HD 5.1 audio problems.

[justin shropshire]

Hello everyone! My question today runs in the lines of 5.1 surround sound audio. I just built a new system recently and added a Razer Leviathan to my Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Gaming Motherboard with 3-Way. I know my board supports up to the the current 8.1 surround sound so it should work. I want to get the optical cable to work with 5.1ss but the i can't quite figure out how to do it, or for that matter it wouldn't let me do it with optical but it will let me do it running auxiliary. When i swap out the the settings in windows it will not let me do any thing other than "(DVD) 48000 quality" another side note is that the Dolby digital panel is not working and that I'm running windows 7. I'm in no rush to get this figured out. I just want loss less audio eventually i got other things to perfect like fixing that plexiglass and that cable management tho.

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[thee_prisoner]

You aren't going to get Dolby because this mobo only uses DTS Connect.

People have to be very careful when they buy a mobo and check out the audio specs. Many will say they support Dolby, Creative and DTS etc. Yes
they do support it but doesn't include the software(codecs) with it because that costs extra money.

Audio specs for this mobo:
Audio Feature :
- SupremeFX Shielding™ Technology
- 1500 uF Audio Power Capacitor
- Gold-plated jacks
- Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection
- DTS Ultra PC II
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel

Beware before you buy and check out all the specs.

Also, optical wont give you true discreet 5.1/7.1, only analog, HDMI and Display port can.

Happy listening, the Prisoner...

 

[justin shropshire]

You aren't going to get Dolby because this mobo only uses DTS Connect.

People have to be very careful when they buy a mobo and check out the audio specs. Many will say they support Dolby, Creative and DTS etc. Yes
they do support it but doesn't include the software(codecs) with it because that costs extra money.

Audio specs for this mobo:
Audio Feature :
- SupremeFX Shielding™ Technology
- 1500 uF Audio Power Capacitor
- Gold-plated jacks
- Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection
- DTS Ultra PC II
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel

Beware before you buy and check out all the specs.

Also, optical wont give you true discreet 5.1/7.1, only analog, HDMI and Display port can.

Happy listening, the Prisoner...

Ah I see didn't catch that, thanks for pointing it out, however you answer leads me into another question can i install the codex's that i need separately. I know optical is considered loss less, because i know that the longer an auxiliary cable is the more quality loss it will have, does optical not give true 5.1 because surround sound need multiple pathways to the devices that distributes the sound? Also i was unaware that dts was separate from dolby and that they are actually they're competitor (Audio noob alert). I still have the driver dvd for the mobo. I'm unsure if i installed the dts software on my computer because i went straight to benchmarking. I am currently using realtek HD audio manager, is that related to dts in any way or is that program substituting for what needs to be installed and finally what would you recommend if you were running this setup?

 

[thee_prisoner]

The reason optical can't do true discrete 5.1, 7.1 is because it doesn't have the bandwidth. A simple internet search will tell you why. What are you using for speakers and/or headphones? Are you using an AVR or surround sound preamp? Cable length is not really a problem unless you might have extreme lengths. I wired my house years ago with good quality cat 6 ethernet cable that hooks up most of my audio, video and etc into a home server with no problems.

Yes, companies like Creative(for gaming has excellent simulated surround) like DTS and Dolby. The realtek HD audio manager along with a windows config should bring up the DTS connect function that will work. Not the best for gaming compared to Creative but still better than stereo. There should be an option in your windows config.

Go to windows(white speaker icon on taskbar)> playback devices>realtek digital output(if using optical)>supported formats>apply(ok) and etc. Also, depending on the video card using HDMI/Display port might be some options too.

Realtek is related to Creative, DTS and Dolby in the sense that it can support those codecs. Codecs meaning some program that the realtek chip sound can possibly use. Finding or and buying these codecs isn't easy or cheap.

My recommendation is to get it configured properly with realtek and DTS working and if you are happy with the sound then cool. IF not I would take a look at the Creative Sound Blaster Z sound card which offers great simulated surround plus sounds good with music, movies and has a good mic. It can be bought for 70-100.00 depending on sales or even cheaper during special deals. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102048

I bought the Blaster Z on some wild sale for 60.00 from amazon because my realtek chip started flaking out.

Happy listening, the Prisoner...

 

[ien2222]

A clarification, you can do discreet 5.1 over optical via DD or DTS, the problem is that it's lossy.

 

[thee_prisoner]

A clarification, you can do discreet 5.1 over optical via DD or DTS, the problem is that it's lossy.

Thanks for pointing that out. S/PDIF can do 5.1/7.1 lossy and compressed audio which is fine for gaming,