I use my laptop networked to run RC etc, but the max volume is so low that hearing RC - even with

I'm not sure that laptop speakers are actually ment to be used. You might try checking all volume control options. Start/accesories/entertainment/volume control/options/properties,check pc speaker,turn everything up. I don't know of any software to boost volume. I have an Soundblaster card for my laptop, but I don't think it is any louder. Add on speakers that plug in to your headphone jack are the only fix I know of.Bob

I also use a laptop. I have a bose radio that I just plug into the laptop from headphone on laptop to aux plugin on radio. Works wonderful, and I can turn the radio volume up until it blows me away, if I wish. You may not have a bose, but any unit that has an aux input should work!Lobo :)

These forums are always a great help, and often a good laught too.bobbyjack has a "stupid 17" CRT monitor", and lobo says "you might not have a Bose".I have a nifty 22" Samsung and I think there

Northridge- if your laptop has an "audio out", just cable that into a stereo amp & speaker. I've got a 25 yr old Technics amp that drives an equally old 12" speaker under the desk, headphones and a 10" sub/sub woofer bolted to the frame of my chair. (the subwoofer sound is below 60hz- you get some pretty realistic vibrations" through your elbows!!)If there's no one at home, it will produce sound as loud as the real thing!Pawn shops are a good source for this stuff- if you haven't got an old stereo amp gathering dust in the basement. The sub woofer parts came from Radio Shack and used scrap ply for the enclosure to fit the chair.Alex Reid

It looks like amping it up with hardware is the only solution.Surprising tho that there isn't a software solution. (I actually posted this question before on a soft/hardware geek forum and didn't get a single reply.)Thanks.

There are some software solutions. But why? Laptop speakers are so poor anyway. I have a music composition program called "Sebelius". It comes with a player that will boost volume ,but things tend to distort easily. In general, I think things play as loud as practical for the system.Bob

What you are looking for is an Audio Compressor and Limiter to boostthe dynamic range of your laptop's audio output.The compressor will boost the dynamic range while the limiter willlimit the peaks to avoid distortion.For voice audio, it would be best to also equalization prior tocompression to remove most bass, i.e. frequencies below 80 or 100Hz. The reason is bass frequencies can account for 75% ofthe "volume" in your voice audio but carry little information sobass can be discarded without impacting voice intelligibility.The EQ, Compressor and Limiter are all standard fare with all audioworkstation software, such as Audacity, the Open Source version ofthe lot.Caveats:1. While this solution will definitiley boost the "loudness" of your audio, there is no guarantee the audio boost will be sufficient.2. Also, the DAW software will steal a fair number of CPU cycles that will not be available for FSX.URLs:Dynamic Range in Audio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range#AudioDynamic Range Compression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_compressorParametric Equalization to Reduce Boominess:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_eq...iness_reductionAudacity Digital Audio Workstation Open-Source Software: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/Cheers,-jahman.