problem with sound playback under windows xp pro

[name]

Hello.

Somehow I'm baffled by a mysterious problem with sound playback under
windows xp pro.
I suspect it's related to the driver and it's probably a
software-related issue, but I'm puzzled how
to resolve it. The problem is that when I play mono sound files, I
barely hear anything. As soon
as I shift the balance (either left or right) however, sound comes
back. Stereo files do play at the
regular volume level but fairly distorted.
I have an integrated sound card, Intel(r) 82801AA AC'97 Audio
Controller.
Removing the hardware under windows xp pro (which means windows
automatically installs it
again) doesn't seem to help.
Does anyone know how to resolve this problem?

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this issue, kind regards, Niek

 

[WTC]

Have you tried updating your chipset

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/290655.htm

Also have you tried updating the AC97 audio drivers from intel for your
board.

 

[Phil]

That sounds like a return grounding issue on one or more of the speaker
wires or plugs, wherein the stereo difference signals will get heard but
anything common to both channels is lost. Check all your wiring carefully,
try unplugging your speakers, one at a time, and seeing if you lose ALL
sound when unplugging a speaker. If you lose all sound, then the speaker
still plugged in will be the one with the bad ground return problem, wire or
jack.

 

[Zelinda]

I am having the same problem with listening to Mono Audio
after updating my computer with the Microsoft Update
software patch as of Feb 1, 2008. It seems that my Windows
Media Player was updated to version 11 with some security
patches. Once the update happenned, I can no longer listen
to mono audio. It sounds as if my audio is turned all the
way down to volume 1 (not muted)

= > I have no problems watching any video or listening to
stereo sound. I only have problems hearing any type of mono
audio.

What am I trying to listen to?

- I am trying to listen to a Vonage voice mail that you can download
and open through Vonage... they use the following codec /spec:
: Bit Rate: 64kbps
: Audio Sample Size: 8 bit
: Channels: 1 (mono)
: Audio Sample Rate: 8kHz
: Audio format: CCITT u-LAW

Opening this audio on any other machine that I did not update yet works
great!

I have tried:

- various USB/ Analog stereo headsets
- analog stereo speakers
- my computer knows correctly that I am using the correct /2.0 stereo/
audio device
- made sure I updated all my codecs to the latest versions... I am
using plain vanilla microsoft codecs
- I uninstalled and re installed windows media player to the latest
and best
- not a chipset / bios issue - using latest and best confirmed working
- made sure Im using the latest flash/ shockwave, direct x, quicktime,
and real player
- I rebooted my machine after every test attempt

Once I turn "ON" the SRS WOW Effects feature in the Windows Media Player,
I can hear the mono audio sound without any problems. However,
this "fake" surround sound feature on my 2/0 stereo speakers does not help
once I try to listen to mono audio through my browser at sites such as
CNN.com news reports for example that plays the audio in the browser.
In addition, if I use a different player that does not have that feature
the mono audio still does not play.

I have tried all the links I have found on Google including the main
2 that seemed to have worked for others but these do not work for me:

Their recommendations:

1) http://www.w3exchange.com/t674-3-a-bug-in-wmp-91011.html (even without
Ac3DX.ax installed on my computer I have a problem)(doesnt help) ..
I have tried ac3filter1.46 and versions 1.45b, 1.40b, 1.35b, 1.30b
2) http://www.click-now.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3778 registry
changes (does not help / save a backup of your registry before modifying
anything)
3) I tried to make sure I am using all the latest and best codecs (doesnt
help)
4) I tried the "all in one" / "check the latest & best update codec software"
codec downloads (doesnt help)


Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thank You!

(e-mail address removed)