Sound Volume Changes

[sechs]

I'm having a strange issue where the volume on my desktop will suddenly drop and then some seemingly random period of time later, return to the previous level. This is problematic because I use it to listen to music.

I'm using the Realtek ALC889 sound on my motherboard and my now 10+ year-old Cambridge Soundworks 2.1 speakers. OS is Windows 7. Normally, I run the speakers via the digital coax connector, but the issue also occurs when using analog miniplug. As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with either of these two pieces of equipment, and there were no problems for years.

If I run sound out to my TV via the HDMI connector on my video card (which has a separate Realtek controller), it's fine.

If I use headphones instead of the speakers, there are no apparent volume problems.

If I use an analog source other than the computer, the volume on the speakers doesn't randomly change. I don't have any other coax digital output devices with which to test.

I use the Microsoft-supplied drivers for the sound, but have another install of Windows on this machine using the Realtek drivers. The problem also occurs with the Realtek drivers, but seems to be less bad (fewer occurrences) with the latest 2.71 set. I've fiddled with all kinds of settings to no avail.

Currently, I am working around this issue by turning down the Windows system volume and cranking the volume on the speakers. This seems to make the drops impossible to discern. However, it limits how high I can turn up the sound, as the top third of the dial doesn't appreciably turn up the volume in this set up.

Initially, I thought that this was my speakers getting ready to kick the bucket; but they've proven to be far better built than that. I'm out of ideas on what to check.

 

[timwhit]

You could try booting a live Linux image and see if the problem happens there.

 

[Mercutio]

That doesn't align with any way that I've heard of audio hardware breaking, but I suspect that it is a hardware issue, particularly since the problem can be addressed by manually fixing the volume on the speakers. The cheapest fix is almost certainly to purchase a different sound card.

 

[Bozo]

Heat related???

 

[sechs]

You could try booting a live Linux image and see if the problem happens there.

I guess this is as good as any reason to update my Koppix disk....

 

[sechs]

That doesn't align with any way that I've heard of audio hardware breaking, but I suspect that it is a hardware issue, particularly since the problem can be addressed by manually fixing the volume on the speakers. The cheapest fix is almost certainly to purchase a different sound card.

I'm pretty much of the same mind of this, but it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

I have a Rosewill card based on a C-Media chip. If it comes to that, are there any better options?

 

[sechs]

Heat related???

They've been doing some construction work nearby, so I've actually had the windows closed and the A/C on for the last month. Doesn't seem to make any difference.

 

[Mercutio]

Stand alone sound cards are getting a bit hard to come by but I think Via Envy 24DT based hardware is a step up from Realtek. Then again, a USB DAC might be a better long term investment.

 

[sechs]

Stand alone sound cards are getting a bit hard to come by but I think Via Envy 24DT based hardware is a step up from Realtek. Then again, a USB DAC might be a better long term investment.

My only real requirement is that it has the coax digital out, which generally puts me out of the lowest-end cards.

And, for the record, after some fiddling around because the mixer hides the digital out, Knoppix gives the same results as ever. Perhaps worse.