problem Can the volume of a laptop's built-in speakers be increased?

[apairofpcs]

I have two laptops that each has a maximum volume level that's usually too low to properly represent audio media. Is there a way to increase their volumes, with a program that digitally amplifies them? The two laptops are:

• Toshiba Satellite A505-S6965 ( Aug. 2009 ) with an Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 2.0 GHz CPU, 4 GB of DDR2 memory, an Intel 530 SSD and Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64 bit OS..
• Lenovo Thinkpad T530 2359-CTO ( Nov. 2012 ) with an Intel i5 3210M 2.5 GHz CPU, 12 GB of DDR3 memory, a Seagate 320 GB HDD and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit OS.
  

 

[Chewy509]

Other than what the OS provides, no... You may need to check both the master volume and application volume controls. (I can't remember if Win7 has per application volume controls or not). Also the sound driver may have some tweaks available... (but unlikely).

If handy with a soldering iron, then it's possible to up the quality of the speakers if you can find speakers to fit the current mounts...

 

[CougTek]

Get a pair of Creative T10 instead. Or Logitech Z200 if you want something even cheaper and a bit smaller.

If you really want loud, you can go with the Creative T20, but they are bigger.

Yes, all of these are Creative Labs, but for 2.0 speakers, they are among the best, or at least were last time I've checked. You probably don't want to bother carrying a subwoofer with your laptop, so forget any speaker kit with one.

 

[Mercutio]

It might be more productive to move to a bluetooth speaker set or a bluetooth audio receiver. There really isn't any extra space along the edges of a laptop chassis for a speaker of a different design than the ones the machine shipped with, so regardless of any other consideration, you're only going to be able to mount a speaker of the same shape and size. IIIRC, on your T530, the speakers are rectangular and 25mm long and 10mm wide. I doubt you would have many options.

 

[apairofpcs]

Other than what the OS provides, no... You may need to check both the master volume and application volume controls. (I can't remember if Win7 has per application volume controls or not). Also the sound driver may have some tweaks available... (but unlikely).

If handy with a soldering iron, then it's possible to up the quality of the speakers if you can find speakers to fit the current mounts...

Yes, Win 7 has individual application volume controls, and all are set to max. The volume is still deficient. I saw no sound driver settings for volume. I'm too worried about damaging each laptop, especially the out of warranty Toshiba, to dismantle either one to replace the speakers. Anyway, I was wondering if the amplification section of the MB integrated sound card in each laptop, can be boosted by some electronic means. I should add that some video clips or movies give a strong volume, which requires me to reduce the volume using the system tray volume icon.

 

[apairofpcs]

Get a pair of Creative T10 instead. Or Logitech Z200 if you want something even cheaper and a bit smaller.

If you really want loud, you can go with the Creative T20, but they are bigger.

Yes, all of these are Creative Labs, but for 2.0 speakers, they are among the best, or at least were last time I've checked. You probably don't want to bother carrying a subwoofer with your laptop, so forget any speaker kit with one.

I wouldn't consider buying outboard speakers for either laptop. The majority of their use is in bed and I like their compact footprints. I like each laptop's speaker technology, with the exception of the low volume issue. By the way, I have four surround sound speakers and a subwoofer, given to me by a buddy who moved out of NYC. They are desktop based units, so I'm not sure if they'd be compatible with a laptop's sound card.

 

[apairofpcs]

It might be more productive to move to a bluetooth speaker set or a bluetooth audio receiver. There really isn't any extra space along the edges of a laptop chassis for a speaker of a different design than the ones the machine shipped with, so regardless of any other consideration, you're only going to be able to mount a speaker of the same shape and size. IIIRC, on your T530, the speakers are rectangular and 25mm long and 10mm wide. I doubt you would have many options.

I was pretty sure that "replacing" the two speakers in each pc would be tough, if not impossible. Most laptops don't have any wiggle room inside and remedying this matter by getting inside both units, isn't worth the risk of doing damage to an otherwise perfect pair of laptops.

 

[ddrueding]

Merc's suggestion of a bluetooth audio receiver sounds best. Let the laptop send the audio wirelessly to your bigger sound system.

 

[CougTek]

By the way, I have four surround sound speakers and a subwoofer, given to me by a buddy who moved out of NYC. They are desktop based units, so I'm not sure if they'd be compatible with a laptop's sound card.

If the audio input is a 1/8" jack stereo, then it is.

 

[Howell]

If you control the source media, you can increase the base audio level. I don't know the technical term but I used to have a program that would normalize the audio levels of my mp3s to keep the loud ones from blasting me out of the car.

 

[Mercutio]

I have these in different places in my apartment. I don't exactly need high audio fidelity in my kitchen or bathroom, but it's nice that I just do not miss notifications any more. I had enough computer speakers sitting around that I have a decent solution for everyplace I might be.

 

[fb]

You should also be able to stream audio to a receiver/smart TV or whatever over the network.