different when enabled. Maybe less spatial placement, maybe a different audio compression or maybe just a different balance to the sounds.

I am sure that most people playing the game are not using high end audio equipment like @IfAndOr

I wouldn't exactly call it high end. The amp and surround speakers are about 12 years old and the woofer and other speakers I bought in the late 80's.
After a bit of soldering to fix some dry joints it still sounds good though.

 

[OdeFinn]

You do know that LFE drops below 20Hz?

Starts from 0Hz, but where you can utilize it?
I.e. Your receiver produces signals from 20Hz, it's not every receiver which can go under 20Hz.

 

[OdeFinn]

Your best bet is to find something that will stress your headphones entire dynamic range. How well can it play 15 different sounds ranging from the lowest to the highest frequencies? And run it from your PS4 because that’s whats processing your audio.

That's exactly what I did, and give opportunity to others do same, giving links to those test files.

Oops. DP, sorry.

 

[Gr8_Lakes]

Have you (or more correctly anyone having a problem) tried turning on the headphone mix option? I'm not entirely sure what it does but it does sound different when enabled. Maybe less spatial placement, maybe a different audio compression or maybe just a different balance to the sounds.


I wouldn't exactly call it high end. The amp and surround speakers are about 12 years old and the woofer and other speakers I bought in the late 80's.
After a bit of soldering to fix some dry joints it still sounds good though.

I've tried EVERY adjustment available. That's how I learned the volume is better when running a wire from the tv's headphone port to my headset. But tonight is league night, and I need to use wireless headphones in order to use the voice chat, and allow my wife and son to sleep. So I'll be bumming about the muted cars all night.

 

[Scaff]

Starts from 0Hz, but where you can utilize it?
I.e. Your receiver produces signals from 20Hz, it's not every receiver which can go under 20Hz.

My reciever (as with most AV separate receivers) doesn't power the sub, rather you use an active sub with its own amp. The receiver is just passing the LFE and sub mix to whatever has been connected to the sub out.

In my case that's the sub (20 Hz) and my tactile unit (5 Hz), so yes I can utilise it.

 

[ThaFlash_LA]

That's exactly what I did, and give opportunity to others do same, giving links to those test files.

Oops. DP, sorry.

The ones you linked hit one frequency at a time. I’m talking about something more like the THX tests, but unfortunately you can’t really replicate what’s going on with your PCars samples without seeing what frequencies it’s trying to replicate, and finding something that mimics those to compare. All that is probably way more expensive and trouble than getting a decent headphone amp, or even mediocre 5.1 amp.

 

[Gr8_Lakes]

So I discovered this new annoyance after switching from the muted volume of USB /wireless sound to my headphones. When I use the headphone jack on my TV, and then split the signal with my phone via Y adapter to my headphones, so that I can hear Crew Chief from my phone, I get this huge lag after the Crew Chief speaks. Every time Crew Chief gives me information, there's about 1.5 - 2 seconds of dead air before I can hear my car again. I don't get this lag when I use the USB port, but then we're back to the low volume issue again. There's just no good solutions around this problem. How hard is it to make volume louder in a video game? Just crank it up for crying out loud. Every other game I've played has figured this out.

 

[ThaFlash_LA]

Can you not have chat audio break out to your controller? I’ve never done a game without party chat on the PS4

 

[gigio79]

@IanBell , @The_American . After discussing this with several online players, I'm convinced this is a problem. The overall volume is just too low, and has to be maxed out on headphones. Even when maxed, PS4 headphone users desire the ability to raise the volume more. Some PS4 users have also expressed a lack of volume providing input to their Buttkickers, so they're not getting the proper "kick" from those. This is an official request to have the overall game volume increased on the PS4 platform. If anyone can contribute their specific experiences, that would be great. (This is not a thread to tell us about your um-teen thousand watt surround sound system that's serving you just fine). Thank you.

I don't think is a PS4 problem, may be is something else, I am using PS4 since2 years and played many games, never had audio problems, is not low, absolutely, audio is high and clean.

 

[yogi bear]

He is not saying PS4 is the problem. It is project cars 2 (pc2) is the problem when played on the PS4

 

[Gr8_Lakes]

Can you not have chat audio break out to your controller? I’ve never done a game without party chat on the PS4

Are you referring to the Crew Chief I talked about. Because I was talking about the 3rd party Crew Chief - not the in game one. The 3rd party app gives a lot more information than the in game Crew Chief.

 

[Harry Freq]

A video of comparing cars 1 & 2, 1 the buttkicker works fine and 2 it doesnt.



Something is seriously messed up with the sound in pcars 2 as on my Astro A50's i need to have it at the loudest volume at all times while other games it's about halfway. I do have a 5.1 system that cost me just shy of 2 grand and using that it has to be louder than all other games but going from 1 & 2 the difference is really noticeable it's like everything is muffled in pcars 2 or the sound levels are all mixed up while cars 1 and AC sound incredible on either the surround or A50's. Weird how sms have dropped the ball so much on sound and graphics.

 

[Gr8_Lakes]

A video of comparing cars 1 & 2, 1 the buttkicker works fine and 2 it doesnt.



Something is seriously messed up with the sound in pcars 2 as on my Astro A50's i need to have it at the loudest volume at all times while other games it's about halfway. I do have a 5.1 system that cost me just shy of 2 grand and using that it has to be louder than all other games but going from 1 & 2 the difference is really noticeable it's like everything is muffled in pcars 2 or the sound levels are all mixed up while cars 1 and AC sound incredible on either the surround or A50's. Weird how sms have dropped the ball so much on sound and graphics.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[chopz]

A video of comparing cars 1 & 2, 1 the buttkicker works fine and 2 it doesnt.



Something is seriously messed up with the sound in pcars 2 as on my Astro A50's i need to have it at the loudest volume at all times while other games it's about halfway. I do have a 5.1 system that cost me just shy of 2 grand and using that it has to be louder than all other games but going from 1 & 2 the difference is really noticeable it's like everything is muffled in pcars 2 or the sound levels are all mixed up while cars 1 and AC sound incredible on either the surround or A50's. Weird how sms have dropped the ball so much on sound and graphics.

I've been repeating myself like a recording on this, the general level is likely adjustable with minimal effort (this has been done). However, the audio capture and/or re-mastering of the audio is really what is required.

As it stand the sound engineer did a horrendous job and removed nearly all the frequency below 150hz - ish. This is why we have nearly tactile or subwoofer activity. The youtube video is a demonstration of what all of use with tactile or subwoofers are experiencing.

I turned my sub off and don't use it anymore, no point. Just wasting electricity.