Enable 5.1 sound on Gigabyte Gaming 7

[Arronius]

Hello. I have a brand new PC build that uses the Gigabyte Gaming 7 motherboard. The mobo comes with a Realtek ALC1150 audio controller. I am generally proficient with this sort of thing. This is not my first desktop build. However, I cannot manage to get 5.1 sound at all.

I have an old set of Creative Inspire 5.1 speakers I am using with it. They accept optical sound input, and I used it with a DVD player some years ago. Well, I have them connected to my new mobo via this same optical input (optical out on the back of the computer). I can only seem to get 2-channel audio, no matter what I do. Instead of the regular Realtek interface I have seen in screenshots on other websites, this one comes with some jank Gigabyte version of the Realtek HD Audio Manager. Here is a screenshot:

At the top you can see that the "Speakers" output is currently selected. This is because I have headphones plugged in to the front audio jack. You can see I also have the option to change the speaker configuration here. Right now it is set to stereo, but I can choose quadraphonic, 5.1, or 7.1. Take a look at the next screenshot:

This is what happens when I look at the digital optical output. No options. Can't select anything at all.

The mobo also comes with some Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 software. I guess this is meant to add software processing to the sound but after poking around in the program, I found a speakers configuration page as well. Yesterday the only option I had was "Headphones." Since actually plugging headphones into the front jack, and though they are no longer plugged in (again, using the optical output), my options now seem to include the standard gamut. however, no matter what I select, the image of the headphones on the right of the screen doesn't change, and when I "Test," I only get the 2-channel test. Take a look:

What am I doing wrong? I supposedly have great onboard sound here, but I can't seem to enable it, no matter what I do. Am I missing something? Am I just a dunce? Anyone else have experience with this mobo? What can I do?

Sorry for the length of the post but I wanted to be thorough. Thanks so much for any insight!

Basic specs:
Gigabyte Gaming 7 motherboard
Intel i5 4690K
16GB DDR3
ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 970 factory OC
Windows 7 x64

 

[Calvin7]

Dolby Digital 5.1 is the most common surround sound format. Your source needs to be in a surround sound format.

 

[Arronius]

Dolby Digital 5.1 is the most common surround sound format. Your source needs to be in a surround sound format.

Yes, this is true. But I don't understand why the programs that came with the motherboard won't let me choose a speaker configuration for the optical output other than "headphones," why I can't test it as such, and why even when I choose "surround sound" in games like GTA 5, I only get 2 channel audio.

 

[Arronius]

Progress? Not really, but some updates. I have tried the method on this thread: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/unlocked-realtek-hd-audio-drivers-with-dolby-digital-live-and-dts-interactive.193148/

Tried it with the 2.75 drivers and it worked... at least it lets me select Dolby Digital Live or DTS Interactive now in my advanced sound properties menu. Tests fine (just a 2-channel test tone though--yes, I am aware that Dolby Digital doesn't necessarily mean 5.1). It does play out of all 5 distinct channels when I go to the "Supported Formats" panel of my sound properties and test the Dolby Digital and DTS Audio options, so I leave them both checked.

However, still doesn't work in any real situations. GTA 5 still only playing through 2 speakers. Same with Netflix through Chrome. If I play the audio test files found at this website: https://www2.iis.fraunhofer.de/AAC/multichannel.html and others, it just plays the rear channels through the front speakers again, with no distinct center or lfe channels either.

I'm at a total loss. Help, please...