New 5.1 speakers, haven't been this pissed in a while

Just grabbed a Logitech z506 from bestbuy for $60 bucks and I can't get all of the speakers to play at once and it's incredibly annoying!

Subwoofer is always playing - I have the choice of either hearing the center speaker, the rear 2 speakers, or the 2 front speakers; none of those choices can coexist.

I have onboard audio - SoundMax - which states it can handle 5.1 audio (I was hoping to get a new sound card but I haven't ordered one yet). I've updated its drivers and have been racking my brain trying to figure out how I can configure the speaker set up and once I did, I got in more of a mess.

All of the speakers can be tested - except the subwoofer which is the one that always works - but the center speaker can only be heard during its test when I grey it out which is suppose to mean it's not present. Same with the rear side speakers; they can't be heard when tested selected as present, only when they are unchecked.

Is there anything I can do?

Edit: Just re-read your post a little better, and noticed you said soundmax supports 5.1, which it does. Forgive my lack of experience with soundmax.

Personally, I would go to control panel, sound options, and go through each and every tab / advanced button that you can find and see if anything is muted or if any other settings are causing the problem. Also, if you're using onboard S/PDIF by any chance, most don't support 5.1 and will only output through stereo setups.

Edited by UPatDawn, 26 December 2010 - 08:09 PM.

Edit: Just re-read your post a little better, and noticed you said soundmax supports 5.1, which it does. Forgive my lack of experience with soundmax.

Personally, I would go to control panel, sound options, and go through each and every tab / advanced button that you can find and see if anything is muted or if any other settings are causing the problem. Also, if you're using onboard S/PDIF by any chance, most don't support 5.1 and will only output through stereo setups.

Thanks for the help man, turns out my onboard audio chip only handles certain kinds of 5.1 speaker sets and mine doesn't cut it. I'm happily looking for a new sound card though, I've been waiting for a reason to get one for a while.


Thanks though, SoundMax is kind of a bitch with the lack of support

Fuck man i know how that is I have some logitech 5.1's and can only get 4 to work, an improvement from just 3 though. I remember having to fuck with the audio in/out window on my computer. Sorry i couldnt give a good answer, but goodluck with it once they all start playin its a big difference.

Does it accept usb? I used to use mine through a regular 3.5mm jack and then started using USB, what a difference!

Well I bought a decent sound card that had good reviews and specs so I'll update you guys in 1-2 days

Gotta say though, these speakers are a lot better quality than my old ones. I only got my 2 rear side speakers + subwoofer going but it sounds great.

Thanks for the help guys, Creative's a much better brand than SoundMax so hopefully I'll be in the clear and can enjoy these speakers.

i know that some times it wont come out of all the speakers if the audio you are playing isint 5.1 so try playing a movie with 5.1 and see if that helps. i have some 2.1 logitech speakers and theyre still going great after one and a half/two years. i also have a creative card sound balster x-fi xtreme or along those lines witch also runs well def improved sound quality over onboard audio and has lots of eq stuff to play around with. hope it works out

Edited by tidlibitz, 27 December 2010 - 12:55 PM.

If the sound card test works on the speakers the way it should, the problem is the media is not 5.1.

Some sound cards have an option to emulate surround sound when the data isn't present. It just copies the same output to the other speakers (versus true surround sound where the producers decide which sounds come from which speakers).

If the sound card test works on the speakers the way it should, the problem is the media is not 5.1.

Some sound cards have an option to emulate surround sound when the data isn't present. It just copies the same output to the other speakers (versus true surround sound where the producers decide which sounds come from which speakers).

The speakers I have are suppose to have that 3D Sound setting enabled by default and do not have the ability to even switch it off.

My issue was even in testing I had to say the speakers weren't there for the center one to work or when I switched the cables around for the back sides to work.

My motherboards integrated audio has "jack sensing technology" which is essentially giving me a half-assed 5.1 that only works with certain types of 5.1 systems. At least this is what I've gathered from the talks with Asus and Logitech customer support.

The cards suppose to ship in 1-2 days but hasn't been fully processed yet so I still gotta wait to use the other 3 speakers in front of me.

I have seen a lot of people having issues like this recently. Usually the issue stems from an incorrect setting, not incompatibale hardware.

How are the speakers connected to the computer? For 5.1 you should be connected with one of these methods:

• Optical cable (S/PDIF)
• HDMI cable
• Three 3.5mm cables (each can carry 2 channels, 5.1 = 6 channels)

How are the speakers connected to the computer? For 5.1 you should be connected with one of these methods:

• Optical cable (S/PDIF)
• HDMI cable
• Three 3.5mm cables (each can carry 2 channels, 5.1 = 6 channels)

"Three 3.5mm cables (each can carry 2 channels, 5.1 = 6 channels)"

The jacks are mic, line out, line in and they have jack sensing technology to detect, from what Asus told me, certain types of 5.1 setups.

I've switched through every possible configuration, and I'm assuming I've tried every configuration for them (stereo, quad, 5.1) that I have available to me. My onboard audio doesn't have software, only drivers for windows 7.

The sound cards coming tomorrow or the day after so I'll install it and let you guys know whats up. Thanks for all the help!

Just got the sound card and everything is working perfectly now!

Gotta say, much better sound quality then the onboard shit I had before. Best part is they sent me the 7.1 model instead of the 5.1 I ordered, taking away any regrets I had about getting a future proof card -if I ever wanted a 7.1 system.

Thanks for the help guys, I'm gonna light a blunt and vibe to this shit 'till I pass out

Watch some nice surround movies on 1080p, movies like black hawk down or something. :>

I have seen a lot of people having issues like this recently. Usually the issue stems from an incorrect setting, not incompatibale hardware.

I've set these speakers up before. If you don't have a surround sound support there is a setting (maybe a button) that will allow you to emulate the surround sound and it works pretty well.

I've set these speakers up before. If you don't have a surround sound support there is a setting (maybe a button) that will allow you to emulate the surround sound and it works pretty well.

Yea, that was their old version, their new version doesn't let you turn it off; it's automatic.

Either way I've got real 5.1 as far as I know, all the games and shit I play has audio going to the right channels where shots behind me go on the back speakers and so on.

Since I'm usually at my computer having better(I know I could get a lot nicer, cannot afford em though ) speakers has been great. Only other shit I really buy are headphones anyways.