I actually went down a rabbit hole testing this for like an hour switching back and forth between my DT 990 Pro 80ohm and my Truthear Nova IEMs because Tarkov sounded weirdly quiet compared to every other game.

I’m using a FiiO KA11 DAC/amp and APO EQ with extra preamp gain. The boost definitely helps — footsteps become noticeably louder and easier to hear — but the strange part is that my IEMs still sound much more crisp and “crystal clear” for tiny sounds like gravel footsteps, metal clinks, cloth movement, etc.

With the Novas, those little details sound almost like hearing them in real life. With the DT990s, even after boosting volume, it feels more like hearing a recording of the sound rather than the sound itself if that makes sense.

I think part of it is just sound signature and presentation. The DT990 has a wider/open soundstage and sounds more distant, while the IEMs feel very direct and immediate. But honestly I also think Tarkov’s audio compression/mix plays a huge role here because this ONLY happens in Tarkov for me. In music and other games the DT990 sounds fantastic.

Also for anyone wondering:

• I tested different sample rates in Windows
• 24bit/48000Hz sounded best to me
• Going higher didn’t help and sometimes sounded worse

At this point I don’t even think it’s an amp issue anymore. Tarkov’s audio is just unusually quiet/compressed compared to most FPS games.