P4C800-e Deluxe on board sound

[bReTt]

Hi

I have various problems with the onboard sound. With the supplied drivers on
the motherboard cd 5.1.3630, I get the occasional popping when playing
MP3's. I then found new drivers 5.1.5150, these installed without any
problems and the sound quality seems to be better. These drivers however
have one problem, after a while when playing MP3's, my microphone also
becomes a speaker i.e. I can hear the song being played though my
microphone. I have to then reinstall the drivers to get it working
correctly. What could be causing this problem?

I have the mic plugged into the correct port, and I use the S/PDIF connector
for audio out. I had the same problem when I used the normal audio out plug

--
Regards

Brett

"Bacon and eggs. A lifetime commitment for a pig, a day's work for a
chicken"

 

[Paul]

Hi

I have various problems with the onboard sound. With the supplied drivers on
the motherboard cd 5.1.3630, I get the occasional popping when playing
MP3's. I then found new drivers 5.1.5150, these installed without any
problems and the sound quality seems to be better. These drivers however
have one problem, after a while when playing MP3's, my microphone also
becomes a speaker i.e. I can hear the song being played though my
microphone. I have to then reinstall the drivers to get it working
correctly. What could be causing this problem?

I have the mic plugged into the correct port, and I use the S/PDIF connector
for audio out. I had the same problem when I used the normal audio out plug

You cannot leave a microphone plugged in, when the audio is set to
"six speaker" mode. The center/LFE output doubles as the microphone
input, and the input or output direction is determined by the speaker
mode. In 2 or 4 channel mode, I think the center/LFE is still a
microphone input. In 6 channel mode, it becomes the center/LFE output.

It sounds like something has caused the driver to change modes.
Perhaps a driver defect has changed the speaker mode ? Maybe
the MP3 player requested a change to six channel mode ?

This page has a block diagram of the AD1985 chip:
http://www.analog.com/en/prod/0,2877,AD1985,00.html

The PDF datasheet (the "Rev A" link near the top of the page) will
allow you to zoom into the block diagram a little better:

http://www.analog.com/UploadedFiles/Data_Sheets/1198969AD1985_a.pdf

The microphone section of the chip, has a two input multiplexer. One
side of the mux takes the microphone signal from center/LFE. The
other side of the mux takes the microphone signal from separate
inputs MIC1 and MIC2. Unfortunately, I don't think MIC1 is wired
to anything on the Asus motherboard. But MIC2 goes to the FP_AUDIO
header.

What that means is, there is a possible workaround for the problem.
If you can find an "Intel compatible" audio rack that fits into
a 5 1/4" drive bay for your computer, that will access MIC2 for use as
a microphone input. If you then plug your microphone into that
front panel jack, you will no longer have the problem of
interference between 2-4-6 channel output mode and the microphone.
An output signal cannot get to the MIC2 input pin.

A sample "Intel compatible" audio rack product is here. This one
plugs directly to the FP_AUDIO header. There are other products
like this, but look for the words "Intel compatible" with regard
to the audio interface, as that will work best with the FP_AUDIO
header and cause the least headaches.

http://www.office-trade.com/pdf/B99Z429.pdf

I have compared the 5150 driver to the 3630, and I found the 3630
to give a "muddy" sound. If you analyse the output, the 3630 driver
uses to much "reverb" or echo effect. The echo effect is applied by
the driver, and in fact when you set the Soundmax special effect
menu to "disabled", the software driver in fact is still applying
reverberation. The 5150 reduces this effect and that is why the
sound is less "muddy".

For me, the 5150 did not eliminate the "popping" sound problem.
I still hear it, but it is much less frequent. It is a good thing
I don't regularly use the AD1985 to listen to music. I recomment
a separate sound card. A sound card with a separate microphone
jack will solve your microphone problem too. Even a cheap PCI
sound card will give better sound than the AD1985.

HTH,
Paul

 

[bReTt]

You cannot leave a microphone plugged in, when the audio is set to
"six speaker" mode. The center/LFE output doubles as the microphone
input, and the input or output direction is determined by the speaker
mode. In 2 or 4 channel mode, I think the center/LFE is still a
microphone input. In 6 channel mode, it becomes the center/LFE output.

It sounds like something has caused the driver to change modes.
Perhaps a driver defect has changed the speaker mode ? Maybe
the MP3 player requested a change to six channel mode ?

This page has a block diagram of the AD1985 chip:
http://www.analog.com/en/prod/0,2877,AD1985,00.html

The PDF datasheet (the "Rev A" link near the top of the page) will
allow you to zoom into the block diagram a little better:

http://www.analog.com/UploadedFiles/Data_Sheets/1198969AD1985_a.pdf

The microphone section of the chip, has a two input multiplexer. One
side of the mux takes the microphone signal from center/LFE. The
other side of the mux takes the microphone signal from separate
inputs MIC1 and MIC2. Unfortunately, I don't think MIC1 is wired
to anything on the Asus motherboard. But MIC2 goes to the FP_AUDIO
header.

What that means is, there is a possible workaround for the problem.
If you can find an "Intel compatible" audio rack that fits into
a 5 1/4" drive bay for your computer, that will access MIC2 for use as
a microphone input. If you then plug your microphone into that
front panel jack, you will no longer have the problem of
interference between 2-4-6 channel output mode and the microphone.
An output signal cannot get to the MIC2 input pin.

A sample "Intel compatible" audio rack product is here. This one
plugs directly to the FP_AUDIO header. There are other products
like this, but look for the words "Intel compatible" with regard
to the audio interface, as that will work best with the FP_AUDIO
header and cause the least headaches.

http://www.office-trade.com/pdf/B99Z429.pdf

I have compared the 5150 driver to the 3630, and I found the 3630
to give a "muddy" sound. If you analyse the output, the 3630 driver
uses to much "reverb" or echo effect. The echo effect is applied by
the driver, and in fact when you set the Soundmax special effect
menu to "disabled", the software driver in fact is still applying
reverberation. The 5150 reduces this effect and that is why the
sound is less "muddy".

For me, the 5150 did not eliminate the "popping" sound problem.
I still hear it, but it is much less frequent. It is a good thing
I don't regularly use the AD1985 to listen to music. I recomment
a separate sound card. A sound card with a separate microphone
jack will solve your microphone problem too. Even a cheap PCI
sound card will give better sound than the AD1985.

HTH,
Paul

Hi

Thanks for the info. When I install the drivers all I use are the driver
files, I don't install all the other parts of the audio drivers. So I don't
have the option to select 6 speaker mode etc. I did install the full package
as a text, the software found the microphone port, but straight away the
sound came through the speaker.

I must admit, that playing MP3's using the S/PDIF output, plugged into a
Denon Received, the sound is excellent. I have compared this to a high end
sound card and the differences are not really worth the extra cost.

It seems to work initially, and then after a while I have the problem listed
below. It does not only happen with MP3's but also in games

Are there any other drivers that one could use? I tried the Realtek drivers,
but that crashed my entire system.

Brett

 

[Paul]

Hi

Thanks for the info. When I install the drivers all I use are the driver
files, I don't install all the other parts of the audio drivers. So I don't
have the option to select 6 speaker mode etc. I did install the full package
as a text, the software found the microphone port, but straight away the
sound came through the speaker.

I must admit, that playing MP3's using the S/PDIF output, plugged into a
Denon Received, the sound is excellent. I have compared this to a high end
sound card and the differences are not really worth the extra cost.

It seems to work initially, and then after a while I have the problem listed
below. It does not only happen with MP3's but also in games

Are there any other drivers that one could use? I tried the Realtek drivers,
but that crashed my entire system.

Brett

I've never tried the Realtek myself, but I understand you have to
hack the installer slightly to get it to install. Probably something
to do with an .INF file, but perhaps a little searching would
turn up a recipe.

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=981789&highlight=realtek#post981789

The posting at the bottom of this page claims no hack was necessary.
I guess the enumeration of the Southbridge was enough to get it
to install. I have a suspicion, all you will get with Realtek is
2 channel sound, but maybe it is worth a try:

http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=50&MessageID=82230

Paul