External USB Speakers suddenly not working on my Asus laptop

martinlest · 15 Jun 2014

Hi. One moment all was fine - next, no sound... Can anyone please help?

My small external speakers connect via a USB port and an audio jack plugged into the speakers/headphone socket (both needed - I guess the USB connection is just to power them?). After months of no problems, when I connect the jack, there is no sound. The laptop's internal speakers are pathetic, but still work OK when I unplug the speakers again.

If I try the external speakers on a different (Dell) laptop, they work just fine. If I plug headphones into the Asus laptop speakers/headphones jack, the headphones work OK too.

So I am now just confused! My Asus laptop is suddenly OK with the headphones, but not the speakers?? There were no drivers to install by the way for the speakers to work. No problems show in Device Manager and all volume settings are at Max right now...

The laptop has Realtek HD Audio installed (and I run Windows 7 x64). Microsoft 'Fixit' (as recommended elsewhere here) found nothing wrong.

Help appreciated.

Thanks,

Martin

fireberd · 15 Jun 2014

Sounds like a USB port power problem in the laptop. The laptop's sound works OK and the speakers work OK on a different PC.

As they are USB powered, have you tried a different USB Port? Is there any other USB devices also connected to the PC?

martinlest · 15 Jun 2014

Hi. Thanks, but yes, I tried other USB ports - same silence as before! Music played through headphones used to sound rich and full. It now sounds thin. I wonder if I can upgrade the whole sound system somehow, while sticking to the hardware I have already got?

fireberd · 15 Jun 2014

You can upgrade with a USB "sound card" but that will only be for external speakers (and headphones). It won't feed the laptop's speakers.

Tweaktown just reviewed a new Diamond USB sound unit this morning. Diamond USB Xtreme Sound 7.1 Channel Digital Audio Adapter Review

martinlest · 15 Jun 2014

Thanks a lot for the link. I'll have a look.. I mainly listen to classical music and the orchestra, singers etc. need to sound the best they can! (I have a great set of Sennheiser HD600s - I mostly listen through those).

Unfortunately (from this point of view, anyway!), I am working in a remote spot in Sri Lanka for the foreseeable future, so will have to wait some months for my next trip back to the UK before I can buy anything like this. Doing a bit more browsing, I like the look of this gadget:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CP53ML...I38GGGQR26LJ6B

Meanwhile of course the sudden silencing of my USB speakers is both a mystery and a huge annoyance!!

Martin

martinlest · 19 Jun 2014

Any ideas anyone how to get the speakers working again? Seems to be a software problem...

EruditeMan · 16 Aug 2014

If speakers have not broken or been turned off: R-click volume icon on taskbar and select 'Open Volume Mixer' point to 'Device' Speakers column and make sure speaker icon at bottom of column is not muted. If speaker sound is not restored then open Device Manager and make sure the device driver is properly installed. If the speaker device driver is not properly installed delete or uninstall it and reboot PC to let Windows automatically reinstall the speaker driver to regain sound. If sound has still not returned then use System Restore Utility to have PC set itself up the way it was when the sounds were working the last time.

martinlest · 17 Aug 2014

Thanks a lot for the reply, but it turns out that the problem is an intermittent one with the USB plug on the speakers. That's why, when I unplug the speakers and try them on another laptop, they work fine. They also work OK back on the original PC for a while; jiggling the connection a little restores the sound.

I should have posted this earlier, save you replying. Sorry!

M.