Solved One channel louder than the other yet balance is 50/50

[Gums]

Got a Toshiba Qosmio x505 q890 running Windows 7 64bit. Anyway, got a set of Audioengine A2 speakers yesterday and was really stoked and primed for the demo but alas, the balance/output is rather uneven. Huh!! Specifically, the right channel has more dB than the left. It's a tad more bright, crisp or louder, if you will compared to the left which sounds rather muffled and weaker in comparison. Tried the auto sound driver updates and nothing. Of course the balance is set straight through the uprights. The problem is with older analog recordings (Alice Cooper, Doors, Zeppelin) you can certainly notice a drop off in quality in the quieter or weaker channel. No guitar solo, vocals, additional effects etc. Laptops generally don't have sound cards, correct? What, if anything can be done in regards to software, drivers or hardware? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. "Rock on!......Anybody!!!"--Ringo Starr

 

[Gums]

OK, I did a little messing around last night and I've discovered the source of my problem but not the solution. Here it is. My Toshiba has Conexant Pebble High Definition SmartAudio for its sound driver. The problem is not so much with the driver itself but the preinstalled EQ program that goes along with it: SmartAudio. Everytime I tried to set a custom EQ setting i.e. "turn it on" basically, all the focus of sound came out of the right channel with the left being greatly subdued. The moment I turn the EQ from off to on, in other words, from a flat line state, the dB levels shift immediately to the right channel and the left being noticeably muffled. What gives? Does anyone have any similar experiences with Conexant or their SmartAudio EQ? I don't if its the driver or the EQ program. Can I use something else instead? I don't really wish to uninstill my sound driver. I'm just wondering if the Conexant sound driver and SmartAudio are a tandem that go hand in hand. Can't have one without the other? Yes? No? Do I have to install a new sound driver or can I just get a different software program for EQ adjustments? Any thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks everyone.---Todd

 

[boohbah]

winamp has a separate EQ window and is a very reliable music player, i use it.

 

[Gums]

OK. Problem solved. Took a little bit of research but not too big of a deal really. At first I tried to update the sound driver by doing an automatic internet search for current updates. Check. Driver was up to date. However, I went to the Toshiba Support site at csd.toshiba.com and did a manual search for any support for my laptop, in this case a Qosmio x505-q890 (a real 18.4" beast and not ultraportable in the least bit!) and found all kinds of downloads compatible will my model. Looking under sound I found a completely different version of the Conexant driver. Download. Restart. BAM! Back in business. Now when I select the Smart Audio EQ, I don't have a sudden sonic drop off in the left channel. Both are at 50/50 rather than say, 65/35 whether or not I've selected to use the Smart Audio EQ. BTW, do yourself a favor and check out a set of Audioengines. I got the A2 set. Wow! Have a great day everyone! --Todd