Problem with Vista, Realtek HD, and speakers plugged into headphone jack

[Sabretempo]

I've searched all kinds of forums looking for a solution to this problem, and have become pretty frustrated. I have an Acer laptop running Vista with the latest Realtek HD drivers (have tried the one recommended on the Acer site as well) and regardless of which options I change or where I dig around, the sound card refuses to push the right amount of volume to the monitors I have plugged into the headphone jack (and I know the speakers work just fine). I have the volume turned up in the Windows Volume Control, the settings for headphone and speaker, and in the Realtek software, as well as the Fn key volume on the laptop. Headphones plugged into that jack are blaring loud and clear, but regardless of which speakers I plug into the same jack they are whisper quiet. It's like there's some setting that should indicate that I have actual speakers rather than headphones plugged into that jack and I can't find it anywhere. Searching far and wide on the forums has turned up nothing useful, I've tried every suggested fix I've come across. There seem to be a lot of really knowledgeable people on here, though, so I'm holding out hope.

Thanks!

[youinthemoonlight]

Have you thought of buying laptop speakers that plug in through the usb port? They are available on Amazon.com for about $39.00. Might not be the solution your looking for but maybe it will help narrow the problem down because if they supply more volume than the headphone jack then the headphone jack is obviously the culprit.

I've searched all kinds of forums looking for a solution to this problem, and have become pretty frustrated. I have an Acer laptop running Vista with the latest Realtek HD drivers (have tried the one recommended on the Acer site as well) and regardless of which options I change or where I dig around, the sound card refuses to push the right amount of volume to the monitors I have plugged into the headphone jack (and I know the speakers work just fine). I have the volume turned up in the Windows Volume Control, the settings for headphone and speaker, and in the Realtek software, as well as the Fn key volume on the laptop. Headphones plugged into that jack are blaring loud and clear, but regardless of which speakers I plug into the same jack they are whisper quiet. It's like there's some setting that should indicate that I have actual speakers rather than headphones plugged into that jack and I can't find it anywhere. Searching far and wide on the forums has turned up nothing useful, I've tried every suggested fix I've come across. There seem to be a lot of really knowledgeable people on here, though, so I'm holding out hope.

Thanks!

[Reegs]

I've searched all kinds of forums looking for a solution to this problem, and have become pretty frustrated. I have an Acer laptop running Vista with the latest Realtek HD drivers (have tried the one recommended on the Acer site as well) and regardless of which options I change or where I dig around, the sound card refuses to push the right amount of volume to the monitors I have plugged into the headphone jack (and I know the speakers work just fine). I have the volume turned up in the Windows Volume Control, the settings for headphone and speaker, and in the Realtek software, as well as the Fn key volume on the laptop. Headphones plugged into that jack are blaring loud and clear, but regardless of which speakers I plug into the same jack they are whisper quiet. It's like there's some setting that should indicate that I have actual speakers rather than headphones plugged into that jack and I can't find it anywhere. Searching far and wide on the forums has turned up nothing useful, I've tried every suggested fix I've come across. There seem to be a lot of really knowledgeable people on here, though, so I'm holding out hope.

Thanks!

Hi Sabre and welcome to northernsounds.

What model monitors do you have plugged into the computer? Most multimedia speakers (e.g Logitech) are headphone-level, but a real pair or monitors (e.g. Mackie HR824's) will require a line level signal. Otherwise, you need to really boost the output, which would describe your problem. If you're using the machine for audio production, it's worth investing in an audio interface for superior performance to the onboard sound chips (which have about a dollar's worth of components). Most interfaces will give you the line outs to make your monitors happy.

But, if your speakers connect via a single 3/8" green stereo jack, I'm stumped for the time being.

Best,
Reegs

[lily11022]

Your comment is very good !

[concretelips]

Shut it down

[mar.and65]

I've searched all kinds of forums looking for a solution to this problem, and have become pretty frustrated. I have an Acer laptop running Vista with the latest Realtek HD drivers (have tried the one recommended on the Acer site as well) and regardless of which options I change or where I dig around, the sound card refuses to push the right amount of volume to the monitors I have plugged into the headphone jack (and I know the speakers work just fine). I have the volume turned up in the Windows Volume Control, the settings for headphone and speaker, and in the Realtek software, as well as the Fn key volume on the laptop. Headphones plugged into that jack are blaring loud and clear, but regardless of which speakers I plug into the same jack they are whisper quiet. It's like there's some setting that should indicate that I have actual speakers rather than headphones plugged into that jack and I can't find it anywhere. Searching far and wide on the forums has turned up nothing useful, I've tried every suggested fix I've come across. There seem to be a lot of really knowledgeable people on here, though, so I'm holding out hope.

Thanks!

There were many known audio driver issues in Windows Vista (which is a failed product of Microsost) and most of them are fixed in new Windows 7.