Sounds in P3D

[ark 1,288]

I posted the below as a response in another forum, but thought it might be useful to post it here as well since Flysimware makes extensive use of custom sounds.

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P3D's overall sound settings can get a bit confusing, so just to further clarify (I hope!):

There are two types of sim related sounds: default sounds inherent to the sim, and custom sounds provided, for example, by an addon aircraft developer (I don't mean to imply that all addon sounds are necessarily treated as custom sounds, it depends on how they are used).

-- Custom sim sounds will go to the Win10 selected output device, say speaker 1 (or a headset, etc) in this example, as selected through the Win10 speaker icon on the taskbar (at least that's what happens for the addon a/c I have).

-- Default sim sounds will go to the output device selected through the sim's own sound selection menu, which could also be speaker 1 (as selected through Win10), or could be a different output device like speaker 2.

-- If you have selected speaker 1 both via the sim and via Win10, then both sounds will pass through Win10's volume mixer and so be affected by the mixer's settings. The volume mixer can be accessed via the speaker icon on the taskbar.

-- If you have selected speaker 2 with the sim's sound selection menu, then the default sound levels are not impacted by the Win10 volume mixer settings.

-- If you select DEFAULT in the sim's sound selection menu, then in effect you are selecting whatever the Win10 selected output happens to be. So selecting DEFAULT means ALL sounds are going through the Win10 sound mixer.

-- Some simmers make good use of the two speaker system to separate sounds. For example, you can send custom engine sounds to one speaker, and the default sounds to another to help simulate where the engine sounds are coming from (e.g. from behind you).

-- Notice that the volume mixer shows an output level going to the selected Win10 output device, speaker 1 in our example, and input levels coming from the various applications including the sim in our case. So the volume for the sim's sounds going to the mixer are impacted by both of these mixer settings; the sim's input level to the mixer, and the mixer's overall output level to the speaker.

-- If you change the Win10 selected output device with the sim running, you have to restart the sim for the change to take effect.

-- The sim's sound 'sliders' (engines, cockpit, environment) only impact the level of the sim 's default sounds. So decreasing these sliders can help make custom sounds easier to hear, and vice versa.

-- FSW suggests that you set the mixer slider to somewhere between 25 and 50 percent according to your preferences. Then go into the sim itself and set the sound sliders for the engines, cockpit,  environment, etc., as desired. So in essence you have to balance the sound volumes controlled by Windows with those controlled directly by the sim.

-- Finally, as always, if speaker 1 or speaker 2 have their 'own' volume controls, then they also have to be adjusted.

Well, I think the above accurately reflects my limited experience as I understand it, and I hope it makes sense. Additions or corrections welcome.

Al

Edited July 6, 2020 by ark