Surface 2 Speaker/Sound Problems

Anonymous
2013-10-23T17:22:07+00:00

I just purchased two new Surface 2's and I am noticing a significant reduction in volume from the speakers compared to my old Surface RT.  The speakers also lack any kind of bass.  They are very "tinny" and shallow sounding.  When using headphones, there is plenty of bass sound and the volume level is not an issue.

I am also experienceing a significant amount of sound crackling (from the speakers and attached headphones) when streaming video from Amazon Instant Video using both the desktop and metro versions of IE.  I do not experience this crackling problem with other sound sources like Xbox music, gaming, or other website streaming video (i.e. YouTube).

Since I was experiencing this on two different Surface 2's, it seems unlikely that this is a hardware issue.  This is most likely a software/driver issue.  Is there anything that I can do to resolve this problem, other than wait for a possible software or firmware update?

Thanks.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-10-26T22:11:08+00:00

    Just noticed something: Had music playing over the speakers, sounded tinny and poor as you describe. Plugged in headphones and I heard a distinct change from tinny and poor sound to rich and full sound.  As though when the plug was put in all the way the machine detected the difference and had a delayed reaction in how it processed the music. 

    Also, the volume rocker on the side of the Surface quit working for a bit but I could adjust it with the toggle within the Xbox music app.  Physical rocker had the volume at 0, Xbox volume had it at 80.  Then, things switched again and suddenly the physical rocker is working again (happened when a new song came on) and the Xbox toggle switched to matching the hardware rocker again.  Weird.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-10-26T21:26:47+00:00

    Went into to the control panel and pulled up properties for the default Tegra speakers. I disabled the enhancements and that seemed to stop the crackling. I also hit the configure button and saw the speakers were not set to be full range speakers. Changed that and they sound better.  Still faint, nowhere as good as the RT, but better.

    Something to check before the inevitable update...

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-10-26T01:39:36+00:00

    My maximum volume level on Surface 2 RT is much lower than on the Surface RT original.  In the Surface RT this was fixed with a firmware update.  So it is disappointing to see the same issue recurring in the new product.  Is there a solution available for Surface 2, or do we have to wait?

     Here is an example.

    http://sdrv.ms/1duk1Hr

    Here is the similar discussion for the Surface RT

    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfwinrt-surfgetstart/maximum-volume-level-low-on-surface-rt-solution/7e378d07-09db-4f79-af10-f423f1bf198d?page=~pagenum~

    I have tried every setting in the control panel sound dialog.  no dice.  the driver needs an update.  please fix!

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-10-25T18:09:33+00:00

    Also spoken with Support and as a reset doesn't resolve the issue, they've suggested an exchange.

    Will be doing so at the store I bought from later today, will see if that solves the issue.

    Alas, having exchanged my Surface 2 the speakers are exactly the same (I did have a random freezing issue too, so hopefully the exchange will have still been worth it).

    It really does seem to be software and not hardware, so fingers crossed for an update.

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  5. Anonymous
    2013-10-25T15:59:07+00:00

    Totally agree with CharlesCoates.  I also just tried playing Amazon Instant Video through some Bluetooth speakers.  The same audio stutter and crackling happened with them as well.  I'm even more convinced this is a software issue.

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