Low sound apple 27 inch iMac

My imac 27in without external speakers is very low in volume any idears to up the volume.

I have this problem also. 2 27 inch imacs side by side, mine is very very soft, even at full volume (whisper quiet) while the one along side has great volume. If I test sounds in System preference>sounds>sound effects the first time will be quite loud, then it immediately gets quite on repeat test. I have tried to reset PRAM etc to no avail. The startup chime also sounds odd.
Any help would be appreciated.

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    Message was edited by: Patricia Bywater

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