Get more from your PC’s sound settings
Matthew Hanson | Guides, Windows 7, Windows Vista | 03/09/2010 12:13pm
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There’s far more to sound settings in Windows than just changing the volume. Follow this guide to get your computer sounding the best it can. At first glance, the sound settings of Windows might appear to simply be a way of controlling the volume of your PC. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll find tools and settings that enable you to finely tune your audio settings.
These alterations can make a big difference to how media and games sound on your computer – so if you use your PC to watch DVDs and Blu-rays, or listen to music, ensuring that your sound settings are correct is a must.
With Windows Vista and Windows 7, you can also manage the sound levels for individual programs. This means that you could have the volume for Windows Live Messenger or Windows Media Player quite loud, while sounds in Internet Explorer play quietly.
Step-by-step: Make your PC sound better
1 Volume Mixer
Click the speaker icon on the notification area of the taskbar, then click Mixer to open up the Volume Mixer window. The Speakers setting enables you to change the volume for your entire PC, while the Applications setting lists all the programs that use sounds. You can adjust each one separately.
2 Add enhancements
From the Volume Mixer window, click on the Speakers icon to open the Speakers Properties window. Click the Enhancements tab to see the available enhancements. These include Bass Boost, which adds extra bass, and Virtual Surround, which varies the timing of stereo speakers to create the illusion of surround sound.
3 Preview changes
For most of these, you can alter their settings by selecting the enhancement, then clicking Settings… For example, Loudness Equalization keeps playback volumes consistent – so a very loud song won’t shock you when it plays straight after a quiet song. Click Preview to test out the new settings.
4 Configure speakers with Room Correction
The Room Correction enhancement is a clever setting that helps you configure your speakers so they take into account the layout of your room. You need to connect a microphone to your PC, then click the tick box next to Room Correction. You’re taken through a walkthrough on calibrating Windows for your room.
5 Improve the audio quality
If you want to get the best sound quality possible, click on the Advanced tab. Here you’re able to adjust the sample rate and bit depth of the sounds your computer plays. The default is 16-bit CD Quality, but you can click the drop-down box to increase the quality to 24-bit Studio Quality.
6 Configure your surround sound
Use Windows to configure your surround sound set-up to help you get the most out of your films. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Playback devices. Click Speakers and then Configure. You’re asked to choose your speaker set-up from a list: stereo (two speakers), 5.1 and 7.1 layouts.
7 Change the Windows sounds
Windows plays different sounds for different events – configure these by clicking the Sounds tab. You can choose a sound scheme, or click the event you’d like to change the sound for, then either select a Windows sound from the Sounds drop-down list box or click Browse to choose your own sound.
8 Listen and enjoy!
Well done, you’ve now configured your PC to play your music, movies and other media the way they were supposed to be heard. Thanks to the Windows Sound Settings, you’ll be amazed at what a difference a few tweaks can achieve. Play your favourite CD to hear just how good your PC now sounds!
This entry was posted on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 12:13 and is filed under Guides, Windows 7, Windows Vista. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.
