Soundblaster stereo surround not working properly.

[Makaveliii]

Hi all,
i will first start by describing my setup. I have 5 satellite speakers plugged into my sub, which then has connections running through to my sound card which is a SB0460. I have installed all the latest drivers etc. Basically 5.1. It is all connected in analogue and to my PC via RCA cables.

Now onto my problem. Whenever I have the stereo surround enabled, the sound is distributed to all speakers apart from the sub when playing through a 2.0 source. To clear things up, the sub works with 5.1 source, obviously. However, on occasion, when playing things like music or 2.0 films, and after about 30 min, the sub will start working, and will have stereo sound given to it. But when I disable sound card and enable it again, basically restarting it, to no avail, it doesn't keep settings or something and sub doesn't have output, even though stereo surround is enabled. Is it the problem of the card, because I initially bought a x-fi titanium fatal1ty champion of eBay but got this piece of junk by, according to seller, by mistake LOL, but seller is willing to give partial refund of £10, because I won auction for the x-fi which ended at £24 inc. postage, so this card will cost £14 in total.

Thanks for your help if you do respond and also please do, as I have hardly found anny threads like this on the web and it also might help other people fix their problem. ))))))

 

[justcallmetom13]

Okay so, just to make things clear anything can simulate 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, even apple headphones.

You only have 2 ears, 2 speakers is all you need, 4 at the most.

Also, sound cards and their so called "improvement in audio" are all complete placebos. Sound cards do what your computer already does, but the motherboard in your computer does it at least 5 times better. Never buy another sound card again.

What will actually improve your audio is a DAC or an AMP.

With that said, your problem is I guess your sound card doesn't keep the settings you want?
Step 1: Sell your sound card.
Step 2: Get an adapter that allows you to connect all your speakers and subs directly to your computer.
(A female RCA to 3.5 mm adapter for example.)

Wallah!

 

[Makaveliii]

Hi, thanks you for your answer. I have resolved the issue by downloading and installing SRS sandbox. Problem was before that due to playing through front two only, nothing was coming out of the subwoofer, so I could not hear any bass at all, which was a big issue. Now I can simulate 3.1, which also uses front Centre speaker and subwoofer, so when watching 2.0 films, I can hear the bass as well.

My sound card is an x-fi xtreme music. Borrowing a x-fi titanium fatal1ty champion, I could not tell the difference. However prior to buying my extreme music, I bought an external sound card off eBay for £10 it sounded very poor and lacking detail.

 

[justcallmetom13]

Hi, thanks you for your answer. I have resolved the issue by downloading and installing SRS sandbox. Problem was before that due to playing through front two only, nothing was coming out of the subwoofer, so I could not hear any bass at all, which was a big issue. Now I can simulate 3.1, which also uses front Centre speaker and subwoofer, so when watching 2.0 films, I can hear the bass as well.

My sound card is an x-fi xtreme music. Borrowing a x-fi titanium fatal1ty champion, I could not tell the difference. However prior to buying my extreme music, I bought an external sound card off eBay for £10 it sounded very poor and lacking detail.

Can i haz best solution ?

 

[jFiveNYC]

Okay so, just to make things clear anything can simulate 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, even apple headphones.

You only have 2 ears, 2 speakers is all you need, 4 at the most.

Also, sound cards and their so called "improvement in audio" are all complete placebos. Sound cards do what your computer already does, but the motherboard in your computer does it at least 5 times better. Never buy another sound card again.

What will actually improve your audio is a DAC or an AMP.

With that said, your problem is I guess your sound card doesn't keep the settings you want?
Step 1: Sell your sound card.
Step 2: Get an adapter that allows you to connect all your speakers and subs directly to your computer.
(A female RCA to 3.5 mm adapter for example.)

Wallah!

Lots wrong with this response.

1) Not sure 4 is all you need. While two speakers is all you need to create a STEREO image, you'll be needing a few more to create a surround image.

2) Are you sure the OP only has two ears?

3) A sound card/audio interface can manipulate any audio signal provided it has an on-board DSP with surround sound capabilities. This includes a simulated surround sound setup.

4) The audio interface built into the motherboard is in not way shape or form guaranteed to be better than an add-on AI.

5) Be advised that an audio interface (sound card) is, as a matter of fact, a DAC. DAC means digital-to-analog converter. So unless you have an alternative means of converting bits and bytes of digital data to an analog signal, you will need a DAC, either on-board or otherwise.

6) Do NOT sell your sound card. And you already have an adapter that connects your speakers to the computer. It only happen that the OP must route the signal from the sound card to his subwoofer first. Usually this means the signal from the computer is getting a boost from the amplifier built into the subwoofer cabinet.

Glad to hear OP got the setup functioning after upgrading the software.