I'm posting this in a new thread because my original is quite far down the list now..... Well I bought a Soundblaster PCI 512 soundcard and a set of Soundblaster SBS16 speakers with built-in bass port for deeper bass.........and it made very little difference. The difference was so minimal I will probably return them. The speakers from my old computer are JBL Pro, and they sound better than the new ones. My old computer was AWESOME for sound and I never had to adjust anything. This new beast is just horrible, and it sickens me. Thanks for all your help, everybody. I don't know what else to try. Is it time to call Compaq???

about what? Matt

Oops...suppose I should have clarified that for those who didn't help me earlier. lol When I bought the computer the sound was very "tinny," no bass at all. I was told it was a cheap integrated soundcard, and several people recommended I buy a new one, a Soundblaster. I did, and it made almost no difference. I tried two sets of speakers from two different companies (JBL Pro from my old computer, and new Soundblasters.) The sound is not just "cheap." The speakers are not just "cheap." I downloaded/installed the updated drivers for XP. Still doesn't help. I have no bass and distortion even with the bass setting less than half.

Did you try (a)uninstall the drivers for the on-board sound, (b) re-boot and get into BIOS setup, and (c) disable the on-board sound? If you don't get rid of the on-board's drivers, they are sometimes used even though you installed the ones for your card.

There are bass & treble controls in Windows XP. Did you find and adjust these ? Open the Control Panel, click the Sound and Audio Devices icon. On the Audio tab, click the upper 'Advanced' button. You should see the Play Control box; click that Advanced button; you will see Tone Controls, and adjustments for bass & treble. Slide them up for better sound.

Hi Richard - yep, uninstalled and disabled all the originals. Hi Chris - With the original card, in my Advance Settings the bass setting was not available. It was there, but not usable. With the new card I found the bass/treble settings and even at a setting of less than half bass I get distortion but never really have any bass sounds. I have set up my old computer to listen to my music and have just come to accept this new computer sucks in the sound department. *sigh* Thanks, everyone. :)

FWIW - I use a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and it gves me no problems at all.