Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Is there a way to increase more volume? (Read 8672 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

I'm using a  headphone with my laptop and found the sound is not lound enough. Even I increase volume to its maximum in Volume Control, I'm still not satisfy. In contrast, on desktop I've to set volume below medium on PC because it's too lound. I dont' know why it so different. Maybe because I use a cheap headphone (Sony MDR-XD100), it could because of  the onboard soundcard (Intel HD Audio) or maybe I have an amp for my desktop. Anyway, is there a way I can increase more volume? I prefer a software solution if possible.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #1 –
Yes, but the soundquality and dynamics will suffer because a compressor and limiter will be necessary.

A better solution would be a dedicated headphone amp.
I am arrogant and I can afford it because I deliver.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #2 –
Could you recommend me some choices?

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #3 –
Well, the two only choices are quite simple...... the digital signal in your case is already at its maximum, and you can only make it louder by compressing and limiting it(what you would do is essentially squashing the signal). For this approach you need an application which essentially acts like a DSP for all sounds which are played on windows... it would attenuate the signal and while doing so compress and limit it.

Advantage: it doesnt cost anything (if you can find a free app which does this)
Disadvantage: it sucks CPU-speed and will ruin soundquality

I cannot recommend you any app for this purpose, because i never felt the need to do something so destructive and perverted to my music - so i never searched for such an app :)

The cleaner and more simple approach is to just buy a headphone amp.... they dont cost that much.
I am arrogant and I can afford it because I deliver.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #4 –
I've tried to slide everything in foobar's EQ to +20dB, besides loud, the dynamic is totally spoiled.... a dynamic compressor is inevitable

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #5 –
Well, I mean you might give me some headphone amps' brand names. Which one should I buy? Which ones should I avoid?

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #6 –
Quote
Well, I mean you might give me some headphone amps' brand names. Which one should I buy? Which ones should I avoid?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=339789"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I've got a "Rega Ear", it cost me about 220 Euro and harmonizes very well with my Sennheiser HD 600s. But if you use a cheap, low impedance(?) headphone, a headphone amp might not be the right thing for you. You could go over to www.head-fi.org and ask the people there, the forums there are more specialised to this kind of question.
Proverb for Paranoids: "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers."
-T. Pynchon (Gravity's Rainbow)

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #7 –
I lived with foobar2000s advanced limiter DSP yogether with +3 dB pre-amp gain for a while. It worked.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #8 –
Quote
I've got a "Rega Ear", it cost me about 220 Euro and harmonizes very well with my Sennheiser HD 600s. But if you use a cheap, low impedance(?) headphone, a headphone amp might not be the right thing for you. You could go over to www.head-fi.org and ask the people there, the forums there are more specialised to this kind of question.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=339797"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for a guidance. I would buy a new headphone if necessary.

220 Euro, that should be around ~350 AUD, quite a big amount for me. So, is this "Rega Ear" considered an upmarket product? or it is the average price for headphone amp?

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #9 –
Quote
I lived with foobar2000s advanced limiter DSP yogether with +3 dB pre-amp gain for a while. It worked.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=339800"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

If his headphones are just a little bit too quiet, then you're right and it might work. The problem is.... 3db isn't that much... if he needs more than "a little bit louder", then the difference becomes quite audible at i.e. +6db.

edit: 220 Euro for a headphone amp is in the "premium" range starting at about 200 euro. It should be possible to get headphone amps way below that price(something like 40-50euro really shouldn't be hard to find and may be totally sufficient for a cheap headphone). But sTisTi is right - i completely forgot the low price of your headphones.... you may get away cheaper by instead buying a different headphone... as sTisTi already pointed out, the headfi-folks have more experience in this area than most ha.org-folks.
I am arrogant and I can afford it because I deliver.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #10 –
Quote
I lived with foobar2000s advanced limiter DSP yogether with +3 dB pre-amp gain for a while. It worked.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=339800"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Unfortunately, I use another program as my music player. However, I want something that can increase volume regardless programs I use.

So far it seem buying some hardwares would be a better idea. Now, another thing that I've to figure out is how to earn more money.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #11 –
Quote
I'm using a  headphone with my laptop and found the sound is not lound enough. Even I increase volume to its maximum in Volume Control, I'm still not satisfy. In contrast, on desktop I've to set volume below medium on PC because it's too lound. I dont' know why it so different. Maybe because I use a cheap headphone (Sony MDR-XD100), it could because of  the onboard soundcard (Intel HD Audio) or maybe I have an amp for my desktop. Anyway, is there a way I can increase more volume? I prefer a software solution if possible.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


the sound cart on your laptop is not so powerful to get louder music.
with a external soundcard, you can get some louder outputs.
example usb, (sheapest), usb 2.0, firewire, or pcmcia (expensiver) carts

there is some software, like tractor dj, you can get some louder output (+10db)
but watch out for overloading your music..
some good sound cards..

M-Audio Sonica Theater, M-Audio Transit
www.m-audio.com

terratec Aureon 5.1 USB MKII €49,99
TerraTec Aureon 7.1 Firewire
www.terratec.com

Echo Indigo DJ
www.echoaudio.com

Edirol UA1EX, Edirol UA1x

sound
Audiotrak Maya 44 USB 2.0

for good price in US... [a href="http://www.floridamusicco.com]http://www.floridamusicco.com[/url]

regart

future music mms://84.29.133.206:7777

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #12 –
there is this from project audio on the cheaper end of the scale (around £130, they also make a more basic model for around £75) i have never used them but i do have one of there record decks and i quite like it. theres also one from grado link but i dont know what it cost.

the Creek OBH21 and OBH 21SE also looked worth mentioning but i could not find a good link for them, they do seem to be rather expensive though and the lack of independant volume control on the SE model is a bit of a downer.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #13 –
Quote
... you may get away cheaper by instead buying a different headphone... [{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Do you have a recommendation for that? It doesn't have to be something too professional or too fancy. I'm not looking for the best one. As you can see, I can live with this cheap headphone for quite sometime.  If I can buy a better one with reasonable price, I would love to.

I will give [a href="http://www.head-fi.org/]head-fi.org[/url] a vist. Also I'd like to hear you guys' opinions.

EDIT: some tag and grammar mistakes

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #14 –
Well, I am a bit concerned. It could be that you've been killing your ears, and have had to progressively increase the volume to compensate. You didn't say that your hearing was normal in the original post or that this problem only exists on your laptop.

So I'm just worried that you're gonna make a post in a year asking for hearing aid recommendations.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #15 –
You may ask around for more opinions on those, but from your previous posts and the following review, the koss ur20 may fit your demands....

http://www.dansdata.com/ur20.htm
I am arrogant and I can afford it because I deliver.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #16 –
Quote
Thanks for a guidance. I would buy a new headphone if necessary.

220 Euro, that should be around ~350 AUD, quite a big amount for me. So, is this "Rega Ear" considered an upmarket product? or it is the average price for headphone amp?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=339802"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

If you go over to head-fi.org, this amp would probably be considered pretty "basic" for a stationary headphone amp - you can spend A LOT more money on headphone amps, as with all hi-fi equipment. But unless you really have top-notch equipment WRT headphones (Sennheiser HD 650 or one of the really expensive Grados) and audio source (i.e. excellent soundcard), I doubt that it is worth spending a lot more.
You also need to consider if you need a stationary or portable headphone amp. Portable ones can be had for relatively little money (like the 40-50 Euro range that Lyx wrote), while I've seen little in the range below 200 Euro with stationary amps. Again, the folks at head-fi will surely give you some recommendations what are currently considered to be the best value amps if you specify what you what to spend.
Proverb for Paranoids: "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers."
-T. Pynchon (Gravity's Rainbow)

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #17 –
Quote
You may ask around for more opinions on those, but from your previous posts and the following review, the koss ur20 may fit your demands....

http://www.dansdata.com/ur20.htm
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Forgot to add: if you want to spend more than 20$...... lets say 100$.... then you may want to consider these:
[a href="http://www.dansdata.com/hd280.htm]http://www.dansdata.com/hd280.htm[/url]
which are more durable at the weakest position of most headphones - the wiring of the cable.

Both are low impendance headphones which will probably solve your volume-issues. To make sure, check the specs at your current headphones and compare their impendance to those of the above linked headphones (lower impendance(ohm) = louder)
I am arrogant and I can afford it because I deliver.

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #19 –
There are a couple of issues here. First, many laptops use 3.3 volt codecs, and some of them can muster, at best, about 400 millivolts into any load.

Second, pushing stuff into compression or clipping is just going to make the articulation worse. Try getting a set of headphones, or something.

Third, the volume available for loudspeaker and enclosure is politely described as "smaller than minute", and you get speaker performance accordingly. Volume velocity * frequency squard is the power response of such any speaker. To make sound you have to move air.
-----
J. D. (jj) Johnston

Is there a way to increase more volume?

Reply #20 –
i might also add that more than likely the music being listened to is already maxed to fullscale, so a compressor/limiter in software is just as likely to lower the volume than raise it.  maxing all the EQ sliders in winamp to +20 is going to completely b0rk the audio.

headphone amp, or just use a lighter pair of headphones when using the laptop.

i have a similar problem with the (crappy) AC97 on my work computer.  it's feeding a pair of beyerdynamic 660's (awesome btw), but just doesn't have enough juice for audio at broadcast levels (-10dB peak, -20dB reference level).  it's only just enough (which is just as well, because i'd listen to things too loud and bugger my ears up otherwise).

either live with it, get lower impedance headphones, or get a headphone amp.