Low audio volume from built-in sound, USB sound card or other solutions?

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My friend has onboard sound on his machine. I need a solution for him that doesn't involve him going to his local computer shop to get a PCIe card installed.

Preferably spending $30 or less (but up to say 50 or so) Are there any USB sound card offerings that provide a good deal of headphone amplification? Audiophile quality is not actually very important. He's older and his trouble is just "can't hear" not "it doesn't sound good enough."

He could use an analog headphone amplifier, but they often require batteries, and the costs of that add up over time.

Looked at solutions in the ~$25 price range like Sound Blaster Play! 2, but there are no reviews anywhere that I can find, and no one directly addresses the headphone amplification issue.
 

Cogitation

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There's a ton of USB sound cards... Have you personally used that device? I'm concerned that being only USB powered, it might not have enough power to do any amplification at all, and it would just be an extra 3.5mm jack that provides low audio output. I found a device called the FiiO E6 which seems to be decently reviewed, and provides 8dB of amplification, for under $30, but it seems there are some counterfeiting issues with Amazon.
 

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Question #1: Is the problem in the speakers/headphones or in the PC?

You can check by plugging those speakers/headphones into another computer.

Assuming the problem is in the PC:

(1) Have You have checked the BIOS for a sound setting? I had pathetic sound from my Fujitsu LifeBook T5010 until a friend showed me a setting in the BIOS.

(2) Have You changed both the sound volume down next to the clock and the sound volume in the program? (I know this seems obvious, but You would be surprised how often this is the problem.)

(3) If all else fails, disable the internal sound in the BIOS and install an after-market sound card that is noted for being loud in the reviews.

Assuming the problem is in the speakers / headphones:

As I understand it, he's sending the signal from his computer to a set of amplified speakers? Or is it amplified headphones? They are amplified, right?

(1) A $25 set of speakers that plug into the wall may cure this. Different speakers respond differently to low input signals.

I use speakers from the "free" category of CraigsList. It's amazing how little people value old shelf stereo units whose coolest feature was dual cassette decks, when the doors are broken off both cassette slots. They still (usually) have audio inputs, and all it takes is a cable (3.5mm-stereo-to-dual-RCA-plugs.)

(2) Alternately, if he is using headphones, a set of amplified headphones may solve his problem.
 

Cogitation

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1) No, haven't tried the BIOS. He's in Canada, and is older, so accomplishing that would be pretty tedious over the phone.

2) Yes. It's possible for things to be loud enough, when they're properly normalized, but lots of audio on the web is not properly normalized, and he was basically sitting at 100% system volume all the time.

3) That's specifically what I want to avoid. He'd have to take it to a shop, at $50/hr, plus the cost of the card.

Buying speakers and/or amplified headphones (I'm a headphone fan and I've never heard of this... amplified means power requirements. They plug into the wall as well as the headphone jack?) is defeating the purpose of the question. How to increase max volume/amplification without installing anything in the PC.

I thought a headphone amplifier, or a USB sound card was probably the solution. The problem with headphone amps is that they're normally battery powered. I don't know if USB sound cards provide amplification over what the motherboard itself provides. Was hopeful someone would know.
 

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I can not tell You if a USB sound card will provide more power than the motherboard's onboard sound. This is because I don't have a measurement of what the motherboard is putting out. Trying it with a different set of headphones, or trying those headphones on another PC would give us an indication of where the problem might be.
 

Cogitation

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Turns out he just went out and bought a new set of headphones and they are louder. I suspect it was a high ohms issue, and the motherboard couldn't drive them, but it may have been the headphones.

For anyone who sees this thread, I think a genuine FiiO E6 is a good sub-30 dollar solution.