Front audio mystery

[ConorBenstead]

When using the front headphone connector the lows/bass is non-existent but the highs are relatively normal, the mids sound underwater. The rear connector is fine, the connection inside the case is correct as the connector has worked perfectly previously, other front connectors are fine.

I have tried blowing in the connector with compressed air to clear obstructions but no help as well as checking headphones are not the issue.

Thank You

 

[C12Friedman]

I'm somewhat surprised that you got good sound from the front panel audio jacks at all. IMO, using the front panel audio jacks should be a last ditch consideration only if your cables are not long enough to use the motherboard's rear audio jacks. The cable from the motherboard to the front panel acts as an antenna for all the electrical noise in the PC and the sound quality can suffer because of that.
Have you cleaned the entire PC lately? Heat build up can cause electrical noise from components that previously produced little noise or interference. Have you added any hardware to your system or any electrical devices to the circuit that the PC is on? I'm thinking interference of some sort since you're getting good sound from the rear.