My computer speakers sound like they are in the bottom of a metal bucket?

Check out you sound settings under Control Panel. It might be that some sound effect has been activated. Just cancel that any effects. If that's not the case, try to connect head phones or other speakers. If it sounds normal with different speakers, then you know that the other speakers is faulty. However if you still have problem with other speakers, then the problem is likely to be with you sound card. Update the drivers by installing it from the internet.

Hope this helps

Computer speakers are notorious for being cheaply made and I'm guessing the cones are made of metal (most likely very thin aluminum--about the same thickness as aluminum foil). If you run cables from your soundcard to a stereo, I think you'll see that it's not the computer or software; it's the speakers.

Maybe you just need better speakers, or maybe they got damaged somehow and need to be replaced. Did they always sound that way, or is this something that just started in a pair of speakers that used to sound good?