New DV9730 - Speakers sound horrible

Hi all - I just brought this home and when playing CD or DVD movie, the sound from the Altec Lansing speakers is very "tinny" like an old transistor radio.
I have an older z7000 and it's sound is like a real stereo compared to my new dv9730. The z7000 has "bass" and "volume" which seems to be lacking from the new HP.

I have pluged in the head set - and it works great!

I know it is just a laptop - but it has no bass, and very low volume (have volume maxed to watch DVD).

Any changes or adjuments in software?
Do others have the same problems or should I take it back to FRY's and have them take a look.
THANKS!

 

Check all software settings first before considering hardware issues

Send it back for the technician to inspect if all else fails

 

check the realtek audio thing in control panel

 

Thanks Flipfire and mujjuman,

I can not seem to find "realtek audio" in control panel, and do not seem to be able to find the software settings to correct the problem.
Any suggestions?

MKinLA

 

Go to Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, then Sound and choose options. Also, while still in Control Panel, scroll down to the the RealTek Audio Manager.

The options there are limited; there is no equalizer there, something I miss tremendously. I keep wondering if this is a VISTA limitation instead of a hardware limitation as I had equalizers and pretty advanced sound settings with both XP and ME, on two different notebooks before. I also got spoiled having good JBL speakers on one of them. Sound is a big deal over here!

(Some of the Toshibas have Harmon Kardon speakers that are pretty nice if you really can't deal with this set up.)

Hope this helps!
Outdoorwriter

 

Since you bought it locally, you should go back the the store. Try out one of the units on display and see if it sounds the same. Then ask a technician to take a listen and see if they think there's a problem. Speakers are very subjective, so it's hard to say.

 

Thank you both for your reply,

Outdoorwriter -
I went to Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Sound, OK>>>
I do not see an "options" button.
I have tabs for Playback, Recording and Sound...
I have looked through these tabs but find no "options" or anything that seems to correct my problem.

I am new to Vista and Newbie... so pls forgive if I am missing something.

Thanks again,
MKinLA

 

Orev,
Thank you,
I will try to check the sound of the demo at Fry's.

It just seems strange that the sound is so inferior to that of the Harmon Kardon's on the old HP laptop.

MKinLA

 

Companies continuously look for ways to cuts costs and increase profits.

 

Orev,
I agree, but in a great "Media Notebook", with big screen and so - you would think that the sound would improve, not degrade to the "Transitor Radio" quality that I remember.
Thanks for your input.
MKinLA

 

MKinLA,

I went to Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Sound, OK>>>
I do not see an "options" button.
I have tabs for Playback, Recording and Sound...
I have looked through these tabs but find no "options" or anything that seems to correct my problem.

Yep, those are the only options, besides looking into RelTek Audio Manager. I wish there were more too, at least a bass/treble equalizer.

If it is really awful, go back to Frys and listen to their demo model to see if they are the same. Take yours with you if you are really want to compare, I've done that. I always crank up CPUs in-store for at least 20 secs to check: sound is a big deal.