5.1 surround not working with Windows 10

[Bunkey]

I have a set of "Creative Inspire 5.1 Digital 5500" speakers that I'm having the hardest time getting to work with my new custom build PC.

The set consists of a front right, left, and center speaker; a rear right and left speaker; and then a subwoofer they all connect to. The subwoofer also connects to a power outlet and a decoder, which I used to connect to my old PC through a "Sound Blaster Audigy (SB1394)" sound card.

Unfortunately now, Windows 10 does not support the sound card; so I had the decoder directly connected to my "ASUS H170 PRO GAMING" motherboard instead. This has resulted in only stereo sound as far as I can tell.

The decoder uses an RCA and stereo line-in connection for personal computers, which I plugged into the motherboard's subwoofer and line out ports respectively. However when configuring the speakers in Windows showed that only the front left and right produced any sound, I disconnected the decoder. I then plugged the subwoofer's 5.1 channel audio cable into the motherboard's line out, rear out, and subwoofer port and got no sound whatsoever.

All my drivers are the latest, pulled directly off their manufacturer's website; and the speaker's decoder has its own test feature that proves the speakers are connected properly and working. Can anyone help me get them working on Windows 10?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bunkey]

Bump.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

In order to get 5.1 to work with your speakers you have to use the S/PDIF wire. Your motherboard supports this type of interface, but I don't know if your speakers support S/PDIF.

I am a hi fi buff (audiophile) and that is the only way to get 5.1 anywhere, except of course HDMI.

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/H170-PRO-GAMING/specifications/

 

[Bunkey]

The decoder has an optical input, but I don't have a cable for it. Do you know where I can get one, or will any S/PDIF wire work here?

 

[Rocky Bennett]

The optical cable is exactly what you need,

https://smile.amazon.com/Digital-Audio-Cable-Feet-Connectors/dp/B017V7V40Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1474894059&sr=8-3&keywords=s+pdif+optical+audio+cable

https://smile.amazon.com/FosPower-Plated-Toslink-Digital-Optical/dp/B00T6OVQYU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1474894059&sr=8-4&keywords=s+pdif+optical+audio+cable

 

[Bunkey]

Thanks! will this do?: https://www.amazon.co.uk/REALMAX®-Toslink-Digital-Optical-supports/dp/B014T420YG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1474904010&sr=8-4&keywords=Optical+cable

 

[Rocky Bennett]

That link was dead. I tried it on different computers and browsers and it did not work.

 

[Bunkey]

Did you copy and paste the whole thing? I believe the registered symbol is breaking the hyperlink.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Unfortunately I can not get that link to do anything.

 

[Bunkey]

Here's a screenshot: http://s15.postimg.org/eo4lf3y4b/IMG_0632.png

 

[Rocky Bennett]

That looks like it will work for you very well.

 

[Bunkey]

Cheers for your help, I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Bunkey]

The decoder is now connected to the motherboard via a optical cable. In "advance sound settings" the Realtek Digital Output device cannot be configured, and only 2 channel audio options exist for the device's default format.

Tests in the device's properties show that Dolby Digital is a supported format, as is a sample rate of up to 96kHz. However I fear I am not getting surround sound with these settings.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

I am sorry that you still can not get 5.1 sound from this system. I will look into it some more and post some new ideas.

 

[Bunkey]

Any ideas from anybody would be appreciated right now.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Is this the manual to your speakers? https://www.manualslib.com/manual/224588/Creative-Inspire-Digital-5500.html?page=10#manual

Is this the manual to your soundcard? http://files.creative.com/manualdn/Manuals/TSD/7818/0x4FF4E09D/Audigy.pdf

According to that manual to your soundcard, this soundcard is VERY, VERY old, it might not be supported anymore. Do you still have that software disc that is described in the manual? Have you loaded the disc into your PC?

This soundcard is soooo old that it might be supported anymore. There might not be any current drivers for that sound card.

Have you taken the soundcard completely out of the computer? You need to completely remove that soundcard.

The mother board will work correctly for 5.1 surround, what do you see when you open up the properties dialog box of the sound output?

 

[Bunkey]

Yes those are the manuals, and no that sound card is not supported by Windows 10 or connected to this computer.

In the Realtek Digital Output Properties window it displays the controller and jack information. Realtek High Definition Audio (RHDA) is the controller and the rear panel optical is the jack. There is also a button for the RHDA properties and a drop-down menu for the "Device usage", it is currently set to "Use this device (enabled)". Besides that, there is also the "Supported Formats", "Levels", "Enhancements", and "Advanced" tabs.

 

[Bunkey]

Hello 4 month old thread!

I've continued to research and work out this issue, and I'm happy to report its resolution (lord knows the internet doesn't need this question floating about anymore)!

Where my drivers were "correct" and up to date; they were not, unfortunately, any good. Turns out the "Realtek High Definition Audio Driver" is terrible and should not be installed.

This lead to the next issue, which is Windows 10. Any attempt to uninstall this driver, will be undone with the reboot. Here's my work around:

1) Right-click "This PC" and select "Properties" to reach the "System" settings. From here click the "Change settings" link (alternatively open "Control Panel" > "System and Security" > "System", or open "Run" and enter "sysdm.cpl").

2) In the "System Properties" window, select the "Hardware" tab and click the "Device Installation Settings" button. In the next window, check the "No (your device might not work as expected)" option and "Save Changes". This will prevent Windows from automatically downloading the Realtek (or any other device) driver again.

3) Open "Device Manager" ("Control Panel" > "Hardware and Sound"), expand the "Sound, video and game controllers" tree and right-click the "Realtek High Definition Audio Device", then click "Disable" in the pop-up menu.

4) Right-click "Realtek High Definition Audio Device" again, this time choosing the "Update Driver Software..." option from the pop-up menu. In the next window, select the option to "Browse my computer for driver software" and then "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer".

The list should include the Realtek driver and a generic Microsoft driver, simply named "High Definition Audio Device". Choose the generic driver and complete the update (you'll be warned about incompatiblity, but you can ignore it).

5) At this point you may notice that your sound controller and audio output is a "High Definition Audio Device". Still I recommend you restart your machine and check your "Volume Mixer" to be sure.

You can now right-click the speaker icon in the task bar (where you'll find "Volume Mixer") and open the "Playback devices" menu to reach the device's properties and setup its "Default Format" in the "Advanced" tab.

tl;dr
Realtek HD Audio driver is bunk, and Windows 10 doesn't know best. Block and replace the Realtek driver with the generic Microsoft one.

This finally fixed the issue for me, and I am now enjoying surround sound again!

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Good job. Thanks for posting the final results.