Even with headphones I usually think the PSP is a bit quiet.

Yes, the PSP speakers are completely underpowered. I've tried a number of UMD movies, and even the "volume boost" does not help. I think the designers assumed you would always have headphones attached. There's no solution except to go to headphones.

"Like any new piece of hardware, Sony’s new PlayStation 3 has experienced a few teething problems since its launch. This is nothing new for Sony hardware, though – its predecessor the PS2 initially had problems with its DVD playback. However, with the PS3 being such a complicated piece of equipment, perhaps its understandable to have a few glitches. Unfortunately, one problem seems to be appearing more than others, and that’s with regards to the sound.

Looking at any forums online regarding the PS3, amongst the normal game discussions and why buyers prefer Sony to Microsoft, you’ll find many postings regarding sound problems the PS3 is experiencing. From buzzing to interference or worse still, no sound at all, the problem seems to be fairly common. Thankfully, it’s extremely easy to identify what’s causing the problem, and relatively straightforward to rectify.

One of the ways to identify the problem is to remove any connections you may have leading to your PS3. Although most electrical products now have excellent magnetic shielding running through them, which stops one power source interfering with another, there are still some that may be susceptible to this kind of interruption. So if you have your PS3 connected to a home cinema kit as well as your TV, then this could be the source of the problem.

Once you have identified how the sound issue is being caused, the next step is to try and rectify it without causing any other problems. One such alternative problem that arose was for users who were using an HDMI cable to hook their PS3’s up to their televisions. Since some models could not recognise the connection without causing sound or picture problems, owners set up separate connections – HDMI for picture and audio out for sound. However, this set up caused the picture to be affected and caused more problems than before.

For instance, one of the reasons the sound may be affected is simply by the type of cable you are using. The higher end the TV and sound set up, the better quality audio and video cable you should use. It may just be that the reception between your TV and other sources has a higher quality than to your PS3, so look at getting the best connecting AV cables that you can.

There is also the option of using a power adaptor to connect your PS3 to the electrical socket in your home. The PS3 is actually using a grounded power source, similar to the type a home computer uses. Since this is not generally compatible with television or DVD player power sources, it may be finding itself ‘interrupting’ the power, resulting in the sound issues experienced. If this is the case, a transformer power adaptor could solve the problem.

If you have isolated the connections to all your sources and the problem still occurs, you should get in touch with Sony’s Customer Care Team to resolve the issue."