P5AD2-E Premium and Audio

[snakedjip]

Hi,

I have a P5AD2-E Premium motherboard as the centerpiece of a
MediaCenter PC.

As of now, I have the PC sending digital audio to a 5.1 Marantz
receiver through the digital output of the audio board.

What I would like to do now is to send STEREO output to a separate
stereo amplifier to drive speakers in another room with the same sound
source.

In other words, I'd like the PC to send 5.1 digital audio to one amp,
and stereo analog audio to another amp, all at the same time. I tried
it, but got no sound from the stereo speakers. I checked the BIOS, and
everything audio seems to be enabled...

Is this at all possible ?

If not, anyone have an idea on how I could make this happen ?

Thanks.

 

[jaf]

Hi,
The lineout should always be active.

John

 

[DeepOne]

I have a P5AD2-E Premium motherboard as the centerpiece of a
MediaCenter PC.

As of now, I have the PC sending digital audio to a 5.1 Marantz
receiver through the digital output of the audio board.

What I would like to do now is to send STEREO output to a separate
stereo amplifier to drive speakers in another room with the same sound
source.

In other words, I'd like the PC to send 5.1 digital audio to one amp,
and stereo analog audio to another amp, all at the same time. I tried
it, but got no sound from the stereo speakers. I checked the BIOS, and
everything audio seems to be enabled...

Have you used the 3D Audio Configuration applet in the tool tray? On
its Main Setting tab, you'll need to assign the jack you're using for
the speakers to "Front Speakers (L/R)". Sometimes, these settings
can be lost when rebooting. If you have that problem, then disconnect
your speakers, and reboot the computer before connecting them again
(i.e. you need to plug them in while Windows is running).

On the Device Setting tab, there is a checkbox for "Enable Multiple
Streaming". I'm not sure what that does, but you might try it if you
continue to have problems.

 

[snakedjip]

I connected the other receiver through the lime-color jack. According
to the manual, this would be line-out in 2-channel configuration, and
Front Speaker Out 4-, 6- or 8-channel configuration.

But no sound is coming out from it.

Since you say that "The lineout should always be active", I'm guessing
you're talking about the lime-color jack, and so I'm asking, of course,
if there's some other configuration setting that I've missed ?

And what's this "Multiple Streaming" in the Xear-3D configuration
screen ?

 

[snakedjip]

I tried playing around with the 3D Audio Configuration again. Here's
where I'm at :

1- I seem to have lost 5.1, or did I ever have it ?!?

When I go in the configuration thingie, and do a speaker test, I can
hear Front Left, Center, and Front right, but when the test is made for
Surround Left and Surround Right, the sound comes out of the FRONT
speakers ?!?! Also, whenever I play anything now, I can't get any
sound from the surround speakers. I then did a test with the Marantz
5.1 receiver, and sure enough, sound comes out from all speakers, not
just the front ones... So it looks like a configuration issue... WTF
is wrong with my setup ? By the way, the receiver detects that it is
receiving a 5.1 signal, there just isn't any sound coming out of the
surrounds when driven by the PC.

2- I've succeeded getting sound out of the Lime-color jack. When in
the configuration thingie, if I select "Dolby Digital Live", sound will
be output through the S/PDIF digital out. When I un-select the Dolby
Digital Live button, sound will be output through the Lime-color analog
jack. Great. I guess my first question is : Should it be that way.
Me second question is of course : is there any way to get sound on BOTH
the S/PDIF output AND the analog output AT THE SAME TIME ?

3- In the Mixer tab of the configuration utility, the volume knob no
longer has an effect on volume ?!?!

I really need help here, I hope some kind soul will take the time to
respond...

By the way, would buying a separate sound card make it at all easier to
get output simultaneously out of S/PDIF (5.1) and analog stereo outputs
? If so, do I need to shell out hundreds of dollars, or does anyone
have a good experience with a specific sound card ?

Thanks so much.