Hooking a computer up to a stero receiver - Rears not working?

[menstroy]

Hello,

I have an Asus A7N8X Delux motherboard. The MB has several audio outs. (Front, Rears, Center/Sub, Digital)... I want to hook it up to my Denon Dobly ProLogic receiver.

However my receiver is not DoblyDigital ready. (I dont want to purchase new computer speakers, i have very good speakers).

The problem I am having is when I do a sound test, the Front left, Front Right work fine, but when it goes to do the rear left/right it plays the test sound through both speakers at the same time.

I have tried every possible configuration setting via the Nvida sound tool and I cant get it to work.

I have it coming out of of a MINI jack and have an adapter to convert it to TWO RCA jacks (Left/Right)... I dont understand what I am overlooking, like a VCR going to a receiver there is only a Left anr Right chanel and the receiver does the decoding of the Prologic...

I have set the speaker setup to just two speakers and it still dont work, i've tried every combination.. I'm temped to spend some cash and just buy a dobly digital receiver but i'd rather not.

 

[viol8ion]

Is the mini-jack stereo? Probably not from your description, and you are combining the stereo signals into one mono. Probably sounds like crap, too.

When in doubt, deny all terms and defnitions.

http://www.wuli.com

 

[GOLDENCHILD]

I don't know the specific board , but many new 5 and 6channel boards uses some inputs/outputs for more than one task . Please check your board and manual to see if what you are attempting needs setting of jumpers on the motherboard !!!!

Regards

 

[menstroy]

Yes, I have checked the jacks on the MB, its all intergrated via the Nvidea control panel. Some of the jacks are defaulted to Mic inputs, but when configured via the software they are actualy speaker outputs, i've checked this many times

As far as the cable, I would assume its a 'Stereo' cable. its not something I spliced together on my own, one end has a mini jack and the other end has two RCA jacks, one red and one white... so I would 'assume' it is a stereo cable and not mono, and if it was mono, why when it does the sound test would the front left and front right work fine?...

the actual sound quality is fine, only symptom of a problem is the rears are not seperate, the sound comes out of both rears at the same time, no matter what channel the audio test says it is doing.

 

[GOLDENCHILD]

If you got a multimeter (test intstrument) then try checking your cable anyway - there could be a short.

Regards

 

[viol8ion]

The mini jack, if stereo will have 2 insulator dividers on the metal tip rather than only one, is a mono has. I hope I am describing it clear enough for you.

If you have a stereo jack, is it possible that you have a setting set on mono somewhere?

When in doubt, deny all terms and defnitions.

http://www.wuli.com

 

[GOLDENCHILD]

P.S.
On a stereo min-jack the "stick" part of the mini-jack is divided into three parts while the mono got only two divisions.... Please see pictures here :

http://www.audiogear.com/AudioAdaptersMini.html

Regards

 

[johningram]

Ok
The pc speaker outs are not normal at all.

The center channel and sub are often on the same plug on the sound card.

You need to make sure your head phone like plug that your plugging into your sound card has 3 connections and not 2.
There should be 1 common ground and then 1 wire for each speaker.

Im using a pc power supply to power a 12 volt car audio amplifier for my pc speakers. Its a 4 channel and i have 2 of the channels bridged to a sub. So i dont have surround but i do in my living room on my tv and stuff. Not the pc.

 

[kiddpete]

When you test the system, the sound card expects you to have a 5.1 sound system connected. You don't. You have a stereo system connected. You are lucky to get what you are getting which is probably the receiver simulating 5.1 sound from a stereo input. Your receiver is not digital ready, so you cannot use the digital output (which probably would still not work on a sound test). If you want to set up a 5.1 speaker system which you can test and adjust, you will have to plug it directly into the sound card outputs. Three cables going to a 5.1 system.

 

[menstroy]

Grumble, what a pain... I could always just run some rear speakers directly to the sound card, but then they will have their own power/volum control, Hmm why does this have to be so complicated...

So you saying even if I get a dobly digital receier it still wont work? Maybe I should just buy a new sound card that supports my needs.

 

[menstroy]

I finaly heard back from ASUS, this is their input:

--------------

Thank you for your support of our products!

Pro Logic doesn't have specfication for seperate rear speakers, so that
will be a mono channel unless you are using DOLBY DIGITAL. In DOLBY
DIGITAL, there is a true stereo rear channel.

If you are experiencing problems with your onboard audio setup:

Make sure the speakers you are using are functional, that they are plugged
in, and that they are powered on. Also check the volume level on the
speakers, as well as the volume levels in your operating system (if
possible).
What type of output is the audio set to provide? Is it set for 6-channel
surround sound audio, or a two-speaker setup? Make sure the board is set
to provide the type of sound you require.

Please make sure that the front panel audio connector on the MB, if not
used, has the return jumpers in place from the B_LINEOUT to the LINEOUT
for BOTH the left & right channels. If the front panel audio is in use,
please remove it from the header connector and place jumpers here for
troubleshooting.

Try removing all PCI cards from your system. If this corrects the
problem, add the cards back one-at-a-time. Reboot your system after you
install each card. If the sound fails during the reboot, the last card
that was added is most likely the source of the problem. Anytime you add,
move, or remove a PCI card, please enter BIOS Setup and set the option
"Reset Configuration Data" to "Yes" if your BIOS has this option. This
will force the BIOS to reassign resources to your PnP devices.
You may need to refer to the "Interrupt Request Table" in your User's
Manual and arrange your PCI add-in cards so they do not cause interrupt
conflicts. Some devices (most notably video and sound cards) experience
difficulty sharing interrupts with each other.

Look in Sounds and Multimedia (in the Windows Control Panel), under the
Audio tab. Make sure your onboard sound is set as the preferred Sound
Playback device. Check the audio controller in Device Manager to see if
it has a conflict (!) or if a driver needs to be installed (?).

If you are having trouble installing a driver, there may be a problem with
the system setup. Make sure you have a FRESH install of your operating
system (OS) on THIS motherboard, and that the drive was partitioned and
formatted on this motherboard. When you install the OS, be sure to
install the most recent drivers in the following order:
1) Chipset/Motherboard drivers (VIA 4-in-1s for VIA chipsets, Intel INF
Update and Application Accelerator for Intel chipsets, etc.)
2) Latest version of DirectX
3) Latest Video Card drivers
4) SCSI/ATA drivers
5) LAN/NIC drivers
6) Modem drivers
7) Any additional drivers, except for sound
8) Install sound drivers LAST

If the problem persists, check that your MB is not picking up EMI
(Electromagnetic Interference), or improperly grounding against the case.
Please remove the MB from the case and set it up DIRECTLY on the cardboard
box it came in or some other non-static, non-conductive surface, like a
telephone book. Install your components, then boot the system. If your
sound works, then the problem has been caused by grounding. You will need
to electrically isolate the MB from the case in order to correct it. To
do this, you will need to use electrical tape to cover the brass
stand-offs that support the MB, and insert paper washers between the MB
and the heads of the mounting screws. The red paper washers should be
included with your case hardware, or they can be purchased at Radio Shack
or a computer store.
Make sure that no standoffs are placed in a spot where the motherboard
isn't designed to be grounded, as some cases will have different standoff
locations to accommodate different styles of motherboards. Also check that
there are no other metal objects that could contact the motherboard or any
other electrical device attached to the system, such as a metal burr,
loose screw, metal rod, or any other object that could cause a short.

Please do not respond to this email. If you need further assistance
please have your case number ready, then contact Technical Support at
502-995-0883 (M-F 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM EST).

 

[kiddpete]

I'm not saying that a dolby digital receiver will not work. I am saying that you won't be able to test and adjust the speakers from the PC. If your card can send a digital signal to the receiver, it will do its thing when there is a dolby digital source. If there is not such a source, it will probably do what it does with a stereo signal. I have learned the hard way that a processor outside the PC limits what the PC can do. I have the same problem with a Klipsch speaker system.

 

[menstroy]

How are most computer speakers hooked up to a computer? do they have seperate plugs for each pair of speakers? I've seen at stores they sell 5.1 speaker packages do they interface with just dolby digital r dot ey have several analog jacks?

Another piece of this pussle is my receiver, I know throwing a receiver into the mix complicates things, because now its not only the computer talking to the speakers, its the computer talking to the receiver and then to the speakers...

ugh what a pain.... From everything I've read it seems that the rear speakers are in fact MONO unless dolby digital or better is being used, but now I need to decide what to do from here,

Option 1: Throw a pair of computer speakers on the rear (probem is volume wont be matched)
Option 2: Buy a dobly digital receiver
Option 3: Buy a computer speaker system
Option4: unplug all the speakers and go back to the good old days of the beeps of the PC Speaker

I'd rather stick with my receiver because I dont like the sound quality those tiny cube speakers give, i'd much rather have my 600 dollar speakers hooked up

 

[AlanKW]

I think Asus is dead-on. Is strictly a receiver and sound environment (no computer) an older receiver has mono output towards the rear. The receiver will say Rear-left and Rear-right where you plug the speakers in, but it really doesnt matter as the receiver cannot process the sound serperately. A dolby-Digital receiver (one that advertises 5.1 or 6.1) can and will process the rear speakers in stereo.

The fact that your MB can output 5.1 is nice and all, but since the receiver is in the middle of the picture, It'll go towards the lower-common denominator.

 

[ceh4702]

Why not do some research and find a soundcard that is compatible with your speaker system, buy a new speaker system, or just deal with what you have.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[menstroy]

This forum is my research, it doesnt matter what sound card I buy, the fact that I have a non Digital pro logic receiver it I will not be able to get surround sound in the rear channels, a sound card could have 20 output jacks, it wont matter cause a standard receiver only has 1 or 2 audio inputs per device (Digital or 2 RCA Jacks)

My only options are to purchase a Dolby digital receiver or spend 200bux on a decent computer speaker setup. I think i'll buy a new receiver buying computer speakers are to limiting for me.. I want the flexibility and quality that a receiver and normal speakers give.

 

[AlanKW]

I bet that is compatible, but the rear channels are mono. Big Deal. I doubt that there are many games designed for 5.1 sound and if he's playing DVDs then he's watching movies on a computer monitor.

Only a new receiver or a seperate 5.1 computer speaker setup will solve the issue.

 

[AlanKW]

I recently got an Onkyo digital receiver from Cambridge SoundWorks for ~$250. Everything hooked up nice and has 2 Optical Digital Audio inputs and a RCA style digital audio connection. Tho you can only use 2, not the 3.