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I have a pair of Bose QC2 headphones and the volume is WAY too loud in windows on all jacks:

I have tried the following jacks:

  • speaker out on back of motherboard
  • headphone out
  • external USB sound card (Sabrent Aluminum USB External Stereo Sound Adapter)

In each case, even a windows volume setting of 1/100 is too loud. Using the same headphones on my macbook pro the lowest volume is MUCH lower.

Is there any way to reduce the volume levels? I'm debating purchasing a more expensive external sound card that has a volume knob that is independent of the windows system volume.

bradforj287
  • 371

3 Answers3

31

I had the exact same problem with my DT 770 Pro headphones. I could maximum have Windows' volume on 2/100.

I use this software to lower the volume: https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/

I installed it and set the gain to -20 dB.

Now I can use the whole range from 0–100, which makes it a lot easier to set the volume correctly.

Bjarte Aune Olsen
  • 441
2

I have the exact same problem with usb headsets and it's been there for years. I don't expect a fix from windows any time soon. A workaround I use is to get a program called 'equalizer pro', which allowed you to adjust base volume up or down. This way, you can set it to -20db simply in notepad and the volume will be much lower for every program, making you effectively erase the issue.

Rob
  • 29
1

Does the problem only occur with these particular headphones? It's possible the headphones have their own volume controls, although I can't imagine it being that loud at level 1.

Try a pair of plain earbuds and see if the problem persists.

Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes there are multiple volume controls on windows depending on what's installed. The sound card itself may have its own set of volume controls, so check for any programs related to the sound card.

user573968
  • 19