*Really* low mic volume.

Question

We'll after an hour of messing around with my sound settings I decided to chat with Dell support. I was linked to a page and followed all the steps, none of them resolved my issue. Im having trouble with my mic(s). No matter what I do my mic volume is just too low. I play FPS's which are loud and noisey, now how are my teamates supposed to hear me when my own voice sounds like a whisper on *my* desktop? If I want to get results from my mic then I really have to put it IN my mouth and scream... im serious. I even tried downloading new drivers.

I have the Audigy 2 ZS sound card if that helps.

EDIT: After browsing the forums a bit I see that other people are having the same problem. /Cry, is there no known fix?

Message Edited by Av177 on 12-06-2005 02:30 AM

Bradshaw5 · Answer

I am having the same issue. The volume on my mic will not increase to an acceptable level. I have uninstalled/reinstalled drivers. I have tried the drivers from www.creative.com and they will not even recognize that I have the Audigy 2 ZS. I have tried a different mic. I have made every adjustment to software that I can think of. Nothing will increase the record volume to a usable level. Has anyone found a fix to this?

RockyDuck · Answer

This may be no help but ...

I too have a Dimension 9100 with an Audigy 2 ZS sound card and have been suffering the same problem with low microphone volume. I went into the auto update feature on Creative and installed new software. This did not help. I have a 48x Sony CDRW drive in my system and tonight the Dell Support maintenance software recommended an update to the Firmware for my drive Sony CRX217E HH 48X CDRW - Lead free. The file is called R109788.EXE. I duly downloaded and executed this file and restarted the computer. Now my microphone is working??!! This may not help you but just in case .....

Sam_Kim_1_yahoo · Answer

Have you reported the 'miracle' to Tech/Customer service, and if so, what did they say?.

TuffLittleUnit · Answer

I've just taken receipt of an XPS600 which I ordered from the Dell Outlet (UK). It unexpectedly contained an Audigy 2 ZS; the spec said "onboard sound" but on looking in the case there's definitely an Audigy 2 ZS in there.

I have the same problem as the previous posts - I can record audio from the mic but the volume is very low even when I've set its record volume to 100% and enabled the 20dB boost. The VOIP in Battlefield 2 is unusable for me.

I know there's no problem with my mic (actually a Logitech Precision Gaming headset) because it works fine on my old Dimension 8300 which contains a retail Audigy 2 card. I've also tried using both mic jacks (front and rear) on the XPS600 and the Dell mic that came with the PC but in all permutations I get the same result.

The CDRW firmware fix won't work for me because I don't have a CDRW in my XPS - it has a DVD-RW and a DVD-ROM (Philips DVD8701 and LG GDR8163B respectively).

Like others I've tried uninstalling the device drivers to no effect and I;ve also tried using updated drivers from Creative (the "specialised" Dell version is not recognised as an Audigy 2 ZS).

I'm slightly wary of contacting Dell support because the machine supplied was a higher spec than I ordered. As I say the Audigy 2 wasn't even part of the spec and I also appear to have received a Pentium D 840 processor rather than the Pentium 4 640 that I ordered which means I got a £2000 PC for less than £900!

Looks like there are no simple answers but I just thought I'd post here to show that this appears to be a recurring problem.

belbob · Answer

Not a solution, just another cry for help.

Been experiencing the same problem with extraodinarily low mic volume - but only on devices connected to the microphone outlets. USB phone works fine - need USB mic??

Had this problem for some time now - Dell on-line support refuses to help because I have an XPS system which is high end. Sending me around in circles, still can't get someone to tell me something I haven't tried.

Sound system is Creative SB Audigy 2ZS

XP pro, SP2

Pentium 4; 3.6

Sam_Kim_1_yahoo · Answer

@belbob wrote:

Not a solution, just another cry for help.

Been experiencing the same problem with extraodinarily low mic volume - but only on devices connected to the microphone outlets. USB phone works fine - need USB mic??

It seems to work for some, but:

Well, I forked out $30 for a USB mic and, while it "works," it's really craptastic in the sound quality department. Also, the Battlefield 2 demo (as I mentioned previously, Battlefield 2 wsa the main reason I upgraded in the first place) doesn't recognize the USB mic. Sigh...back to the drawing board. At least Best Buy has a 30 day return policy.

the USB mic on logitech cam has great pick-up....but tin-like sound for what I want to do.

Had this problem for some time now - Dell on-line support refuses to help because I have an XPS system which is high end. Sending me around in circles, still can't get someone to tell me something I haven't tried.

Could you elaborate on the "send me around in circles"?

Also, why don't you call Dell Tech support and ask if they have heard of the problem before?

Message Edited by Sam_Kim_1_yahoo on 12-21-2005 01:02 AM

Sam_Kim_1_yahoo · Answer

TuffLittleUnit wrote:

I've just taken receipt of an XPS600 ... Audigy 2 ZS

I have the same problem as the previous posts - I can record audio from the mic but the volume is very low even when I've set its record volume to 100% and enabled the 20dB boost. The VOIP in Battlefield 2 is unusable for me.

...I've also tried using ... the Dell mic that came with the PC but in all permutations I get the same result.

What hardware/software component bundle the Dell mic? Is it the telephony modem?

The CDRW firmware fix won't work for me

It would have been another miracle if it did.

Like others I've tried uninstalling the device drivers to no effect and I;ve also tried using updated drivers from Creative (the "specialised" Dell version is not recognised as an Audigy 2 ZS).

Replacing soundcard or even motherboard made no difference.

Looks like there are no simple answers but I just thought I'd post here to show that this appears to be a recurring problem.

Please keep posting your case when others post on the problem.

Message Edited by Sam_Kim_1_yahoo on 12-21-2005 12:24 AM

Av177 · Answer

We'll I bought a '24 bit Live!' soundcard from Walmart yesterday and sure enough, I can use my mic. Before I did this however I tried resolving the problem thru the phone and thru online support. I gave up finally and just bought a new soundcard, and now it works just fine.

ShinTing · Answer

Hello all, My situation is pretty much the same as what TuffLittleUnit has described.   I have a Dell Dimension 8400 system, and plugged in my good-old Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital my self from my preview desktop system. The playback function of the soundcard works wonderful. Now that online games are booming, and softwares --that support players to be able to talk to each other while they are playing whic is pretty useful-- are starting to get the attentions of the players. I decided to buy a mic dedicatedly for gaming use, so logically I picked the Logitech Precision Gaming Headset. And yes, the problem everyone's having here seems to happen to me as well.   So, After I googled to find out whats wrong. I got this information: - Modern Mic put out a weak signal (this way it can capture chrsytal clear sounds). Most Soundcards (8-16 bits) are not designed to accept such a low signal level. And this means that the user will have to shout out loud into the microphone, or hold the mic just an inch away from your mouth, or you will have to do both in order to produce strong signal for the soundcard to hear..   Solution: increase the sensitivity of the soundcard input (using software), or, amplify the microphone signal (using hardware -- mic-preamplifier).   Ok, pre-amplifier will cost me like starting from $100. So i tried to increase the sensitivity of the soundcard.   I tried the hardware test -- volume is very very low. slided the mic volume up to the max -- nope, still too low. ticked the +20 dB Boost mic option  -- doesnt help if the noise/distortion is picking up too.   There is an AudioHQ that came along with the installation of the Soundcard Drivers. (BTW, I got the update soundcard drivers problem too = Setup file didnt recognize the SoundCard) (My recent SB Live! Driver version is 5.12.2.252) Opened it up, choose the mixer, set the treble (and bass) to flat low. Hey, it helped out a bit. But still.. I'm not satisfied with the Volume the mic has produced.   Why? Because before I bought the headset, I used a USB webcam (Logitech QuickCam Pro 3000) that has a built-in Mic, and it was picking up sound from every where! Its clear, its loud! (more sensitive) The only reason I bought a headset is to prevent the mic from capturing the surrounding sound (from the speaker, room-noise, etc)   I told this problem to a friend of mine through video conf with voice. He is using his new headset and when I asked for the name of the brand+type, he just chuckled at me and said that he dont have an idea what kind of brand or type his headset have because he bought it for just EUR 10 and it sounded way better then my freakin $ 30 headset!   So I got the idea that a USB Headset would most likely produce the same sound as the webcams built-in mic. And it doesnt need a soundcard for recording. But then I read the reply from Sam_kim_1_yahoo telling about the USB mic problems. This USB Mic technology is still new and is still not yet compatible with most softwares.   And then Av177 replied with a solution; replaced the soundcard with a new one, i mean.. new one, with higher technology (24 bit).   I think it is one of the only 2 solution for me now :smileysad: (1: USB headset, 2:new soundcard)    so, if you please, correct me if I'm wrong: old soundcard + cheap mic = ok. old soundcard + new tech mic = not ok. old soundcard + external mixer/amplifier + new tech mic = errr...ok. new soundcard + new tech mic = ok.

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Really low mic volume.

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