Venue 11 Pro (7140) 64bit Win 8.1 - Audio volume

When playing YouTube music with the Browser and Tablet volume level controls set to Max, the sound from the Tablet's 1W speakers is clear, but the volume level is not great. The same is true when listening with head-phones plugged in. From memory, some webcasts (e.g. recent MS product launch) can have low volume levels available, and so with the Tablet at max volume, such broadcasts could be difficult to follow. When I connect the Tablet head-phone socket to an external sound system, with the latter also set to Max, the sound level is not much better. Is the max volume from the Venue 11 Pro 7140 (both internal speakers and head-phone port) limited by design? However, when I connect the Tablet to a TV via a HDMI cable, the audio level to the TV is sufficient such that I can have the TV set to normal volume level, or even turn it up further to a very loud level! This suggests the audio level within the HDMI cable is higher than from the Tablet's headphone port. I also have the Dell docking station, and the level from it's headphone port is no better than the Tablet itself. If there is no solution via a setting within the Tablet, perhaps it's possible to buy a USB2/3 device for the Tablet which will give me a Line Out signal for the external sound system, at a higher level than available from the Tablet's headphone port. Any thoughts?

My 7140 has what I would consider to be acceptable volume levels.   Are you adjusting with the button on the side of the device only?   If so, try doing a Windows search for "Dell Audio".   You will have a variety of options for controlling audio volume here that might help.

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your response.

The problem resolved itself, and I now get sufficient signal to drive the external audio system, from the head-phone socket on either the 7140, or the docking station, such that I don't need to set the volume to max.

I don't know how it resolved itself (possibly finger trouble), but I also notice I now get a Dell Audio / Maxx Audio 3 pop-up when plugging in head-phones or the external audio system, asking "Which device did you plug in?".

Whether the internal speaker volume (set to max) is too low or not is debatable, but higher volume from the internal speakers probably wouldn't be desirable in business scenarios for which the 7140 was designed.

Thanks, James (Chichester, UK)

I noticed an immediate improvement in the sounds after applying the Dell Support update Realtek ALC5505 Firmware Version 6.0.1.7399, A03

Much louder, clearer and no doubling of certain clicks when dragging and dropping with the stylus.