Play MP3 through all 5.1 speakers?

squirrel

squirrel

Expert Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2005
Messages
2,172
Reaction score
183
Hi guys

So about a month ago I made a quick purchase of some Logitech Z506 speakers and a Zalman ZM-RSSC v2 soundcard for my Microserver. I was in a rush to buy and they never had the initial soundcard I wanted so I took the Zalman on recommendation from the supplier. Now my issue is that I cannot get MP3s or AVI files to play out all of the speakers, so I've only been using the 2 front ones which is pretty useless :twisted: Is there any way I can fix this?

TIA
 
Quick answer:
MP3's are usually 2 channel (left and right)
See if you can't change setting on your speakers or in the software to output in all channels to the speakers.
 
On the Z-5500's you simply just press the "effect", button until it shows "stereo x2"
I assume it should be something similar on yours
 
nakedpeanut said:
Quick answer:
MP3's are usually 2 channel (left and right)
See if you can't change setting on your speakers or in the software to output in all channels to the speakers.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am aware that MP3s are 2 channels. Same as ahem, AVI files. The issue is that it seems the software for the Zalman soundcard does not have the option. This is where my problems start :(
 
I had the same problem with my onboard sound awhile back on an older motherboard, so I bought a sound card to do it for me, but now that I have a newer motherboard I am able to do it.

It's a VIA brand onboard sound, I have to enable a function called "Speaker Fill" so that it takes the 2 channel audio and plays it out all the speakers.

Please note though that not every sound card or onboard sounds has this option. It may not be possible for you, you might even be able to get a 3rd party program to do it, something like this: http://superuser.com/questions/96796/use-all-5-1-speakers-with-a-2-1-audio-source
 
Last edited:
I have a sound card so I selected this option. It would give you some guidance as to what to look for to enable for it to work. Works 100% and all speakers playing. :-)

Speaker Fill
http://i50.tinypic.com/5w9h78.pngukf
 
Last edited:
NAG - Wesley said:
Are you using Windows 7?
Click to expand...

Yes I am, 64 bit. Apparently the card is not entirely supported in Windows 7. Well it works, but there are only beta drivers available.

@NomNom, cavedog: Ah yes, I remember being told about that. Unfortunately this card does not have it!

Maybe time to sell and find another card? :/
 
Click Start . Type "change sound" and select the "Change Sound card settings" option that pops up in the list > Click on your speakers (need to be default device as well) and select Properties > Switch to "Enhancements" tab > In the scrollable list make sure you select the Virtual Surround option and if you want all speakers to play at the same volume, select Equaliser as well > Click OK twice and test out your speakers again.

With Windows Media Player, Virtual surround only works if the speakers are the default device. Others like Media Monkey and Winamp are a little more flexible and even come with their own virtual surround option. It is done at the driver level within Windows though, and every 5:1 or 7:1 card is technically capable of doing it, its just driver dependant.
 
NAG - Wesley said:
Click Start . Type "change sound" and select the "Change Sound card settings" option that pops up in the list > Click on your speakers (need to be default device as well) and select Properties > Switch to "Enhancements" tab > In the scrollable list make sure you select the Virtual Surround option and if you want all speakers to play at the same volume, select Equaliser as well > Click OK twice and test out your speakers again.

With Windows Media Player, Virtual surround only works if the speakers are the default device. Others like Media Monkey and Winamp are a little more flexible and even come with their own virtual surround option. It is done at the driver level within Windows though, and every 5:1 or 7:1 card is technically capable of doing it, its just driver dependant.
Click to expand...

Thanks for trying to help Wesley. By 'speakers' you mean the sound card, correct? The sound card is currently the default device, however there is no 'enhancements' tab. I do however recall there being an enhancements tab previously, was probably running an older driver maybe? I'm currently running this driver which is version 7.12.82140. In the C-Media software settings there is a 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter option but it doesn't seem to do anything. Gonna try moving the speakers around and see what happens..

Oh, and I've also just noticed that music sounds (possibly) crackly in comparison to when the front (green cable) speakers are plugged directly into my laptop :(

Here are some screenshots of everything:

Device manager
Sound options
Tray options

EDIT: lol... tried uninstalling the software for the sound card and it throws c++ runtime error and then crashes. Tried normal mode/safe mode as well as sound card in and sound card out. POS!
 
Last edited:
Not sure if this will help but I had the same issue - I used the onboard sound card for my sound though.

I just ticked the 'speaker fill' option in the realtek sound application - and it would ensure whatever mp3, avi (or whatever sound format) played through all 5 speakers.
It seems you arent using the realtek drivers/app though so I am unsure. Possibly look for something similiar?

Winamp also addresses this issue here: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66049
 
Just doing an assignment, gonna try uninstall all the drivers and use the Windows default drivers. Will update laters.
 
squirrel said:
Yes I am, 64 bit. Apparently the card is not entirely supported in Windows 7. Well it works, but there are only beta drivers available.

@NomNom, cavedog: Ah yes, I remember being told about that. Unfortunately this card does not have it!

Maybe time to sell and find another card? :/
Click to expand...

Sounds like it, there is a really cheap Creative sound card on the market for R200, the current sound card I have is also Creative but it's a much older model. Or you can spend a few more bucks and get one of those Asus sound cards.

http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/creative-sound-blaster-sound-card-p-59743.html

Product Page

This should do the job given that it actually says that it can do it:

Creative.com said:
Surround sound in music
Immerse yourself in your favorite tunes as the CMSS® technology upmixes any stereo audio content to up to 5.1 surround audio.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Ok so I uninstalled the drivers and used the default ones with Windows 7. I now have the speaker fill option! However when doing the test, the sounds seem to come out the wrong speakers (for example, center comes out back left). Guess my next step is to play around with the settings and see if I can get it to work properly..
 
squirrel said:
Ok so I uninstalled the drivers and used the default ones with Windows 7. I now have the speaker fill option! However when doing the test, the sounds seem to come out the wrong speakers (for example, center comes out back left). Guess my next step is to play around with the settings and see if I can get it to work properly..
Click to expand...

Could also mean that you have connected the speakers to the wrong jacks at the back. I usually connect the pink and orange ones wrong way around.
 
I have those same speakers..... they blow :p
They can't do it in Windows natively, or when it does, it sucks, but it works fine in Linux, so call it a driver issue if you wish.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X