Windows 8.1 USB microphone volume is extremely low

Anonymous
2014-03-14T02:41:12+00:00

I have a Samson C01U USB mic. It is a plug-and-play microphone. There are no drivers for it. There is no firmware for it. You just plug it in, and it works.

This mic has always worked perfectly. When I used Windows 7, I set the volume level of it to about 40-50% and everything sounded crisp, clear, and loud. On Windows 8, it is inaudible unless I set the volume to 90% but even at that point it is not loud enough. Setting it to 100% results in a lot of noise in the background.

This is not the first time someone has brought this issue up as it is extremely common to everyone owning a USB plug-and-play mic:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1323451/windows-8-mic-issue

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/2da97f80-f58b-4635-acbf-9dd7292ed752/microphone-very-low-volume?forum=w8itprohardware

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_8-hardware/low-usb-microphone-recording-volume-at2020/9528f797-65c8-4033-a4d6-39995cd0d074

Has there ever been a fix for this issue?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2014-07-31T00:46:56+00:00

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

As you have mentioned that you have checked the issue with other microphone but you still face this issue. We have already tried to uninstall and reinstall the drivers. I suspect this issue to be a hardware issue. Check the issue with a local technician.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-01-14T17:31:00+00:00

    Dude, i don't know where you get your patience from but props

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-01-14T16:59:41+00:00

    My Chipset drivers are all up to date, this is one of the things I did when troubleshooting by myself.

    This issue is NOT related to the microphone, as I've tested with other microphones, against a windows 7 machine, and the issue is replicated.

    This is an issue with the driver that is provided by Microsoft.  All of the files for this driver are created by Microsoft.  Samson does not provide their own drivers, as the product is designed to work with the Windows generic drivers, which have changed between Windows 7 and windows 8.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-01-14T12:21:54+00:00

    Hi Martin,

    Sorry for the delay in reply.

    Please check the computer manufacturer’s website to download the latest and updated "motherboard chipset drivers” for your computer model. Once this is done, restart the computer and check the issue status.

    Motherboard chipset drivers usually provide the correct "drivers" for a lot of components on the motherboard, including USB ports and ACPI functions.

    Alternatively, you may also contact the Samson Technologies team here: http://www.samsontech.com/support/

    Keep us informed to help you further.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-01-12T06:27:15+00:00

    Same story with Lenovo Yoga 2 11 (Windows 8.1) - unusably low mic volume.  Can't use Skype without shouting.   Installing the latest drivers from the Lenovo website did not help.

    There is clearly something systematic going on which can affect any system.   Too many people with too many different systems report low mic volume even with max level & boost enabled.

    It can't be a hardware issue!

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