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Subwoofer Problem

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by rossen_pomakov

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What happened is that I got a 5.1 speaker system for my Dell Computer. It runs on XP. The problem is that when playing games, music, video, etc. the subwoofer's volume is very low. Even when the knob is turned all the way up. I calibrated the speakers and tested their channels and the sound coming from the sub sounded normal, as loud as the rest of the speakers, but once i played a song, I could only hear it when i got 3 inches away from the sub. and since it is under my computer desk, that is a stupid way to listen to my "tunes" and play my games. I tried going to control panel and tried the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Settings too ,but in the end nothing. Any suggestions?

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by absolutely

If you feel it rumble but don't hear much from it, you're subwoofer is working correctly. If you're still not pleased with the performance of your speakers or sound card, please try the appropriate manufacturer's forum. From the main page, click the "support" button. You will find their FAQ, Technical Support professionals and User Forum very helpful.

by rossen_pomakov

So, i followed Absolutely's advice and went to Creative and looked under the forums. There, I looked for subwoofer problems similar to mine, and found one such scenario. It turns out you have to turn on Bass Redirect from the Speaker Setting and the bass is created on its own. Thanks for the tip Absolutely!

The subwoofer is working great now.

by thechas

Since the subwoofer sounds balanced when you run the calibration program, my first thought is that the music you are listening to may not have a lot of low base information.

Find something with a good drum solo, or a lot of low rumbles in it.

The 1812 Overture is a good test for a subwoofer.

What you want to do, is compare how the music sounds through a "reference system" to how it sounds from your computer.

The reference system could be an MP3 player with a good set of headphones. Up to a full blown home audio system.

If you compare how the music sounds, and your computer has similar sounding bass, there is nothing wrong with your system or settings.

Keep in mind, that most computer speaker systems will not provide the same level of bass, or even the overall quality of sound that you get from a good set of headphones or a decent stereo system.

One factor is the laws of physics and acoustics. you need a large cabinet to generate high quality bass at any appreciable volume. If your computer subwoofer is smaller than 1 cubic foot, it just can't make a lot of good bass.

Chas

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