ASUS P4P800 Deluxe and 6.1 SoundMax

[Carl]

I have a new ASUS P4P800 Deluxe MoBo which is advertised as having on-board
6.1 sound.

I therefore bought some Creative Inspire 6.1 speakers (they are very nice).

However, the AudioMax software on the CD that came with the MoBo and the
updated version from Asus's website only gives an option for 5.1 speaker
set-up.

I do hear sound out of the rear center speaker when playing Call of Duty but
only when I switch the Upmix 5.1 -> 6.1 switch on the back of the Inspire
speakers.

Does the Asus P4P800D truly support 6.1 sound? If so, why does the
driver/control panel seem to indicate otherwise?

Any ideas truly appreciated.

Carl

 

[Eric]

They advertise "6 channel digital audio". 6 channels = 5.1 (5 speakers and
a sub -- i.e, a total of 6 channels).

" AUDIO (6-channel digital audio)
AI series motherboards employed the world's first intelligent audio CODEC.
The 6-channel AD1985 audio CODEC automatically detects and identifies what
types of peripherals are plugged into the audio I/O jacks and notifies users
of inappropriate connection, meaning there will be no more confusion of
Line-in, Line-out and Mic jacks."


You would need 7 channels for 6.1 = 6 speakers and a sub. So you may have
misread the literature.

Very few DVDs (and I don't know of any games) are true 6.1 anyway. Most
6.1 sound is "upmixed" or "matrixed" anyway. The sound in the rears is
split into the center channel.

By the way, how do you hook up those Creative inspire speakers to this mobo?
Do you use the one spdif jack -- or do you use the 3 analog jacks?

 

[Philip Callan]

By the way, how do you hook up those Creative inspire speakers to this mobo?
Do you use the one spdif jack -- or do you use the 3 analog jacks?

Inspire 6.1 would be the 6600 and its 3 analog, it doesnt support digital
input.

 

[Carl]

I've now read the Asus literature and sure enough it says 6-channel sound,
oops.

However, the website of the company I bought the MoBo bundle from and
several other "review" sites stated 6.1. Here's the URL of a typically
"confused" review
(http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/asus-p4p800/index06.htm) where
they state in the "Pros" section of the "Conclusion":-

o Integrated 6.1 audio and LAN (Gigabit Ethernet);

This was common on several websites - I just didn't (and should have) read
the Asus one - duh!

The Inspire speakers are not the 6600 but the 6700. However, they too, as
Philip pointed out about the 6600 are 3 analog connectors.

Thanks for the clarification guys. The sound when playing Call of Duty
(especially the bass rumble of guns and explosions) is truly amazing with
the MoBo/speaker configuration.

Cheers,

Carl

 

[Philip Callan]

The Inspire speakers are not the 6600 but the 6700. However, they too, as
Philip pointed out about the 6600 are 3 analog connectors.

http://www.creative.com/speakers/config/6.1/

Hmmm, from what I can tell, the 6700 is the same as my 6600, except they
have
replaced one of the 'vague' center speakers they give us with a proper
center channel
speaker.

Guess we have to wait for the 6800 to get 2 real center, 4 side channel and
sub systems

Thanks for the clarification guys. The sound when playing Call of Duty
(especially the bass rumble of guns and explosions) is truly amazing with
the MoBo/speaker configuration.

I've been downloading all sorts of demo's, trying to push my new system, and
your right, the
bass on these speakers is amazing.