Increasing Volume On My Laptop

J1mmy · August 9th, 2006, 11:32 AM

Im trying to increase the volume of laptop. The volume of audio when using earphones it rubbish. Is there any free software that could boost it up?

**RobRich** · August 9th, 2006, 11:48 AM

Does your audio chipset offer EQ settings for Windows? If so, start ramping the EQ until you reach the desired level of gain, though note distortion can occur at extremely high settings. Not a great solution, but it works.

Also, I suggest you update to the latest drivers for your audio chipset. Oddly enough, different drivers sometimes handle gain differently.

J1mmy · August 9th, 2006, 06:40 PM

Well, theres the Windows EQ and the driver EQ for the speakers. Both are at their maximum right now and still dont sound very loud when using earphones.

I'll try and finding some drivers. I recall updating the drivers for the audio before, but didnt see or hear any difference. I may have downloaded the wrong one, its difficult trying to find the right driver from the Toshiba website, as it all depends on the model of the laptop and they seem to have so many difference sources :S

**RobRich** · August 9th, 2006, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Well, theres the Windows EQ and the driver EQ for the speakers. Both are at their maximum right now and still dont sound very loud when using earphones.

Sounds more like a problem with your earphones. What brand/model? Do you know the impedance of the earphones?

GH0STce11 · August 9th, 2006, 07:14 PM

ya it sounds like you might have weak earphones

J1mmy · August 9th, 2006, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobRich

Sounds more like a problem with your earphones. What brand/model? Do you know the impedance of the earphones?

Weak earphones! I just recently bought a pair of Sony Fontopia earphones which bought for an unbelievabily high price to use with my iPod. The iPod's volume is fine when cranked up to the max, but when I connect it up to tle laptop, thats when it decreases. So by that, I never suspected it might have been teh earphones. Although, I was reading a review on Amazon from where I bought them, someone said they may detriorate over time, maybe even over a few months - maybe its happening to mine.

**RobRich** · August 9th, 2006, 07:59 PM

There are several factors involved, but on the surface, I would suspect the headphones have a low sensitivity rating. Output level and quality varies highly between audio devices. The iPod has a good output stage with plenty of amplication, so it is likely to drive any mainstream earphones to ear blasting levels.

Quote:

With a full-scale signal, the output clipped at the two highest levels of the volume control. The maximum distortion-free output level into 100k ohms was 911mV at 1kHz—more than enough to drive typical headphones to unbearably loud levels.

http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcom...34/index5.html

Your notebook would probably benefit from headphones with a high sensitivity rating. More info:

http://www.headwize.com/articles/hguide_art.htm

Another solution is a headphone amp. Many models are available, ranging from budget to expensive. You can even go with a simple battery operated amp for optimum portability.

howste · August 9th, 2006, 08:06 PM

I have that problem on my laptop too. I can barely hear a movie on my laptop while on the plane. Granted, there's pretty high background noise in a plane, but I ought to be able to still hear it with the volume on max...

**RobRich** · August 9th, 2006, 08:17 PM

Quote:

I can barely hear a movie on my laptop while on the plane.

Check the sound settings for your media player app, especially if you are talking about DVD playback. If possible, compress the audio feed, which should help you towards the audio gain you are seeking.

For apps supporting DirectShow, you can use the audio decoder/filter of ffdshow.

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ffdshow-tryout/ (note, these are test builds)