Automatic volume leveling during audio playback

Anonymous
2009-11-05T13:16:13+00:00

This is really annoying:

Quiet sound is amplified to sound at a reasonable level. Then when a loud part of the song comes on the level automatically drops making the quiet parts sound annoyingly loud & the loud part annoyingly quiet... Sorry that's the best way I can describe this... again:

Only happens when its had a few seconds on silent (eg. pause) - at that point the system starts to "think" for itself creeping the base volumes up. Then when the song begins again you are treated to loudness that is quickly quietened when the system realises there is a higher level of sound coming through...

This is very frustrating because I use my computer to record & as such need to have the audio playing at its proper level - not the level the computer thinks it should be playing at...

I have combed through the settings looking for an "auto off" option, and have spent a long time searching for an answer online. 

Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2009-11-05T22:23:05+00:00

Hi pablo647,

Welcome to Microsoft Windows 7 Answers Forum!

We would like to get a little more information from you to help troubleshoot your issue.

Are you using any Sound Card on the machine?

You can try playing the same song to a differnet Headphone or the Speakers.

I suspect it could be a problem with the sound card drivers.

You can update the drivers for the sound devices and try after that.

  1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.
  2. Click System and Maintenance, click System, and then click Device Manager.

Note If Control Panel is in Classic View, double-click System, and then click Device Manager.

  1. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
  2. In Device Manager, expland "Sound Video and Game controllers", right-click the "Sound Video and Game controllers" and go to properties.
  3. Browse to the Update tab and then click on update driver.

You may also check on the Sound card manufacturers web site and verify if they have any updated drivers for Windows 7 and try to install it.   

Hope it helps.  

Thanks and Regards:

Shekhar S - Microsoft Support.

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum

Was this answer helpful?

20+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

109 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2012-11-16T23:52:13+00:00

    Hi guys I have a Xfi extreme audio card. There seems to be a problem with the windows sound system and hardware enhancements.

    So far the only things that have worked for me is

    1 Turn all enhancements off

    2 turn app volume to 5% and windows volume to 100% with enhancements on.

    3 Download the winpus openal output plugin for winamp which seems to bypass the windows normalization of hardware enhancements.

    Either way it is a windows sound problem which persists through to windows 8 which is what I'm using.

    Dear Microsoft.

    Please fix your sound system before everyone in music and video editing go to a mac because of poor service.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2012-10-15T02:46:14+00:00

    Fascinating.  I can duplicate this behavior when I turn on and off the graphic equalizer in Windows Media Player.  I skimmed through the responses and it seems people are getting mixed behaviors.  I haven't noticed before until experimenting with the ol' laptop after observing the behavior on all the laptops at Best Buy, regardless of the make, model, and class (laptop, desktop, all-in-one).  I tried all the solutions mentioned in this thread and I got it to happen by playing with the graphic eq.

    Anyone try to duplicate this regrettable annoyance in Windows 8 and its media player?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2012-10-08T15:14:34+00:00

    Hi guys i have the same damn issue, some dynamic compression is ruining to enjoy my music, and this is not a driver issue.

     i just found a workaround:

     Foobar2000 + foobar asio plugin + asio4all

    when you install this 3 software,

    just go to foobar2000 preferences playback output and select ASIO : ASIO4ALL

    you can use your realtek sound drivers if you want, this solution override all microsoft and realtek krap

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.


    Comments have been turned off. Learn more