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PC surround sound help for a newbie

370 views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Andy Riches 
#1 ·
Hi, as the title suggests I don't know anything about sound systems and am hoping to gain a little knowledge regarding surround sound on PC (mostly for gaming.)

My hardware:

Marantz PM6005 (connected to soundcard with optical cable)
Q Acoustic 3020 bookshelf speakers (connected to amp)
cheap 2.1 Logitech PC speakers (connected to amp)
Asus Xonar DSX soundcard

The issue:

Simple, I don't have surround sound. It is like my 4 speakers and 1 sub are just 2 speakers (left and right sound only.)
I selected DTS Interactive under the SPDIF Out section in my audio software (since i bought the Marantz amp i cannot use PCM... whatever that is, i know it allowed me to change the position of virtual speakers.)

The question:

Can I have something like front LR back LR surround with my current hardware? I only have left/right control in Windows playback options and using DTS in the Asus software stops me from using virtual speaker position. The mixer controls in the Asus software dont do anything with DTS selected either.

If I need to purchase some new hardware to get proper surround sound what would be the cheapest way to do it using as much of my current setup as possible? I have tried plugging the 2.1 speakers straight into the soundcard into main, left/right & back but they only seem to work along with the speakers when connected to the amp. I don't want to spend much more money, the 2 stereo speakers are fine for my use but to fully enjoy racing sims on my PC i need atleast front left and right and rear left and right surround sound to hear what is going on with my virtual car :)

Help would be much appreciated! Thanks for reading.
 
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#2 ·
If you can, try running HDMI out of your PC to the AVR, then in your sound settings, use the AVR as the sound device configured for 5.1.

Run the AVR's auto-calibration and let it set up the system for 4.1.

A center speaker is the most important one in any surround system, though. You should get one.

Your optical connection may be one limitation, but always start with your sound settings.
 
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#3 ·
Thank you for the suggestion. My AVR doesn't have any HDMI ports :( the other AVR that I was looking at did but I thought optical was the better way to connect.

I did a quick search and see it's possible to buy specific centre speakers. I've never heard of those before :/ I have 2 or 3 more cheap 2.1 systems so at the moment I could probably do 4.1 6.2 or 8.3 (only kidding.) Some of the centre speakers on Amazon are a reasonable price so I will consider buying one if I can get something resembling surround sound with my current setup first.

I'm disappointed about optical being a poor way to connect. One of the main reasons i bought the AVR was that I could connect it to my soundcard with an optical cable. I hoped the AVR might fix a weird issue I have in the specific game I play as well but it is something to do with the 3020 speakers.

Does optical only support 2 channels (if 2 channels means just left and right)?

Maybe I should try connecting the AVR to my soundcard or mobo using a standard stereo jack cable and see if that makes a difference. I think my only options are optical, jack and coaxial.
 
#5 ·
The issue is your Marantz is only a 2channel amp.

Left and right only...no surround.

You would need a 5channel AVR to do what you want.
 
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#6 ·
Thanks for the info :( that's not good! spent £250 on an AVR for nothing!!

Using optical from the AVR to the soundcard I can't seem to get other devices (plugged into jack inputs on the soundcard) to work. Maybe if I plug the AVR into the main jack input on my soundcard and then try plugging 1 or 2 of my 2.1 systems into the side and back jack inputs on the soundcard it will work.
 
#7 ·
Well, hopefully you can return it and get what you need!
Also, seeing as you are on the 'other side of the pond'
The Marantz pm-6005 here in the states doesn't have an
Optical input.:confused::confused::confused:
 
#10 ·
Using jack instead of optical worked. Windows only allows one playback device and optical connection is S/PDIF passthrough device where all other inputs are ASUS Xonar DSX audio device. I have 5.1 selected with centre speaker muted in the mixer at the moment. What should I select for audio channel 2,4,6 or 8? I assume as I have the AVR and a 2.1 I select 2 channel. I guess I need to buy myself a centre speaker with a built in amp (if thats the correct term) then I can plug the centre speaker straight into main jack input on my soundcard, the AVR into side (for the 3020 speakers that are in front of me in the far left and right corners of the room) and the 2.1 thats behind me into rear on the soundcard.

Just a thought but if I did purchase a centre speaker would I then select 4 channel :confused::eek:

Thanks for all the help so far.
 
#11 ·
If you're having such problems inside windows, try seeing if your drivers are up to date. if you're using windows 10 and there are no windowss 10 drivers you might just have to use 3.5mm Jacks, indeed. I had some trouble hooking up my oldie Z906 back in the day via Optical.
 
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