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Sound Blaster Live! EAX issues in Need for Speed: High Stakes

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First post, by DayDreamer2734

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I have an issue with both of my Sound Blaster Live! (SB0060 & SB0100) cards when trying to play NFS: High Stakes with EAX enabled.
First and foremost, VXD drivers are installed (4.12.01.0905).

The issue is when I'm racing on tracks like Celtic Ruins, over the cobblestone bridge, and Route Adonf, through the village on the cobblestone street the the audio will end up getting a terrible feedback squelch and audio clipping.
It is similar-ish to running the game with WDM drivers but not too bad in tunnel sections. The issue also occurs on both of my P3 systems.

I've tried a fresh install of Win 98SE/Me, sound/video drivers and just NFS: High Stakes to eliminate any conflict with other titles or software.
I have followed the EAX setting recommendations in the READ ME.txt in the game file. I have also tried to create my own EAX profiles adjusting chorus and reverb to see if I can alleviate the problem.
I have also followed Phil's recommendations in his video for the two ways to install the drivers.

Alas, the only way to solve my issue is to run it in stereo mode, which I'm fine with, but just disappointed that this is the only game that gives me this problem.

Any and all help is much appreciated even if it's just pointing me in a different direction.

Reply 1 of 5, by Zoomer

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You might try setting the "wave" slider to the 50% position. I found out that on live and post-live creative products wave slider behaves weird in Win9x. Its higher than 50% position often results in clipping (but not always) - be it analog or digital output.

MB: Asus P3B-F 1.03 (2x ISA)
CPU: PIII-S 1.4GHz/VIA C3 800MHz
RAM: 256MB PC133
Video: GeForce 4600Ti/Voodoo 5 5500/Voodoo 3 3500 for DOS Glide
Audio: SB16 OPL3 + Audigy Platinum Ex
OS: Windows 98

Reply 2 of 5, by DayDreamer2734

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Thanks for the information. I just got some new games for my Win98 machine so I will have to try playing with the wave setting this weekend.
I'll also dig deeper online and see if there is anything else I can find. I will also see if I can get a recording of it too and add it to the thread to give people a better idea of what is happening.

Thanks again!

Reply 4 of 5, by DayDreamer2734

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Yes, the game is patched to 4.50. I am running from an original game disc on all original hardware. No emulation or homebrew components in this system.

I'm getting ready to fire up my setup now a play with the Wave/DirectSound setting Zoomer described to see if that helps.

Reply 5 of 5, by DayDreamer2734

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So, I've found a couple sets of settings after playing with the EAX settings that gave me an enjoyable experience.
Follow the recommendations in the games read me file then change the Wave/DirectSound settings to either of the following.

Settings option #1:
Wave/DirectSound
Chorus: 25%
Reverb: 25%
Original Sound: 100%

Settings option #2:
Wave/DirectSound
Chorus: 35%
Reverb: 35%
Original Sound: 50%

I also think that if I read up on how EAX worked I might be able to fine tune it much better.

I appreciate the help and if there is any other input please feel free to add it.

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