I am using a Chromebook at the moment (Acer CB3-111), but I have had similar issues, though not as bad as lately, on other systems that are not surround sound. I try to play 5.1 audio (specifically AC3) and it is so quiet. In some setups (like with 2.0 or 3.0 soundbar) all the background stuff is normal volume or sound like the voice audio is very quiet. On my Chromebook, however, it is insanely quiet. I have set the audio boost to “huge” and have tried various streaming and transcode settings. I normally don’t rip my DVDs or Blurays with both surround and stereo options as not to waste time/space (minimal I’m sure), but sometimes there just isn’t the option. I have confirmed on one, however, that the 2-channel option is loud as can be even on my Chromebook, but when I switch it over to AC3 5.1 it isn’t as bad as some others, but I still have to set the boost to “huge” and max out the volume to even hear it like normal.
I hope there’s actually a way to get the conversion to stereo to work properly. In over a year I have not been able to find anything to really work for me (including the issue with ambient and SFX being loud with voice being soft).
Thanks for the help.
