louder please

[broiyan]

Podcast .mp3 files and YouTube streams are sometimes not loud enough for me.

Obviously the YouTube streams not at the true maximum volume when the Windows volume is at the max. and the YouTube volume is at the max. Evidence of this is that advertising is louder.

How can get true maximum audio volume?

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hello broiyan now I am not real sure of what you are meaning here just how is the audio being played??

If by mix and match you mean the machine is a build you have doen - desktop then why not add a sound card and a reasonable sound system.

I run on my main machine an Asus Xonar DSX card into a Logitech Z506 system it is a 5:1 surround sound system up to 150 watts peak power (a Z313 system is 50 watts full stereo and sub woofer) and seriously if they cannot hear it at full tilt over the road then I'll eat my socks!! The card costs about $80 and the sound system between $100 and $150 depending how you shop around out here plus you have a socket fr phones too if you need them.

 

[broiyan]

It's a laptop with built-in speakers. I've had this problem with a higher-end Samsung (Intel i7) and now a lower-end Dell (Intel i3).

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Ok well without actually hearing what the machine is playing back it is hard to advise you because as you might appreciate all of us have different levels of comfort when listening to music for example.

Personally I like it reasonably loud but not enough to annoy others around me but if I did then I would probably opting for some decent headphones.

You have to also take into consideration just how loud a laptop's speakers can be set to as most would be around 2 watts per channel and it is not that loud and the quality obviously at a premium because of the size of them. The machine I am on right now is an Asus gaming laptop and even this one is hardly what I would consider loud.

Now your machine I am assuming you have not damaged the speakers in any way and that the openings for them are not clogged with crud as a lot of folks use their laptops as literally that and not only is that bad thing to do with a laptop it also increase the ingress or exposure to fine particulates. Have you updated the drivers for the audio system not that it would necessarily make them louder but I have to ask. Another consideration is the age of the machine because speakers like any component can deteriorate over time and present with this issue.
Now I don't mean to be rude but I am assuming your hearing is ok and again none of us are getting any younger if you follow my drift and I apologise if asking will offend you.

So there are few reasons for the lack of volume that you perceive from the machine .

But on the bright sid there are a couple of checks you can do that will check out the system files and the state of your hard driv eit might well be that they need some "maintenance" so please run these.
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html < if necessary include the /f and /r in the command line as per Option2 [/FONT]
If you are not that familair with these then just take your time and let us know if there is any improvement or not.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Try clicking on the speaker icon in the notification tray, then clicking on the mixer at the bottom of the window that pops up. That will open the Volume Mixer which can be used to use the volume between various programs. Fiddle with the volume slider for your browser (there may be more than one) to see if that gives you any relief.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yep Jeannie I was assuming the member had done those adjustments but if not then I have just done a lot of typing for nothing because there is also the volume control in YouTube too eh??

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Yep Jeannie I was assuming the member had done those adjustments but if not then I have just done a lot of typing for nothing because there is also the volume control in YouTube too eh??

Yes, in a way, there is a volume control for Youtube although it will just show up as a browser window in the mixer.



I opened up two windows with a YouTube video in each window and both will just show up as Internet Explorer (my poison browser of choice). Notice how much louder I had to set those two compared to the volume coming from my music player (the one to the left of the IE sliders).

 

[broiyan]

To quote from the original post: "Windows volume is at the max. and the YouTube volume is at the max". Inside the Volume Mixer, the same facts can be verified. YouTube advertising is too loud (so that proves there is nothing wrong with my hearing) and non-advertising is not loud enough.

 

[bclaverie]

Broiyan,
Is it that way with all Youtube videos? Could it be the microphone used while recording the video isn't very good thus giving you the volume issue?

 

[iko22]

The Windows Volume Mixer mixes audio from the different sound sources on the computer in real-time, while that has its uses when multitasking, it doesn't provide the features like the graphic equaliser found on Windows Media Player, where you can use that to match the volume at each audio capability of the audio device.


Replacing the sound card on a laptop, if you want to hear "what is on the recording", can be difficult, unless you can invest in an outboard DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) and new speakers with a larger dynamic range. As for total volume, like @ICIT2LOL ; says 2 Watts per channel is not much (when you are listening o something that demands a greater dynamic range). Advertisers know how to get the most out of premium audio, and that is why their trumpeting fanfair always sounds crisper and louder than anything you particularly want to listen too.


Have you tried listening to different YouTube videos and comparing the volumes with advertising volumes. I think if you watch a few blockbuster trailers on YouTube, from the past decade, then those audios should generally match volumes found in advertising. Or the audio from TEDx Talks is also example of very clear audio.


However, having said that an alternative would be to check what software is supplied from the sound chip manufacturer with your computer.


For example, at one time Realtek provided HD Audio Manager (see picture), which has graphic equaliser features, loudness equalisation and 3D environment effects. It is possible to adapt these settings to boost recording volumes dynamics to match what audio source you are listening too.

Some of the features found on Realtek's HD Audio Manager that has an effect on the total volume envelope:

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Brioyan now can you give us some specs on this laptop please - even a model number would be good as there is only a desktop listed in your specs.

I am asking because I have two my travel Asus P2520 and the-main an Asus G750 ROG gamer and the difference between the two is quite noticeably obviously the ROG has better quality sound than the smaller machine, and that is probably due to a better quality speaker and sound card.

So in essence I cannot expect the sound from the smaller machine not be anything like the sound from the larger one. If you are using one of the smaller screened laptops then it follows (to me at least) the sound will come though much smaller speakers and will affect what you are listening to. The only option in that scenario would be phones.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...The only option in that scenario would be phones.

Or external laptop speakers (although they are becoming hard to find). That's what I'm using with my notebooks. the one I have is small enough to fit in my notebook's travel case.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yes I agree Jeannie I have seen some that are powered either by USB or mains but it is a lot more to carry around and I still think if it is a problem that phones would suffice.

What I want to know is the specs because it may be some thing very simple ie a driver??