Boosting sound?

[sponge008]

So, when my headset is plugged into the headphone port, and not my 5.1 speaker control device thingy, the volume is much lower, even when I put it on maximum on the physical headset, and also in Windows. How would I be able to boost the sound further? I'm pretty sure it's possible.

 

[corkyg]

Open your Volume Controland check the levels of the different ports. Or, get an external amplifier and connect to it.

 

[sponge008]

It's all on maximum. The thing is, in the Sound Manager utility, the sound can go MUCH higher in the utility, however, in Skype for example, I don't know how to set it higher. Are there any programs that can set the volume to above 100%?

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Well if the volume is good when connected to the "5.1 speaker control device thingy", maybe you should just connect to that.

What soundcard, headset, and speaker system do you have?

 

[sponge008]

The problem is, the not-so-remote-control is quite far away from my microphone port, and the wires simply do not alllow it. I have AC97 audio, a Sennheiser headset (a good one, $40) and Creative 5.1s. The thing is, I know the problem isn't with the speakers being capped; some programs merely do not support loud enough sound, and so if I found a utility which boosted all sound, that would solve it. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Open your Volume Controland check the levels of the different ports. Or, get an external amplifier and connect to it.

Make sure your master volume is set to the top and double check to make sure the WAV Volume is set to max as well. Or like Corkyg said, get a headphone amplifier.

 

[Jiggz]

Have you tried plugging in the headset directly to the soundcard output and see if the volume is the same? If the volume is the same, then you definitely need an external amp.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Which headphone port are you talking about? The one on your computer case or the one on your speakers?

 

[sponge008]

Agh, I indeed tried to plug the headphones directly into the sound card, and everything is fine. However, the front headphone port doesn't work. Is this fixable? Thanks for the help.

 

[corkyg]

It is probably not connected. You can patch it from the sound card.

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, Sounds like you are plugging into the LINE OUT jack. Line out is 600 ohms to feed an amplifier. Phones are usually 8 Ohms to run off a speaker 8 Ohm line. Line out will need an amp to drive the phones correctly. Jim

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: JimPhelpsMI
Hi, Sounds like you are plugging into the LINE OUT jack. Line out is 600 ohms to feed an amplifier. Phones are usually 8 Ohms to run off a speaker 8 Ohm line. Line out will need an amp to drive the phones correctly. Jim

8 ohm headphones? Never saw em. Most of mine are anywhere from 24-65 or higher.

 

[sponge008]

Hm, that's odd. I must have connected the 2/4 pin (I forget) plug wrong into the mobo then. Is that possible? I'm almost certain I plugged it into the right place, but perhaps it's in the wrong direction?

Edit: I've noticed that the problem is mainly with voice-type sounds. Squeals, buzzes, drumbeats, and gunshots work fine, but human voices, whether in Skype, Winamp, or CS:S, are quite quiet.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
8 ohm headphones? Never saw em. Most of mine are anywhere from 24-65 or higher.

You probably haven't lived long enough. Most stereo systems used 8-ohms through to 50s, 60s, and 70s. The top of the line stereo phones were Koss.

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi Oyeve, 90% or more of modern earphones are 8 OHMs and run properly on the same output as an 8 Ohm Speaker. Years ago earphones were 2000 ohms. Haven't seen those in about 40 plus years. Jim

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: Oyeve
8 ohm headphones? Never saw em. Most of mine are anywhere from 24-65 or higher.

You probably haven't lived long enough. Most stereo systems used 8-ohms through to 50s, 60s, and 70s. The top of the line stereo phones were Koss.

Oh, i'm old enough! My first pair of headphones (purchased in the early 70s) were basically just 4" speakers that wrapped around your head. But the headphones made today (40-50mm) IMO cant take an 8ohm load. Car and boombox speakers are usually 2-4 ohm and Hi-Fi speakers are usually 4-8 ohms so how can a headphone be 8ohms?

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, Impedance rateing has nothing to do with power rating. Earphones could be arount 200 Miliwatts. Certainly an amplifiler can blow them to Kingdom Come. Impedance has to do with signal level. Jim

 

[tuongo]

Can power also be an issue w/on-board sound cards? I'm using an old Chaintech VIA KT600 w/on-board sound. I notice the output as well as the recording volume (w/Sennheiser PC150 headset) is very low (hard to hear). I had an old ECS mobo where I used onboard sound too - same issue. Is there anything I can do about the recording volume (I already have powered speakers to take care of the output issue)?

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi Tuongo, There are usually two places to set the volumn. First is at the MIXER for the Sound Card. Some also have a boost button. The second is at the Amplified speakers. Try for a balance. Too much or too little at either can be a problem. I usually set the Mixer all at about half and the speakers for the volumn I want. Then use the Mixer's control.
Good Luck, Jim