How to Improve Sound on an Acer Aspire Laptop

The speakers on an Acer Aspire laptop can vary in quality. As a result, the audio from the laptop's internal speakers may not always be the best quality. The sound can sometimes sound muffled and distant when listening to audio from a file or on the Internet You can improve the sound on your Acer Aspire laptop by making a few simple system changes.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find out which audio controller is installed on the system. Go to the "Control Panel" and double-click on the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon. Click on the "Audio" tab to see what is listed for the default device for sound playback.

2. Download driver and software updates directly from Acer's website (see Resources). Save the files to a folder, and then run the setup program to install the software.

3. Download and install a new software driver for your laptop's on-board audio controller. Many audio controllers in Acer Aspire laptops use the AC97 Audio Codec driver. Go to the Realtek website and click on the "Downloads" tab to see available software (see Resources).

4. Adjust the sound using the Master Volume setting. Right-click on the audio icon on the toolbar and select "Open Volume Control." Use the Master Volume and Wave input settings to adjust the volume of the audio that is being heard.

5. Use a software program such as the Realtek Sound Effect Manager to control and adjust the laptop's audio settings. There should be an icon on the desktop or toolbar, but you can also find the program in the Control Panel as well. The program contains an equalizer with presets to choose from as well as mixer and audio I/O options.

Tips & Warnings

• Use external speakers or headphones if the internal audio cannot be heard or does not sound that well.
• Installing the wrong audio driver can cause the volume on the laptop to stop functioning.

Resources

• Acer
• Realtek