[gentoo-user] Re: How do I turn my audio up?

[Grant Edwards]

On 2011-11-03, Alan Mackenzie <acm@×××.de> wrote:

> On my PC's audio, whilst playing CDs, with all volume settings maxed out,
> the volume can't be said to be louder than "comfortable and sensible".
> In quiet passages, the music gets drowned out by the noise of the power
> supply.  I know from plugging in my iPod that the loudspeakers are
> capable of much more.
>
> The three volume controls up at full are (i) the one in aqualung; (ii)
> the one in alsamixer; (iii) the physical control on the right speaker.
>
> Surely I can get more volume, somehow.  Could somebody please suggest
> how.

The easiest answer seems to be to get an audio card (or USB dongle) that
has a real line-level output rather than just a headphone-level
output.

Some amplified speakers need more signal than others, and many
on-board audio outputs are utter crap.

A friend of mine had some _nice_ Bose computer speakers plugged into
her green "audio out" jack.  You had to turn all the volumes up to 11
to hear much, and it sounded awful.

I plugged in a $20 USB audio out dongle with a real line-level output,
and now it sounds great.

-- 
Grant Edwards               grant.b.edwards        Yow! Are we live or on
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