[phixgrrrl]

I got a new Vista pc and everything is mostly set up. I have onboard sound. All the speakers work, except one barely emits any sound. No distortion, just barely audible. i noticed this when I tested the speakers individually. My guess is the wiring. The speaker in question is one of the rear ones. I turned the rears up but no change.
Anyone?

I have Klipsch ProMedia 4.1, got around 4 years ago.

They worked fine in my old XP machine, but while turning the volume knob, there was a staticy sound. There was major static in the new machine for the first 2 days, then it died down and the speakers were normal, except for that one rear.

[IMiteBable2help]

One thing I learned long ago is don't mess with the volume nob that is on the speakers. Crank it up to about 3/4 and leave it there, using nothing but software to adjust the volume from there on out.

That "static" sound you hear is usually dust that gets on the contacts inside that volume knob. It can cause low volume in one or more speakers, or it can cause a speaker to stop putting out sound at all. I've tossed out at least 4 sets of speakers because of overuse of that unnecessary infernal knob on the speakers. If you set it to the max you could ever want, and leave it there, using only software to adjust, it won't wear out or have static problems.

The fact that you have those static noises when you use the knob, combined with the low volume in one speaker tells me the two issues are cause by the same thing. A worn out, dirty (inside, where the contacts are) knob.

[phixgrrrl]

I have heard of that going out (the knob).
1) is there a way to find out for sure?
2) is it fixable, meaning, just the knob, without having to throw away speakers?

Thanks

[IMiteBable2help]

I can tell you it hasn't been "fixable" on any sets that I have had. There isn't any way to get to the problem. I still have a 3 piece set of Altec Lansing PC speakers lying around here somewhere with the contact/static problem. However, they were less than $60 brand new and that was 9 years ago. I found it better to not bother with it, and just get another set of speakers. There's no way to get to the problem without literally cracking open the plastic housing. Even then, these things were obviously not designed to be serviced in any way. You have to realize, the knob is not the problem. It's the contacts inside, behind the knob.

If these were expensive analogue speakers, I'd say go for it, open them up and save the speakers and build a new housing. Not so feasible with computer speakers.