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109354
May 13th, 2015 05:00
Alienware 17 R2 - Microphone Volume LOW
Hi,
I just bought this laptop around a week a go, and just got it up and running - so far so good.
However, there is one very annoying issue. When I record my voice with the microphone the volume is extremely LOW.
I went onto the Dell website and installed the latest audio driver (the 'Creative Malcolm chip+Recon3Di AP Driver'). This driver seems to have increased the volume, but it's still not right ...
All it did was increase "Microphone boost" to '+20.0db' which sounds bad. When recording, while I can hear my voice better, there is 'noise' in the background (not static, just ambient noise - it's not clear), and the recording sounds 'tinny' if that makes sense.
I have tinkered with the settings in the 'Sound Blaster Recon 3di control panel' - Noise reduction, Echo cancellation etc, and there is still no improvement. Simply put, without microphone boost enabled, the volume of my voice recording is very low, even with recording volume set to 100.
This microphone works perfectly on my old laptop (Asus G74sx-RH71) without microphone boosting enabled. I actually had this EXACT same issue on that laptop, but it was fixed by installing the correct driver (it was a Realtek driver I believe).
I have uninstalled and re-installed the driver numerous times to no avail.
So the question is, how do I fix this issue? Do I need a specific driver? I'm out of ideas.
Thanks.
Alienware - Rodrigo
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May 13th, 2015 15:00
Make sure the microphone is set as the default device in recording devices. Click here for a link that explains how to do this. Disable the other devices that you show there, just leave the microphone as default. Test it to see if it makes any difference. If not, you can also try to flash the Bios, click here for the Bios download link.
gman147
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May 13th, 2015 21:00
Yep, it's set at default & I've tried disabling other devices.
I've installed all the latest drivers already and I have flashed the BIOS - the issue remains.
It simply won't function unless 'Microphone boost' is at '+20.0db' ... which makes the recording sound 'tinny', it's terrible.
I'm astounded that my 4yr old Asus laptop managed to nail this issue with a simple Realtek driver ... there has to be a solution to this ...
Alienware - Rodrigo
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May 14th, 2015 16:00
Just to confirm, you are referring to the internal microphone on the system right? Also, I'm pretty you have already tried this but did you make sure to adjust the volume on the microphone properties setting in recording devices? Have you by any chance tested an external microphone, like a headset?
gman147
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May 14th, 2015 18:00
I'm not sure what you mean by 'Internal Microphone'.
I use a 'Turtle Beach X12' headset to play games and speak with. It has a mouth piece attached, which I speak into to talk and record my voice.
The headset is powered by plugging it into a USB slot. I then plug in the 'green' and 'pink' cords into the headphone/microphone jacks.
I actually have two of these headsets and both produce the same result.
And yep, I've tried adjusting the volume to no avail.
Alienware - Rodrigo
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May 15th, 2015 13:00
What I mean by the "Internal Microphone" is the built in microphone which is located in the middle top part of the LCD screen. In recording devices, it will show with the name "Microphone” and it should also say something about Realtek. You should be able to record sound with this microphone, so we wanted to know if you are having the same problem with the internal microphone as well.
gman147
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May 15th, 2015 18:00
On my Asus laptop if I right click on 'Recording Devices', it says 'Microphone' is what I'm using with 'Realtek' listed just below it. That's all that is listed there.
On my Dell Alienware laptop it says the same thing but instead of 'Realtek' it says 'Recon3Di' below it. Also, on my Alienware laptop it has something called "Microphone Array' and 'What you hear' - I don't know what they are. They were never present on my Asus laptop.
Alienware - Rodrigo
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May 19th, 2015 15:00
In the recording devices window, right click anywhere on the white space where you show the devices and make sure to check both the "Show Disconnected Devices" and "Show Disabled Devices" options. Its possible that you might be using the internal microphone, you would need to set the turtle beach headset as the default device for the system to recognize it properly.
gman147
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May 19th, 2015 18:00
Yep, both are already checked. Nothing new appears.
gman147
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May 24th, 2015 22:00
I'm not using the internal microphone.
Is there really no fix to this issue?
mgutt
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July 28th, 2015 03:00
Did you find a solution? Same problem here with an Alienware 13 (both jacks). Defective mainboard?!
gman147
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July 28th, 2015 04:00
Nope, never found a solution. I Spent too much time and energy trying to fix it and I got nowhere.
I E-mailed a Dell technician but he didn't know. The Dell guy on this thread stopped responding as he didn't know.
I E-mailed Creative SoundBlaster directly and they didn't know ...
I just ended up returning the laptop for a full refund as there was no solution.