Solved! Sound only working on left side

dargx · Mar 26, 2018

Hi everyone:

I just bought a new setup:
- ASUS B350M-A
- Ryzen 1400

After a fresh install (Windows included), everything was ok, but a few hours ago I noticed that the left channel on both speakers and headphones didn't work.
I can hear the sound properly on both right channels, but in the left one, are completely muted (speakers) or very weak (headphones).They both are working properly on other devices, so I assume is a MB problem or a drivers one.
I already checked balance. As a curiosity, I plugged another headphones (the one I used for listening music, whic works without any problem) and...surprise, left channel does not work.

I tried whit almost drivers I can found (MB drivers, Realtek...), switching AC97 or HDAudio on MB...
Could anyone help me? Because it will be very annoying refuse a new MB just for that (anyway, I think first would buy a sound card...).

Thanks a lot.

Ralston18 · Mar 26, 2018

First plug in the known working headphones and listen for a minute or two.

Take hold of the audio plug and gently see if there is any wiggle or movement in the audio ports. Does the left side audio come back?

Next, I would power off, open the case, and check all the connections and cables to ensure all are fully and firmly in place.

Also carefully inspect the inside of the audio port using a bright light. Look for some piece of debris that may be interfering with connectivity.

If there are no loose or obviously broken component the it could be that after a few plug-in's and unplugs the port/MB failed in some manner.

Somewhere you cannot see.

Refusing the MB would be annoying but something else may go wrong later.

You paid for a working product.

dargx · Mar 26, 2018

Thanks so much for the answer.

1) I hold the audio plug but the sound doesn't come back.
2) I did a fully inspect inside the case and didn't see anything suspicious.
3) I know I paid for a working product, but here in my country it's holidays so a refuse would take around 2 weeks...and I need to have a PC for work.
4) If it really was the MB, would a sound card (PCI or USB) might solve the problem? It's a cheap solution and, if the MB starts to give me more problems, obviously I will make us of warranty.

Now, I was making a quick research and found that my MB has separate channels like this:

And, my led does not do a "continue path", it starts the orange light near the backplate, stops while "cross" under the PCIExp slot, and then appears back at the bottom of the MB. But, maybe the image it's just for marketing purposes and my MB is fine because I don't know someone else with the same MB to compare the LED path.
Could help?

Thanks in advance.

Ralston18 · Mar 27, 2018

Not familiar with the "value" of the LED paths with regards to effectiveness and audio quality. Will defer to other posters who have used the technology.

Yes: an inexpensive audio card or USB audio device could be a good interim solution.

Just be sure to match the audio card to the motherboard slots. Compare and double check the requirements. Verify that there are up-to-date drivers available.

dargx · Mar 28, 2018

Thanks for the answers. I will buy an audio USB card just for trying: if it doesn't fail, I will assume MB is the problem and I will refund it.

As an update, now the left speaker (and just the speaker, not headphones) has started to sound but veeery weak. Untill last night, the speaker was completely mute, but now, the left headphone (which was making some sounds, but very weak) it's completely muted.

Froberg · Mar 28, 2018

It does sound like you're in need of a motherboard replacement. Alternatively you can often times get sound from HDMI on your GPU instead, might be worth a shot rather than buying a soundcard you'll just need to toss. That way you effectively bypass the motherboard.
It does sound like a motherboard issue though.

dargx · Mar 28, 2018

Yes, it seems MB, so bad. Now the left speaker is crackling.
I just bought a cheap USB sound card on Amazon just for testing, and, if the sound card works, I will refund the MB next week.

Thanks for the answers.

dargx · Mar 29, 2018

Just for update: received and plugged an USB sound card, and everything works fine. So MB failure confirmed.

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