Audio volume

Usjes

Hi

I want to listen to my mp3 collection on my PC. I have one set of active speakers (with their own power supply) and 3 passive sets (which came with walkmans etc.). The problem is that I can't get satisfactory volume and quality out of any of them. I'm just trying to listen in a small bedroom (never more than 8 feet from the machine) so I shouldn't need to buy dedicated speakers. With the active speakers I can turn the volume up to be easily as loud as I would like but at this volume there is very bad distortion. With all the passive sets (rated 0.2W) there is no distortion but the volume is way too low. The odd thing however is if I take any of these passive sets to another PC in another room they give perfectly good volume. So I assumed it must be the power rating of the sound card that was different in the two PCs and I planned to swap out the sound cards. What I found however is that in both machines the soundcard is actually integrated into the motherboard and in the Device Manager they are both listed as 'SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio'. So is this just a generic name for a whole class of devices or is it really the same hardware in both boxes and if so why is the volume on one so much louder than on the other when the same speakers are used ? (And yes, I've already set all the software volume controls to max)
Any ideas ?

Thanks.

5uspect

Including the Windows master volume controls?

ricman

what os have you got, winxp or windows ?

ricman

you could buy a pci soundcard on adverts.ie ten euro.i think you have the wave volume turned down low, so go to control panel,click audio, set wave to max,
the volume and wave controls in windows are separate.
see here, http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/264/xp-display-volume-icon-in-the-system-tray/
when the icon appears ,set volume,and WAVE slider up, setting to higher levels.or click ,on control panel,audio, speakers,show ,advanced controls.
if wave slider is low, the sound volume will be low.
even if volume is high. wave is the sound signal output level, going to the speakers.

Usjes

Hi,

Yes, I am familiar with the Volume Mixer panel and I have set WAV and all other sliders to max on both machines. Both machines are running Windows XP. Home edition on the one that gives loud volume and XP pro on the one with low volume. Given that I believe the software settings are the same on both and they both list the same soundcard 'SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio' I am baffled as to why they give different volumes on the same speakers. Bottom line though is that the volume will be dictated by the amount of power the motherboard is supplying to the sound card. I wonder if there are different motherboard builds/configs that supply less or more power to the soundcard ?

Usjes.

5uspect

Doubtful. Your speakers have their own power supply, the 3.5mm jack on your PC doesn't supply power, least not enough to make any difference between both PCs.
It really sounds like a software issue.

SoundMax also has a mixer of its own in its software. Is it installed on both PCs?
On my PC it looks like this:

You can get the latest version from your Mobo manufacturer's website.
Also check for drvier updates.

As an alternative you could pick up a cheap sound card and install that and disable the onboard audio.