Problem with 5.1 sound

[CoolCat]

So my problem is that in my 5.1 setup the center doesn't give any sound.

I've tried testing the setup in both Windows and Realtek and when doing so only the rears and front work except the center and subwoofer. When testing in games that support surround sound the subwoofer works but not the center.

I have connected 2 speakers to the cable that goes into the center and neither works. The speakers are fine.

[CoolCat]

Update: In windows setting i turned monosound on and then the center worked in Windows and Realtek testing but not in game.

[_I_]

windows sound wavs are only stereo
test with some 5.1 files

here are 5.1 wav files to test
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qtv4318dhwkhw2xazt75c/5.1-WaveFile.zip?rlkey=8kmt81spqh8c6jf53ko3imiey&st=jrpco7kp&dl=0

in realtek control panel, or windows audio control panel for the output device, it will have an option to 'speaker fill' which will mix r/l to center, and clone r/l to rear r/l
when the source is stereo 2ch or mono

[egs]

some games do not support any kind of surround, only stereo. unfortunately.
the best you can do in such case - use passive surround decoder if you have.

[_I_]

thats exactly what 'speaker fill' option does for stereo sources
but chrome and some other programs set their sound output to 5.1 but only use 2 ch with center/rear muted, which cannot convert to fill 5.1/7.1 since its already mapped to 5.1

[smokerob79]

I will be blunt....you need a ACTIVE DOLBY DIGITAL LIVE sound card to get real 5.1 in game.....less then 10 motherboards ever made had it built in no matter how many lies you hear about putting in a unsupported modded driver to get DOLBY DIGITAL LIVE options to show up......i have had my sound blaster card for over 10 years now to dump real 5.1 in to a 5.1 system....

to get real dolby live support it has to be running before the game starts in windows itself.....

[Blaagh]

smokerob79 lähetti viestin:

I will be blunt....you need a ACTIVE DOLBY DIGITAL LIVE sound card to get real 5.1 in game.

thats when you want to use digital connection.. when you hook up analog (3x 3.5mm stereo jacks) that is not needed

edit: on that note: op what mainboard and speaker/amp are you using? how is it all wired??

[Greenie]

smokerob79 lähetti viestin:

I will be blunt....you need a ACTIVE DOLBY DIGITAL LIVE sound card to get real 5.1 in game.....less then 10 motherboards ever made had it built in no matter how many lies you hear about putting in a unsupported modded driver to get DOLBY DIGITAL LIVE options to show up......i have had my sound blaster card for over 10 years now to dump real 5.1 in to a 5.1 system....

to get real dolby live support it has to be running before the game starts in windows itself.....

Spot on, I have an Asus Z790 gaming mobo that does support DTS and 7.1 surround, it actually came with the Dolby surround software and Dolby for headphones. But that motherboard was just north of 300 usd.

[_I_]

any gpu in the last 10 years can also do dd/dts/true 5.1/7.1 through hdmi

mobos with hdmi can do that too with the onboard igpu sound card

you dont need a $300+ mobo, any junk $50 board can do it
but most oem boards do not allow it