Audio Difficulties

[Elwood]

I have posted this before and I just wanted to see if anyone has any other suggestions. I have some old OEM Dell branded Altec Lansing ADA885 speakers. This is a 4.1 configuration that are THX Certified and they have 5 modes that I can switch the speakers to (Dolby Digital, Prologic, Quad, and Stereo & StereoX2).

Now the stereo does not have any issues, but my surround sound modes do not seem to work properly within games. For instance, when I select the surround sound setting in Doom, I get the answer that no surround sound speakers are detected. I also get no sound test coming from the realtek software based diagnostics, but I do get perfect results from the speaker test system on the subwoofer; this tells me that I have the speakers hooked up properly.

So, my only conclusion is that the integrated modes on the speaker system are causing conflicts with my onboard sound. In fact, I don’t even think a 4.1 system is even supported by onboard sound. I have had this system long before Windows XP came out so it may have some conflicts with the sound devices located in the control panel; I am not even sure what setting I should use (any suggestions?).

So my questions are, to get a true surround sound from game and other apps, should I upgrade to a sound card? Or should I get speakers that are amplified only (do not have any decoding software)?

Or, do I just need to do both?
:rolleyes:

[jcnoernberg]

how are they connected? What sort of connections does your sound card/speaker system have?

[Elwood]

I have a S/PDIF connected and 1 black (rear) and 1 green (front) connected to the speaker system in the front (green) and black (surround) slots on my speaker system. All speakers are connected properly to the speaker system b/c they are color coded correctly and they test properly with the hardware test button.

The onboard sound is realtek on an ASUS board if that helps any.

[Whyzman]

Have you been through the User Guide?

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/acc/ada885/en/index.htm

[Elwood]

[QUOTE=Whyzman]Have you been through the User Guide?

From the rooter to the tooter. There is nothing in there that even remotely answers my question. In fact, look at the troubleshooting page. Who are they fooling?

Exact verbage taken from the documentation:

Symptoms
Remote Control does not work

Possible Problem
Batteries are dead or not installed

Solution
Replace or install new batteries

Wow, good thing they documented that or every customer would be in the dark with their product. The other porblem with the documentation is Dell. I am not counterstriking you for your suggestions at all, I am expressing my dissapointment for the lack of information by Dell/Altec Lansing. :rolleyes:

Everything regarding my speaker system is hooked up correctly b/c my system test on the subwoofer works and sounds every channel/speaker. So, since everything works on the hardware self tests, the problem must reside on the software side. Why else would applications tell me that no surround sound speakers were detected?

Reason #137 why not to buy from Dell.

[jcnoernberg]

The s/pdif handles upto 8 channels by iteself... what are the other two cables you're using for?

[Elwood]

analog signals. The S/PDIF has a dongle that comes with it that will decode PCM or AC3 that fits in the regular type sockets just like the analog lines connect to. However, the realtek software will only allow those 6 plugs to be used for devices other than S/PDIF. The yellow coax jack is what the software says you much use for the S/PDIF connections. I can get my optical port to work with my home stereo so there should be any problem with the yellow coax.

Here is a pic of what the back pannel looks like.


http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/13-131-539-01.JPG

[Whyzman]

Just shooting from the hip here...Is the sound coming out from your computer audio card line-level w/o mixing in some sort of channel separation? It sounds (no pun intended :)) like the speakers are a unique setup in that they separate the sound themselves. Most sound cards are billed as the entities that separate the sound, so I'm wondering if there's something awry with how the sound is being outputted and thus received by the speaker setup...:confused:

[saphalline]

I have a S/PDIF connectedThere's your problem. Very few, if any, games support speakers on S/PDIF. And I have no doubts that most games won't even detect your speakers since they are connected in this way to an onboard audio codec chip no less. The THX certified on the speakers is almost a dead giveaway here. THX and Dolby stuff is for music/movie playback. Windows itself and playback programs like WMP and PowerDVD will use the speakers just fine, but DirectX (which is the shell for all API's used by games for Windows) isn't nearly that sophisticated yet. DirectX is looking for bog-standard analog speakers, and it isn't finding any. Every other program within Windows uses the OS to look for speakers, so it finds them just fine. But the whole idea of DirectX from the beginning was to get the OS out of the way so that games have direct access to the hardware - thus the name DirectX.

[Elwood]

I get the same results with the S/PDIF is unpulgged b/c it uses my analog ports that I am using. The S/PDIF only comes in during DVD playback as you stated. Lets take the S/PDIF out of the picture, then I am using 2 inputs (surround and front). Looking at this pic below, you can see all of my inputs.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/acc/ada885/en/setup02.gif

So, you think my problem is the speaker system? What speaker setting should I use in the XP control pannel to utilize this?

[saphalline]

Speakers are plug'n'play - they either work or they don't. There are no drivers for speakers, just for audio adapters. If the games won't work even with analog outputs to the speakers, then the problem is probably with the speakers. Also, the Control Panel won't have the answers, only DirectX will. Try the DirectX audio diagnostic and see if you can get them to work that way. If not, you probably have a set of THX certified, DVD-playing speakers that will never work with games.

Then again, you could always hook up another set of speakers for gaming. I've never tried this myself, but if those Dell speakers work fine for playback on S/PDIF, then you just might be able to hook up another set of analog speakers for DX gaming.

[Elwood]

no, the speakers work. I just do not get any surround sound. I will try the diag tool (didn't know there was one) and see what I come up with.

So, is it safe to assume that the only reason to have THX Certified or any type of Dolby Digital/DTS is just for DVD playback?

[saphalline]

Without a manual for those speakers, it's difficult to guess how they are supposed to work. No doubt the original Dell system they came with had all the needed functionality - I hate proprietary. Perhaps a dedicated sound card would work better than onboard audio. My guess is that the drivers for your onboard audio simply weren't coded with those speakers in mind. :rolleyes:

So, is it safe to assume that the only reason to have THX Certified or any type of Dolby Digital/DTS is just for DVD playback?Correct. These surround sound codecs were made for movies, specifically DVD movies to promote the DVD standard over the old VHS. It was sort of a show-off thing to impress people and make them re-buy all their VHS movies on DVD to keep the money rolling in. Argh! Don't even get me started on the DVD fiasco!

In any case, THX certification and the various Dolby standards and DTS are all made for DVD's. DVD playback gets a boost here, as well as some of the new disks like DVD-Audio and whatever next disk tech wins (Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, whatever). I'm sure those Dell speakers would shine on a Media Center PC; but as for myself, if I want to be impressed by a DVD's audio, I play it on an actual home entertainment center. M$'s Media Center operating system is a step in the right direction, but the idea of a computer as the central entertainment system of an entire household is still far from perfect. Until these things get worked out, problems like yours will continue to plague people.

If your audio device has a special driver-based app for adjusting audio controls, try fiddling with that to get surround sound to work. I don't think the basic options in the Control Panel will help you out there. For doing a DirectX diagnostic, just type "dxdiag" into the Run... command and use the tests under the "Sound" and "Music" tabs. These tests will show you what you can expect when playing a game.

[Elwood]

Cool, all the effects were there, but they were all in the front (no surround)

I'm with you. I have a Sony Grand Vega LCD TV, definitive technologies speaker set (5.1), Dennon AV Receiver, and a Sony scaling DVD player (doubles the line of resolution to HD quality). I don't need ANYTHING else to watch movies on in regards to a home theater.

I think that I will put these things aside or off to flea bay. I like to drive my speakers, not the other way around. :D

Possibly look at the idea of a sound card, but keeping the new speakers as an option.

Thanks again Saph.

[saphalline]

If you could find the manual online for those speakers, it might give you a clue. THX certified... I would at least give them one more shot. If anything, more info on them could get you a higher price if you sell them.

It's just a shame that those Dell speakers have a lot of potential, but not enough support for general use on a PC.

[SIMJEDI]

If you want to enjoy surround sound effect in games thru the digital connection you need a sound card that can take directional sounds and encode them into either DD or DTS.

For encoding into DD you need a card that features Dolby Digital Live! (http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby_live.html) processing. The main card out right now that is capable of DD is the HDA X-Mystique 7.1 Gold (http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/x-mystique/index.shtml)

For a DTS encoder with DTS Connect (http://www.dts.com/consumer/pc/dtsconnect.php) that offers a higher bitrate with better sound take a look at the HDA X-Plosion 7.1 (http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/hda_xplosion/index.shtml)

For user support:
HDA X-Mystique 7.1 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=511204&highlight=mystique)
HDA X-Plosion 7.1 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=605522)

Hope this helps.


peace