My computer with the sound behaviour as described earlier was returned to HP due to a hardware problem. The hardware problem didn't have anything to do with the sound behaviour.
The "replacement" computer I have bought has the same sound behaviour via Realtek and the 3,5 mm connectors for speakers and headphones.
This computer has the same Realtek driver as the previous one had from the beginning and I can't find a newer version on the HP support site.
Any suggestions how to disable the 1-2 second delay of full selected volume when starting to play sound?
// Bertil.