Is it possible to turn off the built-in 'Lowpass filter' applied on all audio by engine

[unitedone3D]

Hi there! Back for more…(again, sorry)
2nd question (hopefully, won’t stay hanging/sent, in the void (I know that answers are ‘free’ from people’s generosity/free will/knowledge/public place for asking, am very thankful…and not guaranteed (paid/private custom) customer service, by Unity to you), it’s ironic because scripts all repeat the ‘void’ word in them, like ‘void Start ()’…here I am writing in the void);

I learned, in the last days of my audio venturing problems, that Unity applies a ‘Lowpass’ filtering to all audio – from the start, ‘built in’…I saw the AudioInspector ‘source code’…(it is only for reference); and on it…there is a part that says: ‘Lowpassfilter’…and in the ‘comments’ it says: ‘‘Apply a lowpass filter to audio sources’’.
So…I was like…ok, so Unity (decided) to put a low pass filter on all audio sources…which makes sense, to ‘equalize thing’ and set the frequency (hz) of sounds to work…but lowpass filtering reduces the quality of audio sources…

I mean, I ‘heard it’…when I listen to a sound clip…vs a sound clip Added to an AudioSource…there is difference; basically, the sound playing in the Inspector – using the ‘preview’ ‘play’ icon that shows the ‘file’s – visual waveform’…the sounds sounds better there/better quality…vs when I add that sound clip to any audio source…when I start my game…the sound sounds more Muffled…than the sound when played ‘on the preview Inspector’…of the sound clip.

So, this is where I thought, why does the sound sound better in the ‘Inspector’ of the sound clip…I found out that ‘editor’ AudioInspector.cs ‘source code’ base script…and it says that it applies a low pass filtering…to all audio sources (I never put any ‘filters’ on my audio sources…); so , it means, that it’s very likely that either it’s the audiosource itself…or the fact, that the inspector source code adds a ‘low pass filter’ ‘by default’ …to any AudioSource that has a sound clip on it.

I mean what else, can it be…that there would be a difference in quality of sound between the sound clip played in the ‘inspector preview’…of it…VS …the same sound clip…put on an AudioSource…and then you press ‘Play’ to ‘hear’ the sound ‘playing in the game’…and it sounds worse/lower quality?..

I never put Any Thing…on that Audio Source…just loading a sound file, that’s it that’S all…no processing whatsoever.
But, I think, that’s the reason why…this ‘built in’ source code (decision to put) a lowpass filter on all the audio sources/sound clips…is why it sounds worse…than the Original Sound Clip.

When I play my sound clip Outside Unity engine…like using Windows Audio Player/Media Player…it sounds Better…quality…than what Unity gives; It sound Exactly the same and playing 100% fidelity…but it does not sound Exactly like the how it sounds outside the Unity editor; in the editor/engine, it sounds worse.
At least, when I play the sound in the Inspector the quality is better there…than when I press Play and hear ‘in game’…this means that it’S the AudioSource that has the sound clip…the big problem.
The AudioSource…has no ‘lowpass filter’ or ‘highpass filter’ applied to it…but, as said, Unity adds a lowpass filter…in the source code of the EditorInspectorAudio file…from the start when you start the engine. So, it means, that it’s very likely, this ‘lowpass filter’ ‘applied built-in’…that creates the lower quality.

I know that, generally speaking, we can’t alter teh ‘Source Code’ of the engine…and stuck with that ‘limit’…is there a way to ‘tell’ the Unity engine…to not put this ‘all applied low pass filte’ on all audio?..

Or, at the least, just play the sound – like it sounds in the ‘Inspector Preview’ of a sound clip; just play it - exactly like in the ‘preview’ of it - when you press the little play ‘icon’ - on the sound clip itself (on its Inspector window). But, this exact sound (of the inspector preview) — In-Game - when I press ‘Play’ to play the game and hear how it sounds ‘in game/live’.

Thanks for any help again.

[unitedone3D]

Hey there! I ‘kind of’ solved the problem…it’s not 100%, but let’S 97%…there; pretty good.

[So, there is nothing to do about the audio inspector…it is what it is (source code)…and as such, there will be a slight loss…but minimal (about 3% or less); you must keep 2D audio sources (if you change for 3D spatial blend/3d audio sources…you will drop a lot more/reduce quality much more), so these results are only talking about 2D audio sources (In Audio Source scroll down and there is a ‘2D - 3D, spatial blend slider…slide it to the left completely so it’s complete 2D; the problem with this is you lose ‘3D depth’, and audio plays the same anywhere, the only solution is ‘2D volume fading by distance to camera’ script; but I did that…and it Also reduces source clip quality; the ‘2d volume’ lowering/increasing’ processing was enough to lose quality and the sound sounds processed/low res; so you must ‘cut’ the sources after a distance (the script must be turned off/on, so that audio source stops playing/starts playing depending the distance from camera), this way you avoid Any processing of the audio sources; and they preserve the quality of the sound clip (since, no processing)). Thus, again, this solution is only applicable for 2d audio sources that do no use any 3d spatial blend nor any 2d volume fading neither. Just ‘play/stop’ the audio sources, that’s it…by distance. Now, the sources remain the quality of the source clip. …I know, it’s not best…some people may not wish to avoid using spatial blend, because the 3D depth is important to their game…I understand, and as such, it is a trade-off here; you can’t obtain 3D depth/volume fading…but you get full audio quality of the sound clip; so, it is a decision, if you are willling to lose some quality - but - also - obtain the 3D depth of sounds, than skip this; and, simply, use the 3D Spatial Blend on the audio sources; If Not, and you do not want any substantial loss (in your view/your hearing of it) of audio clip quality…than this solution here could help, using 2D audio sources, as said. I, also noticed, that ‘Virtualize Effects’ in project settings, audio, normally speaking, you would not want it, because is processing; but, in the case, you do; there is a difference between Virtualize Effects ‘On/Off’…even if you don’t use Any virtualizing effects…this option adds a certain ‘depth’ to any sound; just by being ticked on; so, in this case, this specific option actually Improves the audio quality of clip, it does not reduce it (unlike the other processings); so, it’s why I left it on (even if I don’t do any virtual effects’ on the audio sources; perhaps, the virtual effects option triggers a sort of ‘surround’ processing; but a better one, than the 7.1 speaker setup.), you can tick it on/off and decide if you see (or should I say - ‘hear’) any real difference); it’s very subtle and could be my ‘slightly imagining hearing things/som pseudo-placebo effect’ micro difference…'…also.]

I noticed that the Real reason why I was losing sound quality…ws becaue in project, settings, audio,
I had put ‘Surround Sound 7.1’ for ‘Speaker Setup’; change that. I mean, the sound is pretty good with this one…but not accurate/loses quality; it adds a sort of 3dness (Surround) but is more ‘virtual surround’ (processing); and thus, there is a loss of quality in the sound clip. **Change it to **
‘‘Stereo’’ (and you must use 2D audio sources, as said, remove 3d spatial blend on audio sources)…again, I compared playing the sound clip in windows media player (original/outside unity) vs 7.1 (unity) vs stereo (unity). The best sounding is windows media player (unprocessed).
And, it’s clear, the most closest to that one, is Stereo. About 97% same; I would say 7.1 is about 90%.
You now the saying (is): ‘‘Excellence, …is in that last 10%…that takes ‘great’…to Excellent/Stellar’’.
That 10% difference can mean the difference between you selling 10 copies of your game vs 1 million. That 10% is now the difference between games that succeed and those that fail (because that
10% = ultra-polish; ultra-polish = / = polish/ok polish; …polished, ok or ‘enouhg…ok…
but not the same as ultra-polished; which is, what most AAA games get at). That 10% is what differentiates games that reach low/mid success, vs, those that become ultra-successes (and it’s down to that ‘last 10% ultra-polish’; sometimes, it’S also called ‘‘90% of the game’s polish/work is in that last 10%, to completion’’); sound is crucial for you game (evolution explanation: sound triggers mind even more than image, because sound sense is oldest sense, thus it triggers brain differently/faster…than vision; vision is a younger sense (millions of years younger than olfaction and smell; which are primitive/ancient sense - much more ‘tuned/atuned’ (many ancient animals - had no vision/no eyes/blind – but smell/audition)…(because it was protection for dangers in the past (‘fight of flight’ response’), during cave ages – hunting animals); and smell and sound – could detect the ‘unseeable’/obstructed from view/eye vision; hence, better at knowing the danger ‘ahead’…than vision/‘just seeing it upon seen’; hearing/smelling it happened long before and did not need the danger to ‘show up’ in front of your eyes…
but just ‘be around’, in the vincinity (hidden or not) was enough; if there was a smell or a noise/sound; and it is why, predators became ‘silent’ and ‘no smell/no trace’; to avoid detection…and only leave one thing – ‘seeing’ the predator with your eyes/vision; that was last resort).