Learn how to adjust engine, ATC and cockpit sound volumes in any flight simulator, including radio-knob, add-on mixer and output-device fixes.
Open the simulator’s Sound or Audio settings, then balance the Engine/Aircraft, Cockpit, ATC/Voice/Communications and Environment sliders before changing Master volume. Names vary by simulator. If a category has no separate control, check the aircraft’s tablet, radio panel or add-on settings; some aircraft use their own mixer.
Which volume control changes each sound?
General-purpose flight simulators usually divide audio into several channels, although the labels and sounds assigned to them differ.
| Control | What it normally changes |
|---|---|
| Master | Every sound produced by the simulator. |
| Engine or Aircraft | Engine, propeller, rotor and aircraft mechanical sounds, sometimes with different interior and exterior levels. |
| Cockpit or Interior | Switches, levers, fans, airflow and some cockpit ambience. Warning tones may use another channel. |
| ATC, Voice or Communications | Built-in controller and pilot speech. Online ATC software usually has its own volume control. |
| Environment or World | Weather, ground vehicles, airport activity and other nearby aircraft. |
| UI or Music | Menu sounds, interface notifications and music rather than in-flight audio. |
The mistake we see most often is lowering Master volume to tame an overpowering engine. That also makes ATC and cockpit sounds quieter. Reduce the Engine or Aircraft channel first, then use Master only for the final overall level.
How do I balance the sound levels?
The most reliable method is to adjust one channel at a time in a repeatable cockpit situation.
- Choose the output device. Select the intended speakers or headset in the simulator if it offers that option. Confirm that the operating system has not muted or heavily reduced the whole application.
- Load a running aircraft. Remain in the cockpit at an airport where you can hear the engine, cockpit controls and a spoken ATC transmission.
- Set a reference level. Put Master at a comfortable level and leave the computer, television or headset volume unchanged while balancing the individual channels.
- Adjust the engine channel. Lower Engine or Aircraft until it remains convincing without masking speech. Check both idle and higher power because the apparent balance changes with RPM or thrust.
- Set cockpit details. Operate switches and controls, then adjust Cockpit or Interior. Avoid raising this solely to make one warning louder; that warning may have a dedicated channel or an aircraft-specific setting.
- Test ATC speech. Request or trigger a transmission and raise Voice, ATC, Radio or Communications until every word is understandable over the engine.
- Reload the flight. Some simulators and add-on aircraft apply audio changes immediately, while others need the flight or aircraft to be reloaded.
There is no universally correct percentage. A piston aircraft, open cockpit, airliner and military jet require different balances, as do speakers and closed-back headsets.
Where are the sound settings in different simulators?
The settings are normally under the simulator’s main Audio or Sound options, but older platforms and complex aircraft divide them differently.
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024: use the main audio options for overall aircraft, voices and other sound categories. Output-device routing and individual aircraft tablets can also affect the result. If channels remain silent, follow our MSFS audio-slider and output-device checks.
- FSX and Prepar3D: the principal sound page separates engines, cockpit, environment and voice audio. In FSX, the Voice slider controls ATC rather than engine or cockpit volume. Our FSX ATC audio diagnosis covers the related settings when speech is missing completely.
- X-Plane: the sound page commonly separates interior and exterior aircraft audio, radios and environmental sounds. Individual aircraft plugins may provide another mixer in a menu, tablet or cockpit panel.
- Complex add-on aircraft: look for audio controls in the EFB, tablet, configuration panel or aircraft menu. These can multiply the simulator’s global channel, so both controls must be above zero.
Why is ATC still too quiet?
Quiet ATC can be caused by the voice channel, the aircraft radio controls or a separate communications application.
- Raise the simulator’s ATC, Voice, Radio or Communications slider rather than Cockpit volume.
- Check the active COM radio, selected audio-panel receiver and radio volume knob where the simulator or aircraft models them.
- Make sure the avionics and electrical systems are powered. A correctly tuned frequency will still be silent if its receiver is off.
- If using online ATC, adjust that client’s own output device and volume. The simulator’s ATC slider generally cannot control a separate application.
- If speech is entirely absent rather than merely quiet, treat it as an audio or ATC fault instead of continuing to raise levels.
Why do the engine or cockpit sliders have no effect?
An aircraft-specific sound package may bypass, combine or reinterpret the simulator’s normal channels.
Test the same sliders with a default aircraft. If the default aircraft responds correctly, the add-on’s mixer or sound configuration is responsible. If neither aircraft responds, check the global audio output, Master volume and saved settings.
Also confirm that you are comparing the same viewpoint. Interior and exterior engine recordings often have deliberately different levels, and an external camera is not a useful reference for cockpit balance. In older platforms, replacement audio packages can change those relationships; our guide to aircraft-specific FSX engine sound packages explains how those sounds are assigned.
Can the operating-system volume mixer separate these sounds?
The operating-system mixer can usually change the flight simulator’s total volume, but it cannot separate engine, ATC and cockpit channels produced by the same process.
It becomes useful when online ATC, voice chat or an aircraft utility runs as a separate application. In that case, balance the simulator and communications client independently, then leave the simulator’s internal sliders to control its engine and cockpit mix.