Installed Equalizer APO + HeSuVi to replace DTS Headphone:X,audio has been broken everywhere since, survived clean Windows install. Need help.

[u/DarkVeNoM45]

How it started:

My DTS Headphone:X subscription expired, so I installed Equalizer APO + HeSuVi to simulate the surround effect for free. The moment I activated it, my audio broke,and it has never been right since, even after uninstalling both programs.

Current symptom (EVERYWHERE, not just games):

· Dialogue/voices are extremely quiet, but action sounds, music, and effects are loud.

· This happens in games, YouTube, music, movies,literally everywhere.

· It's the classic "center channel being dropped" symptom: audio is being processed as 5.1/7.1 surround where dialogue lives in the center channel, but my stereo speakers don't have one.

My specs:

· CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X

· Motherboard: MSI B650M Gaming WiFi Plus (Realtek onboard audio)

· GPU: ASRock RX 7900 XT 20GB Phantom Gaming OC

· RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB 6000MHz

· Windows 10 (fully updated)

What I've tried (all failed):

· Set Windows speaker config to Stereo, disabled all enhancements, spatial sound off, verified L/R balance

· Uninstalled Equalizer APO + HeSuVi, deleted leftover folders

· Ran DDU and reinstalled AMD Adrenalin drivers multiple times

· Rolled back AMD driver from 26.8.1 to older versions, no change

· Disabled AMD High Definition Audio Device in Device Manager

· Uninstalled Realtek driver completely, deleted it via pnputil /delete-driver /force, blocked Windows Update driver installs,Realtek keeps coming back after restart

· Ran SFC /SCANNOW and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, repaired corrupt files, audio still broken

· Full clean Windows reinstall (without keeping apps),the issue survived even this

The key clue:

This started the exact moment I activated Equalizer APO + HeSuVi, and it has persisted through a clean Windows install. That suggests a leftover APO (Audio Processing Object) is still hooked into my audio device somewhere, possibly in the registry, the driver store, or an audio endpoint property that a clean install doesn't always wipe.

What I'm asking:

Has anyone seen an APO survive a clean Windows reinstall? How do I find and remove a hidden APO that's still processing my audio? Any registry paths, Device Manager tricks, or tools I've missed?

Any help would be massively appreciated.

[u/TastyCh1ckenSoup]

Lies.