Sound on YouTube has gotten worse lately using my Dell LT with headphones

mnorian

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A month or so ago; Youtube said they up-graded their sound on movies and music videos using Dolby stereo 4 HD. I use a Dell LT with Sony headphones; and up till then; I have had great sound,

Now; if I set the sound level to hear the quiet parts; the loud parts blow my ears off my head.
If I set the sound level so the loud parts are OK; I can't hear the quiet ones.

I know they used to use compression to bring up the low sounds; and bring down the high notes.

Is there some app or tweek on Youtube where you can adjust the sound compression?
 

Lazarus Short

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You (all of us, actually) are a victim of the Loudness Wars. Using headphones in this situation will ruin your hearing. It is the reason I have all but given up headphone use. My advise is to use an external amp and speakers. Your ears will thank you.
 
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mnorian

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You (all of us, actually) are a victim of the Loudness Wars. Using headphones in this situation will ruin your hearing. It is the reason I have all but given up headphone use. My advise is to use an external amp and speakers. Your ears will thank you.

I have people close by; so external speakers are not an option; unfortunately.

The headphones I have are "on the ear" type; not the "over the ear" kind; so are not supposed to be able to damage your ears.

One of the problems I have is; I watch a lot of Vblogs on sailing channels; and each one sets their sound at a different level; they are all amateurs. There must be a program that can auto adjust the sound; at the PC level.
 
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A month or so ago; Youtube said they up-graded their sound on movies and music videos using Dolby stereo 4 HD. I use a Dell LT with Sony headphones; and up till then; I have had great sound,

Now; if I set the sound level to hear the quiet parts; the loud parts blow my ears off my head.
If I set the sound level so the loud parts are OK; I can't hear the quiet ones.

I know they used to use compression to bring up the low sounds; and bring down the high notes.

Is there some app or tweek on Youtube where you can adjust the sound compression?

I bought some computer speakers from this company, and I remembered this item I was looking at:

upload_2021-10-13_10-24-50.png


https://audioengineusa.com/shop/components/d1-24-bit-dacheadphone-amp/

Not promoting this company/product, as I'm sure there are many good headphone amps out there. Just an FYI possible solution.
 
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Lazarus Short

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I have people close by; so external speakers are not an option; unfortunately.

The headphones I have are "on the ear" type; not the "over the ear" kind; so are not supposed to be able to damage your ears.

One of the problems I have is; I watch a lot of Vblogs on sailing channels; and each one sets their sound at a different level; they are all amateurs. There must be a program that can auto adjust the sound; at the PC level.

A good practice is to reset the volume at zero between vids, and then raise it cautiously when another starts - it has saved me getting blasted many times. I'm sensitive to loud noise, you see.
 
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mnorian

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A good practice is to reset the volume at zero between vids, and then raise it cautiously when another starts - it has saved me getting blasted many times. I'm sensitive to loud noise, you see.

Yes; I do that all the time. One problem I have with this Dell LT; there is not a one button control for the sound level;
you have to click "f2 or f3" and the fn key; at the same time; and if you hit the f2 or f3 buttons first; it open up the tab box or the side panel in Vivaldi; which I do all the time; very frustrating.

Then there is the sound level on the YT video; so I'm always trying to juggle the two sound levels.
 
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Wookiee

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Yes; I do that all the time. One problem I have with this Dell LT; there is not a one button control for the sound level;
you have to click "f2 or f3" and the fn key; at the same time; and if you hit the f2 or f3 buttons first; it open up the tab box or the side panel in Vivaldi; which I do all the time; very frustrating.

Then there is the sound level on the YT video; so I'm always trying to juggle the two sound levels.

There's usually a function lock key or a Dell utility to reverse the behaviour of the function keys so that you don't need to hold it in.
 
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mnorian

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There's usually a function lock key or a Dell utility to reverse the behaviour of the function keys so that you don't need to hold it in.

I looked on Dell's help page for sound settings; and didn't find that. You have a link for that?
 
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Wookiee

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If you haven't changed anything it will be something like "Hotkeys" or "Keyboard Utility". It differs from laptop to laptop. But there's always a way of doing it.

If you're looking at support articles, you'll want to find one that is specifically about the keyboard.
 
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mnorian

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There's usually a function lock key or a Dell utility to reverse the behaviour of the function keys so that you don't need to hold it in.

I used your post as a search on google and came up with this:

How Do I Disable the Fn Key?
There is no dedicated Fn Lock key on most Dell laptops to disable the F1 to F12 Function keys.
The Function Lock is enabled/disabled by pressing the Escape key (on the top row next to the F1 to F12 keys) and Function key (on the bottom row next to the Windows button) together like a toggle switch.

https://www.lifewire.com/disable-function-key-on-dell-laptop-5193090#:~:text=There is no dedicated Fn,together like a toggle switch.

And it worked! Thanks!:oldthumbsup:
It makes it a little easier to set the sound now.

If only I could find a compression sound app; now that would be great.
 
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