ESS Solo-1 PCI audio drive extremely low sound o/p

I have an ESS Solo 1 PCI audio drive on an AcerPower S Series machine. The sound o/p is extremely low i.e even at full volume the sound is barely audible. I downloaded the drivers from the acer website and updated them on the machine but no improvement has taken place.Can anyone help me????

This may be silly but try using a friends speakers
I have found that you need an amplifyer on this card after about 6 weeks. The wee beasty wears out fast

:eek: