Category: How To’s

The biggest problem we face when dealing with the sound is in your listing subjective . That sounds“too low” for one person may be barely tolerable for another, and wars are legendary among audiophiles in many forums. This quality differences in sound cards, speakers, drivers, playback-software,and even the audio itself . I know I’m entering a very difficult territory. It is impossible to cover all the variables of audio hardware. That said … you’re here because you want you increase the sound of your PC .Windows volume control is set to max, and still you are not getting the sound you want.

The ultimate solution suggested again and again in the specialized forums, is to connect an amplifier (Or the so called Sound Booster). After all, the hardware has its limits, and cannot “invent” more power. A set of speakers with integrated headphone amp should be sufficient to increase the sound , while the most portable amps (including those derived from DIY projects) work very well.Geek Plus audio awesomifier is one of the best sound amplifiers for computers. If you want to get one, go here to indigogo and fund the project. If purchasing new hardware is not a viable option … there are some methods to cheat with some softwares.The first step to check is if the official drivers are updated(Or to check if it is even installed!).. Maybe the solution is in a new driver with the ability to use the sound card more effectively. After reinstalling operating system in my laptop,I felt that the sound quality had degraded a lot, but after an exhaustive testing,I found that, for some reason my audio drivers were not installed.After installing the drivers,my sound volume and quality increased by 5 fold.Then it will be necessary to verify that all volume controls are really at full. The “mixer” Window tells only a fraction of the story, and sound properties may reveal the additional controls that can increase the sound safely.

Then you must check  if the problem persists for all audio files . Some mp3 files can have a very low volume, and the fact that 5.1 audio played through stereo speakers also creates problems. For the first case, you need an audio editor .  GoldWave is one of the best audio editor, but you can also use an open and free alternative such as Audacity . Now, if the audio is in a movie, AC3Filter is an excellent alternative. In addition to down-mix of 5.1 to stereo , you can also increase the volume or channel in general. AC3Filter does not work independently, but must be configured from within each player.Some of the most popular players (such as VLC Player and Media Player Classic Home Cinema) also offers some options  for standardizing and maximizing overamplification volume.

Finally, I can only recommend a trick that has been around for a while on the web, which is to enable “Loudness Equalization” (if it is available) in the audio properties . Please go to the Control Panel, click Sound, select the default device, open its properties, and in the improvements section, place a checkmark in the appropriate box. A warning : Turning ON Loudness Equalization is a double-edged sword . In most cases it will increase the sound, but there are several reported cases in which it does the exact opposite.  Guarantees? sorry to say no. ? Risk? Not all speakers are the same, and the potential for harm is relatively very low , but it’s there . A low volume on the computer can be attacked from different vectors at a time, and not all apparent solutions are suitable for each user, except for what I mentioned at the beginning, which is to connect an amplifier.Good luck!