# Stereo issues: Way too soft to way too loud



## adanedhel728 (Apr 4, 2007)

I've had this problem pretty much for as long as I've had any kind of sound system, and it somehow just seems to get worse and worse. The quiet parts of movies are so quiet that I crank up my stereo to the max, and it's still barely a mumble. I can't make out anything at all. Then comes some kind of explosion, and it's so loud that it's painful, and I mean that literally, it hurts.

I have my computer, an XP machine, connected to my TV, and one of the biggest places I have this problem is streaming Netflix, but I have this problem in my DVD player, too. In fact, every dvd player I've ever used on any stereo has this problem. It's really driving me crazy and I've looked through Google and found nothing to help. 

I think a pre-amp would help with the parts that are too quiet, but then the loud parts might break my speakers, not to mention permanently damage my hearing. I'm not even sure that that would do anything, though, because I'm not completely sure I really understand what a pre-amp is. I've heard of dynamic range compression, but I can't seem to find any kind of converter or adapter or anything that I could put between my computer and stereo. And again, I'm not completely sure I really understand what it is.

If anybody has any suggestions, words cannot express how appreciative I would be. Whether a software fix for XP or some kind of adapter or converter to put between my computer and stereo, or whatever. I just want the volume to be at a comfortable level at all times!


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## Fearpig (Sep 30, 2010)

It sounds like you need an Audio Compressor (or Limiter)...
You can get them as either hardware or software plug-ins but from your description it sounds like you need a hardware one to sit between your audio source and your amp.

You can pick up a decent one for very little money.

Here's a very brief explanation...
http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/processing/compression/
You can find loads more on the internet about their operation / functions / how to... etc!

You can pic them up at any audio tech store or on-line.


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## Masta Squidge (Jul 29, 2007)

Volume leveling.

Many dvd players support this, as well as tvs. I believe it is also supported in windows; windows media player, windows media center. 

Any decent dvd playback software will have this also.


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