Mp3 file plays with headphones but not on built in speakers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Doc Al
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    File Headphones
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around an issue where a specific MP3 file plays through headphones but not on the built-in speakers of a laptop. Participants explore potential causes and solutions, including software and hardware considerations, as well as file-specific characteristics.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Debate/contested, Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that the issue occurs only with one particular MP3 file, while other files play normally on both headphones and speakers.
  • Another suggests that there may be a short in the headphone jack or a bad connector, recommending to plug and unplug the headphone jack multiple times.
  • Several participants propose reinstalling or updating sound card drivers as a potential solution.
  • One participant speculates that the MP3 file may have been recorded with high input levels but low output, leading to playback issues on the laptop's speakers.
  • Another participant suggests that the file might be corrupted or using an MP3 feature that the laptop's speaker driver does not recognize.
  • One participant mentions the possibility of downloading or ripping another copy of the file to check for corruption.
  • Another participant raises the idea of using Audacity to modify the file to make it more compatible with the laptop's speakers.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various hypotheses about the cause of the issue, but there is no consensus on a definitive solution. Multiple competing views regarding potential causes and fixes remain unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the possibility of file corruption and differences in audio driver versions between computers, but these aspects remain unverified and are subject to further investigation.

Doc Al
Mentor
Messages
45,583
Reaction score
2,457
mp3 file plays with headphones but not on built in speakers??

This is driving me nuts. I have an mp3 file which plays fine on my PC at work, with or without headphones. But the same file on my home laptop only plays with headphones, not on the built in speakers--I get no audio output. (I have plenty of mp3 files, which all play normally, both with and without headphones.)

How can this be?
 
Computer science news on Phys.org


Doc Al said:
This is driving me nuts. I have an mp3 file which plays fine on my PC at work, with or without headphones. But the same file on my home laptop only plays with headphones, not on the built in speakers--I get no audio output. (I have plenty of mp3 files, which all play normally, both with and without headphones.)

How can this be?
Try removing the headphone jack. There must be a short in the jack connection or just a bad connector in the jack. Just plug in the headphone jack a bunch of times.This might help .
If not then please reinstall your sound card drivers or install other compatible drivers for your card .
 


This weird situation only happens with one particular MP3 file. All my other MP3 files play just fine on internal speakers and headphones.
 


Doc Al said:
This weird situation only happens with one particular MP3 file. All my other MP3 files play just fine on internal speakers and headphones.

:confused:
Please try the procedure .
 


Doc Al said:
This weird situation only happens with one particular MP3 file. All my other MP3 files play just fine on internal speakers and headphones.

Try updating your sound card drivers.
 


I am absolutely baffled at why this could happen.

To get this 100% clear, you can listen to other MP3's fine out of your speakers, then when you get to this one, it doesn't play or output sound unless you have headphones?

Try turning your speakers up really loud actually, it might just be that it is quiet.

If it's a bit more complex than that, try downloading(from a different source) or ripping another copy of the file, it could have some weird corruption problems.
 


KrisOhn said:
I am absolutely baffled at why this could happen.
Me too!

To get this 100% clear, you can listen to other MP3's fine out of your speakers, then when you get to this one, it doesn't play or output sound unless you have headphones?
Exactly.

Try turning your speakers up really loud actually, it might just be that it is quiet.
Nope. And that same file plays just fine out of the speakers on my office PC.

If it's a bit more complex than that, try downloading(from a different source) or ripping another copy of the file, it could have some weird corruption problems.
I may try burning it to a CD on one machine just to see if the CD will play on the other.

Very strange!
 


Have you tried re-downloading the mp3 directly onto the affected computer? Maybe it got corrupted during the download in such a way that only the driver for your speakers is affected.

The other possibility is that that particular song is using an mp3 feature that your speaker's driver doesn't recognize. Do you have the same audio driver versions on your two computers?
 


Doc Al said:
This is driving me nuts. I have an mp3 file which plays fine on my PC at work, with or without headphones. But the same file on my home laptop only plays with headphones, not on the built in speakers--I get no audio output. (I have plenty of mp3 files, which all play normally, both with and without headphones.)

How can this be?

One thing that occurred to me is that the mp3 was recorded 'hot'
but with input levels low. The header for the file would indicate
a very loud signal is to be expected whereas the file itself never
reaches it's potential peak levels. Your work pc ignores the high setting for
the relative volumes and plays it anyway with no problem. Your home pc,
not wanting to lose the internal speaker diables playback.
The internal speaker is used as a last resort beep when all
other attempts to indicate a problem is occurring fail.

mathal
 
  • #10


Borg said:
Have you tried re-downloading the mp3 directly onto the affected computer? Maybe it got corrupted during the download in such a way that only the driver for your speakers is affected.
I've tried that. No luck.

The other possibility is that that particular song is using an mp3 feature that your speaker's driver doesn't recognize. Do you have the same audio driver versions on your two computers?
No idea. Funny, but the laptop giving me the problem is much more recent than the creaking dinosaur on my desktop at work.
 
  • #11


mathal said:
One thing that occurred to me is that the mp3 was recorded 'hot'
but with input levels low. The header for the file would indicate
a very loud signal is to be expected whereas the file itself never
reaches it's potential peak levels. Your work pc ignores the high setting for
the relative volumes and plays it anyway with no problem. Your home pc,
not wanting to lose the internal speaker diables playback.
The internal speaker is used as a last resort beep when all
other attempts to indicate a problem is occurring fail.

mathal
Interesting! Anyway around that?
 
  • #12


Doc Al said:
Interesting! Anyway around that?

I use Audacity 1.3 13-beta -(a free application -support it if it works for you) to record my old 78s and 33s. You can import the file and tweak it there and then save it in a more amenable form for your home pc.

mathal
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 30 ·
2
Replies
30
Views
3K