Onboard sound dying?

[Shamrock]

I have noticed, that recently when I boot up my PC, I have to up the volume.

For instance. I start out with my speakers on 25%, but after about 30 minutes, I have to crank up the volume to 40%, and it gets lower, and lower. It steadily gets worse.

For clarity, it is onboard Realtek 5.1 sound "card", but have it hooked up to Logitech Z-5300 THX speakers.

Is it slowly dying?

 

[Lean L]

Try reinstalling drivers. Perhaps there is software installed on your pc that does that?

On a side note. Why use the software volume control when you have a volume knob? You always want the strongest possible pre-amp signal so you can keep your amp cooler while having less noise. Use the knob and keep windows at 100%.

 

[Shamrock]

That's what I use. I set the Realtek volume to 100%, then use my volume knob on the speakers to control the volume

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I'd say the speakers amp is heating up. Can you plug the speakers into some other source and test?

 

[mfenn]

Agree with monkey. You can easily test this by plugging something else into the output, e.g. headphones, and seeing if they exhibit the same behavior.

Side note: you do not want to set the output level to 100% because you'll run the risk of clipping. Set it to 70% or so.

 

[Lean L]

Agree with monkey. You can easily test this by plugging something else into the output, e.g. headphones, and seeing if they exhibit the same behavior.

Side note: you do not want to set the output level to 100% because you'll run the risk of clipping. Set it to 70% or so.

I call pure conjecture on that. Although I guess we can say strongest possible clean pre-amp. What % that translates to in software is debatable based on OS and drivers.

 

[mfenn]

I call pure conjecture on that. Although I guess we can say strongest possible clean pre-amp. What % that translates to in software is debatable based on OS and drivers.

The actual level is an estimate, yes. Obviously testing for clipping and setting the level below that is better, but most people can't/won't do that. What I can guarantee is that 100% is more likely to produce clipping than 70%.

 

[Lean L]

The actual level is an estimate, yes. Obviously testing for clipping and setting the level below that is better, but most people can't/won't do that. What I can guarantee is that 100% is more likely to produce clipping than 70%.

I can agree with that. Just seemed overzealous to me but can't argue with the logic. Digital out ftw (but that opens a whole new can of worms).

 

[mfenn]

I can agree with that. Just seemed overzealous to me but can't argue with the logic. Digital out ftw (but that opens a whole new can of worms).

Agree. If you care about sound coming out of a computer, digital is the way to go.

 

[Shamrock]

I never thought about the amp heating up. It's only been like this the past week or so.

I'll do some testing, also will try lowering the volume on Realtek software.

 

[mfenn]

I never thought about the amp heating up. It's only been like this the past week or so.

I'll do some testing, also will try lowering the volume on Realtek software.

Keep in mind that lowering the volume in Windows isn't likely to solve your current problem. It's just a good practice for the future. 🙂