dv1000 Audio Distortion

I've got a customized dv1000 with whatever the onboard audio is (Conexant AMC Audio?), and whenever I have an application's volume up past 70% or so, I get noticeable distortion. It's very noticeable and very easy to recognize, and I know it's not my speakers or headphones because other sources sound fine. In the Windows volume control, I've got the main out at about 35% and the wave out at 100%.

Any ideas? Has anybody else experienced this before? It's a pretty annoying problem.

 

I had a problem with a weird sound coming from my dv1000, it turned out that microphone boost was enabled as soon as I disabled it in sound properties the noise went away. I dont know if it's the same thing thats happening to you but it's worth a try.

Also if you just did a windows update and upgraded the drivers go back to the older ones there seems to be some distiortion on that end.
Good luck keep us informed.

 

could you elaborate on what you mean by it's not the speakers because other sources sound fine?

 

Thanks for the idea. I checked it out, but it didn't seem to affect playback quality at all.

 

I'd try setting the sound levels to default. Also, what program are you using to play your audio? I suggest trying two or three different programs. Also, are you using an equalizer in the program that you are currently using?

 

Well, I should also mention that I'm using pretty high-end equipment here. The speakers are Klipsch Promedia 2.1's, and my headphones are AKG K240 Studio's. But what I meant was that I've checked that it's not the speakers that are distorting by plugging them in to other sound sources, i.e., my iPod, another computer, etc. Plus, I'm running them at pretty low volumes, so that wouldn't produce the overload-type distortion I'm hearing.

I was playing around some more and I discovered that it's really only the wave output channel that's having problems. If I have that past 70% or so, I hear the distortion, but when I keep it at 50%, it's fine. It's independent of the main volume control, because I can have the main at 100% and the wave at 50%, and it's still fine.

This problem should disappear once I get my Audigy 2 ZS Notebook, but it's disappointing that the built-in audio is so crappy.

 

I usually use iTunes, but I also did some testing in Windows Media Player with the same results. I've got the EQ in iTunes turned off, since I never use it anyway.

 

Good news! I tried using an older version of the Conexant AC97 driver from the HP website, and now my mysterious little problem has disappeared. The quality still isn't all that great, but at least this will tide me over until I get the much better Creative PCMCIA card.