DV7 sound settings

For the last hour or so, I've been playing around with my brand new DV7 and I'm disappointed in the sound. The speakers themselves sound fine (and downright nice for a laptop with the subwoofer), but something sounds like it is compressing it. I checked the "Beats" audio settings menu (which I am surprised to see is just a re-labelled version of IDT) and no features are enabled. I checked the sound device properties and all of the enhancements are disabled. The bass and treble settings are set to zero.

I thought it may have just been Windows Media Player even though all of the enhancements there are disabled, so I tried Grooveshark through IE and got the same results.

I am actually going as far as saying that it sounds like junk. At any sign of loud-ish treble (cymbals in particular), the volume is instantly drawn back and at one point I was listening to a song that sounded like I was underneath a helicopter.

My DV4 (previous generation) doesn't have this problem.. volume is strong all the way through.

Is there something I'm missing?.. Sounds great through the minijack.


On a side note, I'm loving the rest of the computer. As seems typical, I'm not particularly fond of the touchpad, but I knew what I was getting into and I think I can get used to it pretty quickly. Lovely screen. Nice keyboard. I absolutely love the aluminum finish! Feels like quality.

 

Maybe driver reinstall ? Note that it might not have the last version also.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but no dice.

I can't believe anyone would want to put a name on this.. It literally hurts to listen to sometimes.
___

I tried uninstalling IDT. Didn't fix it (and for some reason WMP wouldn't even play anything). Installed it again.
This time, I tried playing with the IDT EQ. Didn't sound like it was making any difference. I took the high end of the spectrum, ran full boost, then full cut and it made no sound difference. What the heck is responsible for the sound? I need to get rid of it.

I am incredibly frustrated. Sound was a big reason for buying this over all my other options, and it is utterly pathetic.

 

I have the same issue. Sounds great via the jack but the speakers and sub don't... My old acer aspire 7720g sounded much louder and was way better (Also had a sub). I've tried reinstalling drivers and no difference what so ever...

 

I did a "minimal install" recovery via the recovery partition, didn't help. (Perhaps because it installed almost as much as was on there in the first place?)

This time around I took a picture to prove I'm not crazy.

At this very instant, the vocalist hit an "s" sound at the end of a word, driving a slight increase in volume. Notice how much the master volume was drawn back. You can probably imagine how terrible it sounds if it does this every time treble hits.

I think I'm going to return it. It has been more frustrating than pleasant.

 

Try other IDT drivers from other models or even manufacturers. What happen is very strange and certainly case to make garantee work.