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soundcards suck.

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by jparadeis 1 view

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Hi all.

Here's the situation. Realtek AC'97 audio. When I play anything it sounds like a bad spin off from the chipmunks. :-( I have replaced the speakers, and tweaked with all of the settings to no avail. Should I just put a different card in here? Basically, what I'm asking is, am I overlooking something obvious, or should I just replace the $*&^ing card and be done with it? Thanks.

10 replies

by sgt_shultz

i know you are upset and you have my sympathy.
how does the card look in device manager. is it or anything yellow banged or yellow question marked?
maybe you need amplfied speakers? how does it sound thru headphones?
we need to know your os to help. if you happen to be on win9x try this:
start/run/dxdiag
see if disabling all directx features fixes you.
otherwise, look for a resource conflict and make sure card is set in Device Manager for Analog or Digital output depending on your speakers. but didn't think poor sound was consequence of that, thought no sound was.

by jparadeis

Appreciate the help, but not fixing the issue. sounds like crap through headphones as well. hrmph.

by jparadeis

sorry, I knew that more info would be needed, but I was irritated earlier. this machine is running Win XP Pro. According to the Device Manager, everthing is working correctly, with no conflicts.

by jparadeis

sorry, I knew that more info would be needed, but I was irritated earlier. this machine is running Win XP Pro. According to the Device Manager, everthing is working correctly, with no conflicts. Currently using amplified speakers, however, was using non-amplified speakers earlier.

by oz_media

I've seen this, it had something to do with that soundchip only playing back 48Khz samples, it won't resample to 128 or higher so it just plays back too fast.

If it is integrated chipset audio (not a separate card) this is actually common, let me dig!

The latest driver I found was A3.64 available here: http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dlac97-2.aspx?lineid=5&famid=12&series=8&Software=True#8Windows

I also found a reply in another forum that mentions adding a line to the rc.local file to change the default sampling frequency but no specifics offered. You could play with a copy of the file if you have it.

IN all reality though, this soundchipset will not resample properly by design. I would invest in a decent card if you use it often.

ONE LAST NOTE: If this is JUST when using Windows Media PLayer, you can swith from Wave out to Direct Sound or vice versa, as that is common for glitchy WMP playback, this site has been helpful (under the Audio section). http://www.zachd.com/pss/pss.html#audio

Without specifics, that's all I can offer, best of luck.
OM

by jparadeis

updating the driver finally did it. I had a hell of a time changing the driver though.....thanks ;-)

by cg it

I'll add to Oz and Shultz comments. If you want decent sound, get a Creative Labs Audigy or a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz [I've run both and prefer the Creative Labs Audigy]. Note, that a computer isn't a sterio system though marketers try to make em out to be mutimedia platforms which one would think decent sound. I found that if I use decent headphones I get really good sound out of the Audigy card. I've used Sony earbuds and had exceptional sound, but I've yet to find decent speakers at a decent price [Klipsch and Altec Lansing speakers excluded]. For $20.00 USD by a pair of Sony earbuds with bass boost and try em out on your Realtek AC 97. play around with the equalizer, bass boost, and tone controls and see if theres a difference between using earbuds/headphones and speakers.

by cg it

ah, missed the comment on trying headphones. oh well. still invest in a sound card and don't forget to disable the onboard sound if your using it.

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