Help me with 7.1 headphones!

[joshmsab]

Need some advice. My motherboard is a GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128478&Tpk=N82E1681312847

It's suppose to support 7.1 surround sound. I am using turtle beach PX500 head set that also supports 7.1 surround sound. My problem is this, when I go to change my audio settings on my pc to 7.1 instead of 5.1 the option isn't there. I'm connecting the PC to the headset transmitter via the optical jacks.

I have read several places that optical just doesn't support 7.1 and I've read that it does other places. So that might be the problem. If that is the problem then:
A. Is it safe to assume that 7.1 is only meant to be connected with multiple 3.5mm jacks?
B. How should I go about utilizing the 7.1 surround sound? It only has the generic red and white jacks other than the optical.

 

[ssddx]

as you said... i know for a fact that optical supports 5.1 sound. i havent heard anything on the limitations of optical in regards to 7.1 but i haven't looked in depth either as i use hdmi for my sound.

a few ideas off the top of my head...

do you have all of the software installed if your headset came with some?

have you looked in the headsets manual for information on this issue?

are you absolutely sure your soundcard is outputing to the optical jack as 5.1 (or even at all) instead of the 3.5mm jacks? again, i've never used my optical jack but there should be an option in audio devices showing external devices. my guess would be that it would show up as a headset. my receiver shows up in this list via hdmi. you need this device to be selected as default.

 

[joshmsab]

There is no software other than the utility that you download from the website for custome audio settings. It's options are either 7.1 or stereo.

Yeah I know for a fact that the sound is being sent to the right source and it is sending a 5.1 signal.

When I change the signal type to headphones it doesn't even give 5.1 option.

 

[ssddx]

call up their tech support.

 

[MitchellJM]

Just a thought, most 7.1 headphones come with an inline audio controller. This controller probably splits a few channels to create the additional two to split the frequencies for the seperate drivers. I used to have a 5.1 set of Titans, but for some reason, the way the audio controller split up the sound, things sound to come from different places than they actually were. I learned in COD series that if I heard it coming from behind me, look up.

Another note, even though your board and headphones may support 7.1, does the application support 7.1?

 

[joshmsab]

I've read that the applications do use 7.1 when it is possible.