Sounds like your laptop is configured for Dolby playback and your headphones are missing the center channel. This is exactly what happens if my center amp is off. If you have recently installed any movie / DVD watching software this could be the cause.
What headphone failure would cause no dialog on a laptop?
I have many headphones including cheap ones and high end ones. Sometimes they are used with laptops and chromebooks. Recently, my Tascam TH-03 has started behaving weirdly and I want to know what causes this:
When plugged into a Windows 10 laptop to watch movies (Netflix, Amazon Prime, or any movie) I hear the soundtrack perfectly loud and in stereo but absolutely no dialog. (I am NOT talking about the common problem of movies made with loud background music.) If my kid plugs it into a chromebook to use Zoom, there is no sound. System sounds come through fine. These headphones didn't use to have this problem, and none of the other headphones do this on the same machines. Could a cable problem or intermittent jack wiring problem cause this? Why?
When plugged into a Windows 10 laptop to watch movies (Netflix, Amazon Prime, or any movie) I hear the soundtrack perfectly loud and in stereo but absolutely no dialog. (I am NOT talking about the common problem of movies made with loud background music.) If my kid plugs it into a chromebook to use Zoom, there is no sound. System sounds come through fine. These headphones didn't use to have this problem, and none of the other headphones do this on the same machines. Could a cable problem or intermittent jack wiring problem cause this? Why?