computer audio: rear + front jacks, different results

[superboyac]

I just got a new computer at work.  I'm using my headphones and I find that I get very different results on the front and rear jacks.

Front jacks:
--good bass response, better overall sounding.  But really annoying hiss and static.

Rear jack:
--very tinny sound, overall sound seems like it's muffled and weak.  However, there is no static.  So I prefer to use this jack because the static is really annoying.

I don't understand why the rear jack has so much poorer sound.  At first, i though maybe it's because there's one jack for the stereo speakers, and a separate jack for the bass.  But that's not the case; there's only one jack.  But why does the front jack have better sound?

[Shades]

is there not some kind of amplification going on at the front of your system?

Hiss and static is interference and that is what you get when you have long cables that are not or poorly shielded. It does not help if you bundle those audio cables with the power distribution cables (which one is inclined to do for improving the airflow within the case). Spanning cables near areas with electrical components that spin are also a cause of interference. Proper shielding goes a very long way in eliminating hiss and static.

Of course, against a shitty audiocard/audio component you cannot do too much, except repair (which in most, if not all, cases means replacement). As far as I know that is not true in your case as you are a musician.
 
Poor sound on the back I cannot say. Are you sure all audio drivers are up-to-date and properly configured? In Windows XP alone you have several places to control the audio output. This is likely also true for Vista/Windows 7 (no experience on both systems, I cannot say for sure).

[superboyac]

I was kind of thinking along the same lines.  It's obviously a cheap onboard soundcard.  The front jack I've already given up about.  I won't even bother with it.  I'm going to see if I can fix the rear jack.  They install images on these new computers in our company, and one of the IT guys told me they don't always use the exact right images.  So I'll check to see if there are more accurate drivers.

If all else fails, I'll buy a cheap USB soundcard.

[Deozaan]

Make sure you're pushing the headphones/speaker cord all the way in. Every now and then when I plug in my speakers/headphones it sounds muffled or only comes out of one speaker, and I eventually realize that I didn't plug it in all the way.

[Innuendo]

Make sure you are using the latest drivers. If you are, dropping back a driver revision or two might reap benefits. Onboard sound card drivers sometimes have issues like this that changing the driver will sometimes fix.

[superboyac]

I just updated the drivers.  but I don't think it's a driver issue.  The sound is working properly.  I'm wondering why the rear jacks have less punch through the headphones than the front jack.

The other thing I'm planning on getting are bluetooth headphones.  These wires at work doesn't work.  I have a wire and extension cord all the way from the back of the pc under my desk on my lap and to my head.  It's not appropriate for work.  It gets caught under my chair and gets in the way of my papers.  It's too much.  My question with bluetooth is that I need to get a separate bluetooth receiver, right?  And how does the sound get to the headphones through the bluetooth?  How do the bluetooth receiver and audio card tie together?

[Shades]

About the better sounding audio on your front panel, follow this link that explains the priciple.

Don´t have too much experience with Bluetooth so no help from me there.

[superboyac]

About the better sounding audio on your front panel, follow this link that explains the priciple.

Don´t have too much experience with Bluetooth so no help from me there.

-Shades (February 25, 2010, 05:41 PM)

Thanks Shades, I think that is precisely the issue at hand.  I'll read that and see if that will be the solution.  i was just thinking earlier that this has to be an pre-amp issue, but I couldn't say anything more beyond that.  I appreciate it.