"HD Audio" problem w/ ASRock Z97 OC Formula

[tAKticool]

Hi everyone-

So here's the deal.... I have a system built on an ASRock Z97 OC Formula inside an AZZA case (AZZA CSAZ-8000W to be specific). Built Aug 2015.

When I was building it, I connected the case's "HD AUDIO" cable to the motherboard's "HD_AUDIO 1" spot ... (I don't believe there is more than 1 or an "HD_AUDIO 2" but I just wanted to be specific). Then I used headphones with the "front port" (actually top of the case, front) where there are 2 USB 3.0 ports, a pair of audio ports, 1 for mic 1 for headphones, and then a pair of USB 2.0 ports. The sound was always great- and in fact, the motherboard supposedly includes "7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec), Supports Purity Sound™ 2 & DTS Connect" (pulled right off their website) ... The back of the motherboard has audio ports/jacks as well, and from the beginning they never worked as well as the "HD Audio" I would get from the top/front jack. --- I should state I have used headphones exclusively since I bought the computer. A few different kinds but always headphones. --- Anyway the rear has 5 port/jacks, with 5 colors (black, orange, pink, green, blue). There is also a noticeable gold metal "box" on the motherboard inside that says "PURITY SOUND 2". But the sound from the front jack was always very good, never had a problem, and pretty much I ignored the rear ports (I figured if I ever got a real "sound system" of speakers etc. I would mess with it.)


So my beloved blue heeler caught himself in the headphones cord the other day, and when he pulled, the cord didn't just disconnect from the front port, it seems to have broken the port internally. So I can no longer use it. I don't know if it's fixable but it doesn't seem to be something I can mess with...Pretty much out of commission..... But I have the rear "sound codec"! So I am now using the rear jack(s). Except it's not *nearly* as good.

The only one I can get any sound in the headphones is the green one, and it's much, much quieter than the previous front "HD Audio" jack. I thought that maybe I needed to go disconnect the cord from the case that connects to the "HD_AUDIO 1" jumper on the motherboard- that doesn't seem to have done anything. I also tried checking BIOS, the only audio setting I could find was something about Enabling HD Audio to the front port, it was set on Auto, i tried disabling it, still nothing. I am watching/listening to a Star Trek episode as I type this, and I have the volume at 44, and it's noticeably quiet, probably quieter than 10-15 previously.


I feel like there is something going on that I can't figure out. I thought, "do I need to buy a sound card, like back in the early 90s with MS-DOS etc?" ... but I have found threads on Google on this very forum that says the ALC1150 on the motherboard is going to be better than any sound card I could buy up to/around $50 bucks... (which is definitely more than I would have wanted to spend on a stupid problem, anyway.) Am I just screwed here? It seems to me that if I had HD Audio in the system to begin with, and it just stopped working to the front port, it should be able to work in the back port. Do I need to mess with a wire, or a setting, or something? Is it a motherboard or even windows software setting? OR am I screwed, it was a hardware issue, only available through the front jack, and need to buy a sound card now?


OK Thank you very much, this forum is always tremendously helpful. Thanks again for your time.

 

[tsnor]

Check your speaker configuration. You may be outputting 5.1 but only listening to two channels.

Not sure what release of windows you are running (it may be above and I missed it). Here is a ref for win10, same thing exists for other windows versions, just google. http://www.dummies.com/computers/operating-systems/windows-10/how-to-connect-external-speakers-in-windows-10/

Once you have it set for stereo look for other setting that might be making headphone sound worse. The green plug is the one you want. It should end up sounding the same as the front panel output, it likely just came with different configuration defaults.

If you can hear a difference significant enough to bother you that could be a good thing. There are many EXCELLENT external USB DAC/Amps for headphones. I use something called a "HRT headstreamer", but it is a few years old now and doubtless there is something newer/better. I think it sounds better than the MB audio output, and maybe better (definitely different) then HDMI into an onkyo receiver then listening through the headphone out on the onkyo, using late 90's Sennheiser HD-580 headphones.

Update: Some reading for you if you get bored... [sonnb_xengallery_photo][focal]=0&c[p][sonnb_xengallery_photo][iso]=0&c[p][sonnb_xengallery_photo][aperture]=0]https://www.head-fi.org/search/2177330/?q=ALC1150&o=relevance&c[p][sonnb_xengallery_photo][focal]=0&c[p][sonnb_xengallery_photo][iso]=0&c[p][sonnb_xengallery_photo][aperture]=0

from the first reference in the list above... "Does anyone know, does it make any difference that when I connect my M50x headphones to the rear Red Line out jack (dedicated for audio boost), the headphones are for some reason listed as Stereo speakers in Windows and Realtek HD audio manager? There's no Headphones selection. There's only Stereo/quadraphonic/5.1 speaker/7.1 speaker options for the rear jack. However, if I connect the headphones to the front jack, they are correctly listed as headphones. There's no noticeable difference in quality or volume between the rear and front jack.
However, I can select Headphones for rear jack in the Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 2, which is a bundled software with the motherboard. Selecting the Headphones in the SBC2 is also the way to enable virtual surround when 5.1 or 7.1 is opted for the jack in Realtek Manager/Windows."...

 

[tAKticool]

Thank you very much I will play around with it. I am running Windows 10 btw. I actually bought all my hardware in one order the week before Windows 10 came out, and bought a USB copy upon the release day from a local BestBuy, so I actually built my PC coinciding with Windows 10 (and installed a new, clean copy of it and that's all that's ever been on it).

Anyway thanks I will play around with as you suggested and report back any results.