How do I 'widen' my PC's stereo?

Question

I only have very low end computer speakers. They only let me to adjust the volume and that's it.
Right now I have turned the speakers slightly away from me, and I feel that it Did lessened the issue but not that much.
But I know it's not the way of coping with this kind of problems.
So, can anyone shed some light on me? thanks..

Answer 1

While stereo image is somewhat determined by the speaker itself , the actual room and surroundings play a very large role.

Stereo image can feel narrower when various things happen in the surrounding space, such as having dampening materials (pillows, soft surfaces , etc ..) which overkill the sound and reflections (especially in a very low end speaker which doesn't reproduce signal in a good way - a lot of details here that i wont get into) or being in a very narrow by-size/geometry space.

I would suggest experimenting with speaker height, don't let anything stand in front of them or block their angle , such as computer screen or decorative stuff. Stretch the speakers as much as you can (as Todd Wilcox mentioned) , this is a try and error procedure , if you have narrow edges in your room , you might want to avoid sticking them in there. Also , if you have the space to stretch them too far away , well , be reasonable. Clean the surrounding space from objects , books , pillows whatever that the sound will bounce on and never come back. After you've stretched the speakers turn them so they point at your shoulder, that's a bit frustrating if you move around a lot when you sit , but bad speakers aren't built to have a great big sweet spot (if they even have any).

Also narrow down your problem , are you sure you're after stereo image? Maybe the speaker itself is reproducing at very low volume , or exaggerating some mid-y frequencies which lead you to believe that the fault is the stereo image?

At last , kinda obvious , but check your cables , maybe you reproduce in mono.