Quite often I come across a situation where a user buys a great sound system, but at the same time cannot understand why all the fine tuning of it does not work quite as expected.
Many people go to the store and complain about the defects, throwing the consultants into a stupor. Recently, one of my acquaintances showed sufficient ingenuity and woke me up with a request to explain whether the sound settings in the system could affect the sound quality of the speakers? And then there was a long explanation of how to do it. Therefore, I will simply leave detailed instructions on how to set up sound on a Windows 10 computer.
Main settings block
And here I’ll immediately make a reservation: there are a huge number of subtle adjustments that you should pay attention to. Having set out to write this article, I also did a little magic on myself to achieve the most pleasing sound to my ears. Don't forget, unless you are an experienced sound engineer, you will have to experiment a little to find the option for yourself.
It's quite obvious that right-clicking the volume icon in the lower right corner of the system window will open up more options for customization than just adjusting. Let's go through the list, detailing the description of the functions.
- Open the volume mixer. This button opens the ability to adjust sound and volume for current applications. Why is this necessary? The first thing that came to my mind personally was to set different volumes for the music player and the system so that I could listen to music while working, but not miss critical system messages.
- Playback devices. This part is responsible for finer adjustments of devices. From here you can adjust, for example, the volume of playback calls in Skype, if necessary. The last settings tab will be useful for this.
- Recording devices and Sounds essentially duplicate the previous tab. They simply open different pages of a given window.
- Detect audio problems. The tab is responsible for possible troubleshooting. If there are system failures with sound, then this tab will be your first aid.
Driver settings or fine tuning
IMPORTANT! I begin this section with a similar note for a simple reason. Your settings block may not only be different, it will be different. It depends on the motherboard and specifically the version of the sound card.
If you follow the path: “Control Panel” - “Hardware and Sound”, you can find a program that is responsible for fine-tuning the sound. In my case, this program is “”. It is by launching it that you can find the most detailed settings for the sound signal.
When you open the manager window, you can find quite a few important elements. Some of them are designed to adjust the volume - this adjustment operates in parallel with the general volume of the system. That is, by moving the volume slider in the manager, you will also move the slider on the volume panel. There is also the sneakiest part of the configuration, which often confuses users. We are talking about setting up the environment and equalizer.
I have everything set to default, because these days I listen to a wide variety of music, and I watch movies quite often and I don’t want to leave an imprint on the film’s voice acting. The room can distort the sound very much. Just try to change the settings in this section while listening to music and everything will become clear.
Microphone settings in Windows 10
Since a microphone is also an audio equipment, it would be a sin not to mention it. In fact, the microphone only has 2 main settings: “gain” and “noise reduction”. Gain makes the sensitivity greater and allows you to speak more quietly, rather than shouting into the microphone if it is placed at a certain distance. Noise reduction ensures that the microphone only picks up the user's voice and not extraneous sounds.
ADVICE! Despite its apparent usefulness, the noise reduction function is useful only when it is turned off. It often happens that a user's quiet voice is perceived as noise. And then completely serviceable microphones are sent for repair.
Such sound settings are present in Windows 10. Of course, the second point can and will be different for everyone. Different driver versions and different nuances make the system sound completely different. However, in skillful hands or with the right amount of time, these settings can achieve excellent results.
There are many users who prefer to set different audio output devices for different programs. For example, you might want to set the 5.1 surround sound setting for VLC Media Player to watch movies, and set headphones as the default audio device for apps like Groove Music to listen to music. Until now, there was no easy way to set different audio output devices for different applications. But now you can set different audio devices for different apps in Windows 10 without the help of third-party apps. Additionally, you can set different audio levels for different applications. The ability to install different audio devices for different applications was introduced in Windows 10 April (1803).
Installing different audio devices for different applications in Windows 10
1 . Go to Options > System > Sound> on the left scroll down and click on Device and application volume settings.
2 . As you can see in the image below, the page displays all current applications and games. If the program or application for which you want to set the default audio output device does not appear in the list, make sure that the application or program is currently running, or if it is already running, then restart it. If you have multiple tabs playing audio in your web browser, all tabs will appear as separate entries.
- To set the audio output device for an application, select it from the drop-down list " Conclusion" next to the application entry.
- You can also set different volume levels for different apps from this page. Simply move the slider next to an app entry to set the default volume level for that app.
- For example, I have a monitor with speakers. I set up all notifications on Monica speakers, and high-quality digital sound in browsers, for movies and music. You can also set different input devices for different applications.
A significant portion of Windows 7 and Windows 8 users have switched to Windows 10, and virtually everyone encounters problems with its operation from time to time. And even during and after installing a new operating system, more problems arise than in its time with XP.
Today we will get acquainted with those related to audio and consider how to configure sound settings on a computer in Windows 10.
Hardware sources of the problem
After installing Windows 10 on a very old computer, it may turn out that its sound card is simply not supported by the new operating system. If you are using an old device, check its compatibility with the “ten” on the Microsoft website.
The second thing you should do is check the functionality of the audio system on another device. Also carefully inspect the audio output (it may be damaged due to heavy use), the wire (it may be broken) and the speaker connector. If there is an alternative speaker jack on the front panel or another computer, use it to diagnose the audio output device.
If everything is in order with the hardware components, we begin to look for software errors that are responsible for the fact that there is no sound on the computer.
Software problems
The first step is to check what the operating system itself “thinks” about the whole situation. To do this, we will use a tool for diagnosing, finding and fixing software problems.
The diagnostic wizard is launched through the context menu of the “Speakers” icon.
Call up the context menu and select “Troubleshoot audio problems.”
We are waiting for the wizard to complete, which will check why the sound in Windows 10 is not working correctly.
If the computer also uses a sound recording device or another sound card, a dialog will appear where you will have to select the problematic device.
Also, the wizard for fixing sound problems may suggest turning off sound effects and additional tools that will help improve sound quality.
Then check the “Disable all sound effects” checkbox or uncheck the boxes separately for each effect that you think is unnecessary.
Further actions depend on the sound test, if the sound was normal, click “Good” and move on, if the sound was bad or could not be heard, click “Bad” and wait for the driver to be reinstalled.
After this, the wizard will automatically scan the system registry and storage, collect all the necessary information, analyze it and try to find inconsistencies in the system settings or parameters.
If the problem is found, follow the recommendations provided.
Most often, the sound on a laptop or desktop computer disappears or plays incorrectly due to old or partially incompatible drivers.
They will have to be updated while running the sound problem detection wizard mentioned above, or download the latest version from the official resource.
The next section is devoted to this topic.
Audio Driver Update
Although downloading the driver installer from the driver manufacturer’s website is a more reliable and reliable method of updating them, Microsoft recommends using the tools of its OS. Let's do so. Moreover, for beginners, the process of identifying the necessary software and finding a resource where it can be downloaded can cause a lot of difficulties.
1. Using the Start context menu or the Win→X key combination.
2. Select the “Device Manager” item.
3. Expand the section with devices responsible for sound playback in Windows 10.
It can be “Sound, game and other video devices” or “Unknown devices”. The second case is relevant if no drivers for the audio card are installed on the computer, and it is displayed in the list of unknown “top ten” devices.
It may happen that someone turned off the sound card, and a device that is not turned on will not function.
4. Using the section’s context menu, update the hardware configuration.
5. Using the context menu, call the driver update command.
6. Select the automatic type of software search on the Internet (on Microsoft servers).
After installation is complete, be sure to restart Windows 10.
Sound off
The next software reason for the lack of sound is that it is simply turned off. If the "Speakers" icon in the tray is displayed along with a crossed out audio playback device, click on it and move the slider to the right to adjust the volume or simply click on the icon in the window that appears to turn on the audio.
Incorrect configuration
The subsection shows how to set up an audio device on Windows 10. The essence of the issue is that the system may have several audio playback devices (including virtual ones, in the form of drivers, for example, for sound capture programs), and as a standard the wrong one is used.
1. Open “Playback devices” through the context menu of the “Speakers” icon or the “Sounds” applet.
2. In the first tab, select the target device and make it the default device.
If it is not detected, go to the “Device Manager”, update the configuration of the hardware components and turn on the deactivated device.
When the headphones or acoustics are turned off by software, double-click on the desired icon, and in the list of notes select “Use this...”.
If the new settings do not solve the problem, restart the computer.
No sound when playing movies/music
If you encounter a sound problem only during multimedia playback, its source is the player itself or the codecs. Previously, multimedia players used codecs installed in the system, which were common to all such programs, but now virtually everyone uses their own version of the program to decode audio and video streams.
Updating the package of free codecs downloaded from the official resource (for example, http://k-lite-codec-pack.org.ua/skachat-k-lite-codec-pack) may solve the problem, but not for all applications. Some players with integrated modules for multimedia decoding will have to be updated. As a rule, one of the above options solves the problem with software codecs. They or the player need to be updated; you don’t even have to configure anything here.
If you experience problems with sound in your browser, you should get the latest version of your Internet browser and update your Flash player. Download the latter only from the official source via the link https://get.adobe.com/ru/flashplayer/. Alternative resources can do a lot of harm.
System sounds don't work
Many newcomers notice that after switching to Windows 10, system sounds are not played at all or are played, but very rarely. In the second case, you should know that Microsoft abandoned a large number of melodies that accompanied many system events in Windows 7 and XP. And the variety of sound schemes has been reduced to just one.
If you want to enable notifications for certain events (opening a folder, launching an application) that are not announced in the Top Ten, do the following.
1. Through the context menu of the speaker in the tray, call the “Sounds” command.
2. Select the “Default” sound scheme if “Silent” is activated.
3. Click on the desired event in the frame below.
4. Select the appropriate one from the list of sounds.
If this is not found, click “Browse” and study the melodies present in the OS. You can also use your own melody, the main thing is that it is converted to wav format.
5. Click “Apply” and check if everything is in order.
Correct BIOS configuration
In BIOS/UEFI you can disable many hardware components. Check option status
OnBoard Audio, High Definition Audio, or variations or abbreviations thereof. It can be called anything. The option is located in Integrated Peripherals or another section with a similar name. The parameter value should be “Enabled”.
Microsoft's new operating system is good. Compared to previous versions, Windows 10 is faster and more stable. You quickly get used to good things, so users react painfully to new problems with this OS. One of these troubles is the lack of sound in the headphones after installing or updating the operating system. Usually the reason lies in damaged or incompatible drivers, so you shouldn’t blame the developers of the new OS. Let's look at how to set up headphones on a Windows 10 computer and return music to the headset speakers.
Checking physical connection parameters
Sometimes no special action is taken to eliminate the problem. It is worth checking the primary causes of the problem - perhaps the solution lies on the surface.
Attention! After installing the chipset software, reinstall the audio driver.
Methods for setting up headphones
There are two methods for setting up headphones.
Driver update
This is the main way. 90% of all audio playback problems are related to a problematic driver package.
- Press Win+R and enter the command devmgmt.msc in the appropriate field. Confirm the action with the Enter key.
- In the “Task Manager” we find the sound card, right-click on it and click “Update Driver”.
Attention! Windows may install a generic audio driver that may not work. Therefore, go to the official website of the developer and download the latest version of the compatible driver.
- In the window that appears, select the “Search for drivers on this computer” option and navigate to the downloaded file.
- Reboot your system.
Setting up Realtek Manager
If driver updates do not help, move on to the second method.
- Open Control Panel and select Realtek HD Manager (can be Dolby Digital or Sound Booster).
- In the window that appears, click “Advanced device settings.”
- Select "Separate all output jacks as independent input devices." Confirm with the OK key.
Here . - Physical damage to the connectors or sound card. In this case, you need to contact the service center.
That's all. Now you know how to set up headphones in Windows 10 and diagnose the causes of the problem.
It should allow you to do more than just adjust the volume of the sound being played. Multi-sound systems must be configured and controlled accordingly. The sound itself should also be processed to obtain interesting sound effect.
The tools available in Windows 10 allow you to adjust the volume level, define playback options, offer an advanced sound and data equalizer, and additional effects.
Secrets to controlling sound in Windows 10
Windows 10 includes many tools that allow you to customize the sound to suit your needs. The times when only the volume level was available are long gone - today you can select the same parameters for speakers and headphones, or set separate parameters for each music playback program so that the quality of the reproduced material is as high as possible.
The fastest way to get to sound settings, – use the speaker icon in the system tray. After clicking it with the left mouse button, the gain adjustment slider appears.
If there are several playback devices installed in the system, an arrow is visible at the top that opens a list of them - just select the one you need. Click the speaker icon in the window that appears to mute the sound.
Gives more freedom system audio mixer. To use it, right-click on the speaker icon in the system tray and select Open Volume Mixer.
Using the sliders visible here, you can separately adjust the audio gain for the system and each running application that uses audio. Sound playback through individual programs can be turned off. The first slider on the left controls the maximum volume level of the device currently in use.
Open volume context menu in tray and select Playback devices. On portable devices and laptops there will usually be one audio playback device, but in the case of desktop computers, there will be many. These are, for example, external speakers, headphones or speakers that the monitor is equipped with.
You can choose the one that offers the best sound quality, or the one you work with most often. To set the default playback device, right-click on the corresponding entry and select Use default communication device. It is worth checking it first using the Check command.
If you are using multi-channel sound system, you can customize it. Select your playback device and click the Configure button. Select the location of the speakers you are using from the list and start the test by clicking Test. This will ensure that all speakers are working correctly. You can also click the speaker icons in the picture.
Removing selections from fields in a list Additional speakers, You will select the kit to suit your configuration. In the next configurator window, select which pair of speakers reproduces the full frequency range. Finally, confirm the settings with the Finish button.
After configuring the device parameters (section "Properties") on the tab Levels adjust the balance of individual speaker pairs. Please also indicate their volume. On the tab Enhancements Various sound effects are available.
For example, this could be an equalizer or a filter that mutes the words of a karaoke song. The list of parameters provided by the system developers is quite extensive.
The higher the bitrate and audio sampling frequency, the higher quality music. If your hardware allows it, you can increase these parameters on the Additionally.
If you want to use Dolby Atmos, for example with headphones that support it, click on the tab Spatial audio. You can choose from Surround format option Dolby Atmos for Headphones and use a paid solution offered by Dolby Labs or a free option built into the system. In the latter case, use Windows Sonic for headphones.
In the same way as playback devices, recording equipment, that is, microphones, is configured - you only need to first select a category from the list.