Sound problem

[Hammer2001]

I’m using the onboard sound of my MSI Mag Tomahawk Motherboard.
l‘ve been using a creative 5300 5.1 speaker system which I can’t remember when I bought them but it was a long time ago!

Everything has been working fine until a few weeks ago when an intermittent sound problem has started happening. I can be happily using the computer and there will be a pop from the speakers and then the sound volume is really low. Turning the volume controls has no effect.
Sometimes after a while it will pop again and then start working normally.
Sometimes powering everything off and on will fix it, sometime not.
Sometimes unplugging all the speaker cables and reconnecting fixes it sometimes not.
So I’ve now been able to pin point what exactly fixes it other than it will work properly again at some point.

I don’t really know if its an issue with the onboard sound or the speakers, I’m suspecting the speakers due their age.

Anyone else had issues like this? Or offer any advice?

 

[EsaT]

Maybe power supply of speakers is going out.
Or more precisely its capacitors.
They don't use exactly quality caps in them.

Though trying different signal source like laptop etc would be good way to bracket in which end of the cable problem is.

 

[Mr Jack]

Anyone else had issues like this? Or offer any advice?

Completely different kind of setup, so probably unrelated, but I had a similar problem with my recently replaced 2.0 speakers - well over a decade old at that point. With them, the left speaker would pop and drop out. I resolved it by turning the sound down in Windows to about 30% and then turning the speakers themselves up.

 

[Hammer2001]

Thanks for the replies.
I think it's definitely the speakers that are the issue.
I tried a cheap pair of desktop speakers from my son's PC and haven't had the issue.
I will try lowering the windows output level and raise the speaker volume as suggested and see if it still happens.

As i say it doesn't always happen, but when it does it's usually at the most inopportune time!

I may bite the bullet and treat myself the a new set for Christmas.

I've been looking the Edifier speakers namely the R1280DB, but I do wonder if they are too big to just sit on a desk and too powerful for my needs.
I don't really need room filling sound, just casual gaming and background music when working on the computer, so not sure if that type of speaker is overkill for my needs.

 

[Mr Jack]

I've been looking the Edifier speakers namely the R1280DB, but I do wonder if they are too big to just sit on a desk and too powerful for my needs.
I don't really need room filling sound, just casual gaming and background music when working on the computer, so not sure if that type of speaker is overkill for my needs.

I just got the slightly bigger R1600tiii speakers myself. They are a bit bulky for desktop use but I think that's a price worth paying for the quality of these speakers, although it depends on the size of your desk I guess. I'm no audiophile and don't really have much knowledge of different speaker options but the difference between these and my old speakers is just night and day even for someone like me.