Sound = Low/Soft in Windows 7

axon1988

New member
So I was recently looking for a pair of headsets. Found a pair, tested them and hated them.

Then I found a cheap pair of Philips headsets. They cost me R99, have 80mm drivers built in and the bass is absolutely stunning. On my home computer and laptop they are seriously loud, I can almost use them as normal speakers if I really wanted to.

But, at work they are soft. Everything is set to full volume. I've checked everything I can and still nothing. Any thoughts?

Specs:

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System Information
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Time of this report: 1/12/2012, 08:12:18
Machine name: NotForYouToKnow :p
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 32-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.111025-1503)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: INTEL_
System Model: DQ57TM__
BIOS: BIOS Date: 09/23/09 11:58:43 Ver: 08.00.10
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 560 @ 3.33GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.3GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3062MB RAM
Page File: 2337MB used, 3783MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode

-------------
Sound Devices
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Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0662&SUBSYS_80860038&REV_1001
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: RTKVHDA.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6410 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 7/7/2011 17:39:06, 3531176 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
HW Accel Level: Basic
Cap Flags: 0xF1F
Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
HW Memory: 0
Voice Management: No
EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

Enough information? :p
 
Check control panel, by Sound. There are features in there which allow you to switch between certain hardware. I found that my hifi system I have hooked up to my PC, I have to choose Headphones to get ultimate performance from my sound, or else it sounds like I'm using the old Microsoft speakers from 19voetsek. :)
 
...old Microsoft speakers from 19voetsek... :)

Hah! What a thought. Trust me, I've done that. They are still soft. I only really have two choices, either digital ouput or normal speaker setting. I've changed them all to headset, made sure they aren't on surround sound and it just doesn't make any difference. I've searched all over the googles for it. No luck yet.
 
Is it plugged into line out or the headphone jack? Only the headphone jack is amplified.

Also, the impedence on your headphones may be too high for that computer's output.
 
Is it plugged into line out or the headphone jack? Only the headphone jack is amplified.

Also, the impedence on your headphones may be too high for that computer's output.

Ah that makes more sense. I guess I'll have to live with this level of sound. It's not bad, but it's still way lower then the headphones are capable of. It is plugged in the headphone jack yeah.
 
It could be the explanation, but testing with other headphones might help you out here.

You get wave level boosters as well, this can boost the output, but it _could_ also damage your hardware.
 
I've found that the overall volume on Windows 7 seems to be a lot lower than I had on Windows XP. I've got a pair of headphones that went so loud on XP that I could use them as speakers, but the same pair on Windows 7 can't come close to it. This is without changing any sound settings in control panel, though.
 
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