PC World Forums: speaker volume very weak - PC World Forums

Howdy, hooked up a set of speakers, regular polk audio PC speakers to my "new" computer and the volume coming out of the comp just is too weak. On my old sytem these little speakers really did good. Now they are barely audible, not distorded just real low, I have tried MP3 files, MPEG files and MOV files and the same level of volume is present. There is no independent volume on the speakers but like I said they "rocked" on the last system. The current sytem is an hp pavillion 541c, the sound card is a NVIDIA nForce Audio. I have been to device manager and it indicates all is working properly, I have loked at the "master" controls and all is turned up to high. I was hoping someone may give me a place to start as to how to troubleshoot this. I was wondering if an ou of date driver could be the culprit. Any ideas on where to start would be greatly appreciated. I really doubt its the speakers because they were working great on the last system I had them on, but if I was sure I wouldn't be here asking yall.

Thanks

Arctic Sid

Hi ArcticSid. I know you referenced that you checked the Master Control but did you check the Wave level control as well? Also, did you check the sound level of the application that you use to play these files?

Thanks for your reply mph, I do appreciate your advice, but in case I'm mistaken, would you please clarify for me where these three levels of volume are located. And if I verify they are indeed to there highest level, do you think an out of date driver could cause this. As I said, I know well these speakers work. And by sound level of the application do you mean Win media Player or Win Amp? Thats the only two I use so far on this comp and they are at the highest.

Thanks again for your help, and for the help you offer the rest of us.

Regards

Arctic Sid

Hey arcticsid, look down in your tray for speaker icon and right click on it to open up your audio stuff. I f it is not there it will be in the control panel. coastie

arcticsid said:

Take a look at this image. (Click on it to enlarge it.)






This is similar to what you should see when you double click on the speaker icon in your system tray. The two levels you want to check are the Master Volume and Wave. If you do not see the Wave indicator, click on Options and then select Properties. This is where you can select the levels you want visible when you double click on the speaker icon.

arcticsid said:

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Yes, make sure that the volume in either application is at its maximum.

arcticsid said:

It's my pleasure. :D

Thanks for the reply, all these levels are currently set to high. I don't have a speaker icon in the system tray. I am getting some sound but cant increase it. Still at a loss on what to do. Any other ideas?

Thanks

Arctic Sid

start>settings>control panel>sounds and audio devices ---note the 'place volume icon in system tray' and check the speaker volume and advanced functions next to the 'Speaker Settings'


!http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
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Hi ArcticSid. It appears that your issue is not resolved. In your new post, you asked, "...if I put in a new sound card, can I disable the current one?" I would propose that something else. If you feel like the sound card is defective, there are ways around the current issue.

I believe this computer's sound card is integrated into the computer, is that correct? If that is the case, you can disable the onboard sound card from within the BIOS and then you can use the sound card that you install into the available expansion slot. If you are not sure how to access the BIOS, please let us know.

If the sound card is not integrated, I would propose just taking out the old card and replacing it with the new card.

Hey mph, if it is an onboard audio chipset, it can be disabled from within device manager as well and should be, before installing a card in the expansion slot to avoid any conflicts between the two. coastie

Hi Coastie. Thanks for the addition. :D

Thanks for the resp[onse, I certainly wasn't trying to double post, but in fact thought the problem had been sollved. Don't know what to think, everything was working fine and suddenly, kapoowee( is that how you say it?), Any hints would be appreciated, if not look for a new post concerning a new sound card in an expansion slot.

Thanks Gang

Arctic Sid

Well, the first thing I will suggest is what I mentioned in my previous post:determine if this computer's sound card is integrated into the motherboard or is installed in an expansion slot.

More than likely, it is integrated but to confirm, please open the side of your computer and see to where the speaker wires connect from the outside. If they connect to a sound card that is built into the motherboard, you can disable the onboard audio from within the Device Manager when you buy a new sound card. If they connect to a sound card that is installed in an expansion slot, simply take out the old card when you purchase a new card.

Ultimately, the first thing you need to do is to buy a basic sound card as a replacement to test. Once you have that, then I would continue with the troubleshooting. At this point, I would not advise starting another Discussion. You can pick up any, and I do mean any, expansion slot sound card to test if you have the same issues as you do with your current card. If this swap proves this theory, then you can solicit suggestions for a sound card that is more suited for your needs.

Volume controls aside, the sound hardware on some systems simply does not put out a strong enough signal to drive speakers adequately. Headphones will normally work OK, but in such cases only amplified speakers will perform well.

I've seen this particularly on lower-cost machines, always with built-in sound hardware.

If the other good advice you've received gets no results, I suggest either an aftermarket sound card (even a cheap one will do fine) or an amplified speaker set.