Best 8204 Headphone Volume Solutions?

I had read that the volume on my 8204 wasn't great through headphones, but I had never experienced any problems when listening to music. But this weekend, my son tried to watch a movie on a plane, and we couldn't hear anything...nothing. I finally turned all the equalizer controls to full; then we could hear some of the dialogue and most of the music, barely.

So what are the best solutions that users have come up with? I know people have posted about usb headphones. Which ones are recommended? What about PC Card solutions?

Thanks.

 

Download newest realtek drivers off of their official site and install those.

 

Thanks Vlad. I'm currently running version 5.10.00.5191 (file version 1.6.0.2), and the Realtek website is showing 1.41 as current. How do I know which one is the most current?

 

Few thoughts,

First off DVD's always seem to be quiet, not sure why but I always find (every laptop I've owned) that DVD's are quiet.

Second were you listening using speakers or headphones.

Third, were you using any noise cancelling, or "plug" style headphones, planes have a LOT of background noise, even with good plug headphones I have to turn the volume up more than I would normally to hear movies on a plane.

 

Arla, yes I have noticed that DVDs are always more quiet than music. Like you, I don't know why. It seems that sound engineers in hollywood like to turn down the volume of the dialogue tracks so you'll be blown away by the score and audio effects that they've mastered.

And I was using a set of Sony in-ear, bud-style headphones. They block some ambient noise by design (though not noise-canceling), but not as much as true in-ear headphones like Shure, or noise-canceling like Bose.

I've been reading about 5.1 surround usb headphones. These sound like an ideal solution. Ever tried them?

 

Nope, I use Shure in ear buds and am very happy with them (basically I need to turn the volume up past the first "volume point" only if I'm on a plane).

As for dialogue, well actually I mean't DVD's in general rather than just the dialogue. I notice that there is a huge difference between any DVD I watch and any MP3 I listen to, on any computer so seems to be a general thing.

 

I would love to get a set of Shure headphones, but I'm not about to let my 5 year old use them. He likes to pull the left and right cables apart (because they're stuck together, of course).

 

Vlad, any word on which Realtek driver comes in the 1.41 download? Do you have a more recent version than 5.10.00.5191?

 

K, i have the one that the realtek site has. i reformatted so thats why... the sound output definately increased. but it could also be the BIOS version... i dont know much about this. what i do know is that after the reinstall (new bios and drivers) everything is VERY loud through the headphones and i cant turn it all the way up - its too loud. use the HD codecs provided by the site. see if works

 

Well, I decided to try three different approaches to getting more sound out of my laptop. I wanted to keep the price down to less than $50. Without this limit, the easiest choices would have been the Creative Labs PC card sound card or a set of Shure headphones (both for $100 each). Instead, I found a pair of 5.1 surround sound usb headphones for $40, a Turtle Beach Advantage Micro USB sound card/key for $30, and a Boostaroo powered 3-way splitter/amp for $30 (all at Fry's).

The 5.1 surround sound headphones had terrible sound quality...like listening in a tin can. The best sound came from the Turtle Beach Advantage Micro. It was 2-3x louder than the Acer headphone jack and crystal clear. Playing Far Cry with bud earphones was outstanding. Music and movies sounded better than ever. The Boostaroo was a very close second to the Turtle Beach as far as sound quality and volume. The advantages to the Boostaroo are external volume control, the ability to connect 3 sets of headphones with no loss of volume, and the ability to use it with any headphone jack. The only disadvantage is that it's just boosting the volume of the notebook jack...the sound isn't any cleaner.

After testing all three, I decided to keep the Boostaroo. The sound from my notebook jack was clean enough for me (though not quite as clean as from the Turtle Beach), and I like the fact that I can use the Boostaroo with my laptop, iPod, portable DVD player, etc. The Turtle Beach can only be used with a computer (USB).

One final note: BE CAREFUL when using the Boostaroo or the Turtle Beach Advantage Micro. They can be too loud, especially if you have switched programs and your source material has gained up. You can seriously hurt your ears and possibly damage your headphones.