Posted February 27, 2020 Hi, On my desktop I’m having issues driving headphones using onboard sound from the motherboard. I’m using Bluetooth headphones right now, specifically the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT. The max volume is not incredibly loud on my desktop. Various laptops I’ve used and phones drive the headphones much better and are able to play music at louder volumes. I’m soon going to be changing headphones to the Sennheiser HD 450BT and I’d like to try to get this issue sorted out. What should I get to solve this issue? My budget for any solution is probably £60-70 at most. Forgive me in advance, I am a complete noob with sound cards, dacs, amps, etc. Judge a product on its own merits AND the company that made it. How to setup MSI Afterburner OSD | How to make your AMD Radeon GPU more efficient with Radeon Chill | (Probably) Why LMG Merch shipping to the EU is expensive Oneplus 6 (Early 2023 to present) | HP Envy 15" x360 R7 5700U (Mid 2021 to present) | Steam Deck (Late 2022 to present) Mid 2023 AlTech Desktop Refresh - AMD R7 5800X (Mid 2023), XFX Radeon RX 6700XT MBA (Mid 2021), MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon (Early 2018), 32GB DDR4-3200 (16GB x2) (Mid 2022 Noctua NH-D15 (Early 2021), Corsair MP510 1.92TB NVMe SSD (Mid 2020), beQuiet Pure Wings 2 140mm x2 & 120mm x1 (Mid 2023), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 27, 2020 Try setting System sound Sound control panel -- Top right corner And see in the properties of your devices See levels Possible the volume changed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 27, 2020 Author 8 minutes ago, Zmax said: Try setting System sound Sound control panel -- Top right corner And see in the properties of your devices See levels Possible the volume changed Nope. At 50% volume my laptop sounded 2x louder on the headphones than my desktop at 50%. Judge a product on its own merits AND the company that made it. How to setup MSI Afterburner OSD | How to make your AMD Radeon GPU more efficient with Radeon Chill | (Probably) Why LMG Merch shipping to the EU is expensive Oneplus 6 (Early 2023 to present) | HP Envy 15" x360 R7 5700U (Mid 2021 to present) | Steam Deck (Late 2022 to present) Mid 2023 AlTech Desktop Refresh - AMD R7 5800X (Mid 2023), XFX Radeon RX 6700XT MBA (Mid 2021), MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon (Early 2018), 32GB DDR4-3200 (16GB x2) (Mid 2022 Noctua NH-D15 (Early 2021), Corsair MP510 1.92TB NVMe SSD (Mid 2020), beQuiet Pure Wings 2 140mm x2 & 120mm x1 (Mid 2023), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 28, 2020 Theoretically you only need to add an amp for higher volume. Realistically, you might as well get a DAC+Amp combo for flexibility. Cheap one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Syba-24-Bit-96KHz-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B009WN7QT4/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=headphone+dac&qid=1582850656&sr=8-10 Nice one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SD793-II-PCM1793-DIR9001-Digital-amplifier/dp/B00A2QLPJM/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=smsl+dac&qid=1582850678&sr=8-10 PC Build in LTT Gallery - JBL J88 - Fostex T50RP (Modded) - Pioneer SE-A1000 vs audio-technica ATH-AD500X - Skullcandy Aviator audio-technica ATH-T400 - CHC Silverado and Laredo - Clip-On Headphone Roundup - Sony LinkBuds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 28, 2020 Author 1 hour ago, ShearMe said: Theoretically you only need to add an amp for higher volume. Realistically, you might as well get a DAC+Amp combo for flexibility. Cheap one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Syba-24-Bit-96KHz-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B009WN7QT4/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=headphone+dac&qid=1582850656&sr=8-10 Nice one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SD793-II-PCM1793-DIR9001-Digital-amplifier/dp/B00A2QLPJM/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=smsl+dac&qid=1582850678&sr=8-10 How does the nice one work with Bluetooth headphones? Judge a product on its own merits AND the company that made it. How to setup MSI Afterburner OSD | How to make your AMD Radeon GPU more efficient with Radeon Chill | (Probably) Why LMG Merch shipping to the EU is expensive Oneplus 6 (Early 2023 to present) | HP Envy 15" x360 R7 5700U (Mid 2021 to present) | Steam Deck (Late 2022 to present) Mid 2023 AlTech Desktop Refresh - AMD R7 5800X (Mid 2023), XFX Radeon RX 6700XT MBA (Mid 2021), MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon (Early 2018), 32GB DDR4-3200 (16GB x2) (Mid 2022 Noctua NH-D15 (Early 2021), Corsair MP510 1.92TB NVMe SSD (Mid 2020), beQuiet Pure Wings 2 140mm x2 & 120mm x1 (Mid 2023), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 28, 2020 5 hours ago, AluminiumTech said: How does the nice one work with Bluetooth headphones? It doesn't. Bluetooth headphones have their own amp. Any issue with volume differences between devices is a software issue, Bluetooth headphones should sound identical (minus any custom eq stuff) no matter what they're connected to. Also, your onboard sound isn't involved when using Bluetooth, only your computer's Bluetooth chip. MacBook Pro 16 - i9-9980HK - Radeon Pro 5500m 8GB - 32GB DDR4 - 2TB NVME iPhone 12 Mini / Sony WH-1000XM4 / Bose Companion 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 28, 2020 20 hours ago, AluminiumTech said: How does the nice one work with Bluetooth headphones? My bad, totally skimmed past the mention of bluetooth... Vitamanic is correct in that no equipment is going to change the functionality of the bluetooth headphones. Have you disabled all audio enhancements in windows? PC Build in LTT Gallery - JBL J88 - Fostex T50RP (Modded) - Pioneer SE-A1000 vs audio-technica ATH-AD500X - Skullcandy Aviator audio-technica ATH-T400 - CHC Silverado and Laredo - Clip-On Headphone Roundup - Sony LinkBuds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 29, 2020 Author 17 hours ago, ShearMe said: My bad, totally skimmed past the mention of bluetooth... Vitamanic is correct in that no equipment is going to change the functionality of the bluetooth headphones. Have you disabled all audio enhancements in windows? On 2/28/2020 at 7:12 AM, Vitamanic said: It doesn't. Bluetooth headphones have their own amp. Any issue with volume differences between devices is a software issue, Bluetooth headphones should sound identical (minus any custom eq stuff) no matter what they're connected to. Also, your onboard sound isn't involved when using Bluetooth, only your computer's Bluetooth chip. So any discrepancy would be Bluetooth related? If that’s the case should I replace the Bluetooth dongle? Judge a product on its own merits AND the company that made it. How to setup MSI Afterburner OSD | How to make your AMD Radeon GPU more efficient with Radeon Chill | (Probably) Why LMG Merch shipping to the EU is expensive Oneplus 6 (Early 2023 to present) | HP Envy 15" x360 R7 5700U (Mid 2021 to present) | Steam Deck (Late 2022 to present) Mid 2023 AlTech Desktop Refresh - AMD R7 5800X (Mid 2023), XFX Radeon RX 6700XT MBA (Mid 2021), MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon (Early 2018), 32GB DDR4-3200 (16GB x2) (Mid 2022 Noctua NH-D15 (Early 2021), Corsair MP510 1.92TB NVMe SSD (Mid 2020), beQuiet Pure Wings 2 140mm x2 & 120mm x1 (Mid 2023), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 29, 2020 1 hour ago, AluminiumTech said: So any discrepancy would be Bluetooth related? If that’s the case should I replace the Bluetooth dongle? I don't think the dongle will make a difference. Try it on another PC/Laptop that doesn't have low volume. PC Build in LTT Gallery - JBL J88 - Fostex T50RP (Modded) - Pioneer SE-A1000 vs audio-technica ATH-AD500X - Skullcandy Aviator audio-technica ATH-T400 - CHC Silverado and Laredo - Clip-On Headphone Roundup - Sony LinkBuds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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