Xubuntu Sound Volume Levels

[NegativeSpace]

I'm having trouble figuring out why the sound in Xubuntu 11.04 is so low. I've read countless forums and documentation with some success, but still unacceptable sound volume. It was suggested that the alsa mixer might be to blame, so I installed KMix, which did help some. The maximum volume is now loud enough that I can hear it, but it's still unacceptably low, sort of like a flashlight that will lead you through a strange place, but with nearly dead batteries. No sound is heard from the speeakers until the voume control is set to at least 50% of maximum. I'm using Xubuntu 11.04 with intel sound hardware, and I'm pretty much a Linux noob so I need help! Thanks.