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Re: Fred's Setup Thread
fredk #210095 05/31/08 07:34 PM
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 Originally Posted By: fredk
Funny thing though, max volume only gives me about 75-80db. I bet its something in the onboard audio.


My problem is that the DVD volume seems to be a lot lower than my other sound. So turning my AudioByte system all of the way up for a DVD doesn't give me enough volume, but I have no problem with the loudness of the music and other sound.

Re: Fred's Setup Thread
CV #210097 05/31/08 08:07 PM
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Its a Gigabyte GA- MA69G-S3H. It was the best HTPC board when I bought just before Christmas. At the time I was only planning on stereo sound for the first while so I didn't really look into audio out options that much.

Back to work...


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: Fred's Setup Thread
fredk #210159 06/01/08 11:01 PM
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Buttons, I love buttons
Latest update. All the speakers are up and I have verified that I can get sound out of them.

I tried popping in a movie to see if I got sound through the optical connection saw a 5.1 audio format. No luck so far, but I havn't pushed all the buttons yet. Dire Straits in cave mode sans sub is... interesting. LOTR with just LFE sent to the mains (virtual buttons on sound drivers are cool too!) is also quite interesting.

The receiver instructions are a little, um, sparse so I need to fiddle to see exactly what each setting does.

Here is a pic of one QS8 about to be hung on my fancy hanger thingy.


Black on black dosn't work very well.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: Fred's Setup Thread
fredk #210175 06/02/08 02:48 AM
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After much button pushing I think that my receiver is not working properly. \:\(

With multiple outputs to test, my pc audio drivers perform consitantly. If I select an audio out source before starting the cd, It will switch to the appropriate output. I could switch back and forth between Display audio (HDMI) and analog audio just fine. When I switch to the activated digital out, the receiver sees nothing. It seems reasonable to assume that since the other two outputs work as expected that the digital out is working as well.

Darn. When I picked up this receiver cheap all I wanted it for was to drive M80s for two channel. Its doing that just fine. I didn't expect to have the funds for a full system so quickly.

Looks like my next option is to do 5.1 analog out from the computer and use the receiver strictly as an amp until I have the funds for a proper receiver.

I still havn't reproduced that weird cave effect again.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: Fred's Setup Thread
fredk #210203 06/02/08 05:51 AM
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Just a few thoughts.

Have you tried another optical cable to make sure the one your using isn’t bad?

Do you have the latest drivers for your motherboard?

If your motherboard has HDMI audio make sure it’s sending the digital audio to the SPDIF output and not HDMI, it may not support both at the same time.

If your receiver has HDMI why are you messing with optical audio?

If you haven’t, try sending something other than PCM over the optical to see if the receiver sees that.

If you have access to another device that has optical output see if the receiver recognizes that. Also try another receiver if you can access one.

I think your motherboard supports an add-on SPDIF dongle that has both optical and coax outputs you might try ordering one to see if that works.

Lastly you might try a dedicated sound card. Many people don’t ever get there onboard audio to work properly.

I’ve been through HTPC audio hell so I feel your pain.

Good luck,
Dean

Last edited by grunt; 06/02/08 05:52 AM.

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Re: Fred's Setup Thread
grunt #210260 06/02/08 04:07 PM
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I just want to say right here that next time I do a HTPC build, I want Dean to come clean up the mess. His articulation of the logic paths continues to humble me. Mad problem-solving skills.

I also had trouble with the SPDIF output from my MSI K8N board. I finally just gave up and bought the Creative outboard USB card that Room EQ Wizard likes to work with.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: Fred's Setup Thread
grunt #210266 06/02/08 04:40 PM
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Absolutely correct Sir Tuttle. Thats a well organized list of suggestions. I'm running short on sleep these days and am probably going about this in a less than optimal way.

A few answers:

1. No. I suppose if I'm gonna buy a few more cables, I may as well try that.

2. Yes

3. Checked that. It seems to only send over one output at a time, but I can switch manually and it works switching between HDMI and analog out.

4. It dosn't have HDMI (picked up as a short term solution)

5. Tried with a movie as well. I don't have any cables handy to connect from the receiver to the display (am using HDMI to sent video directly to the display, which may be another Rats nest).

6. Don't have another device nor easy access to one.

7. I thought about this, but its a special order and may end up as 'good money chasing bad'

8. Could order a sound card, but $100 gets me the next gen AMD2+ mobo

There are a lot of options here with no guarantee of success. Since I didn't buy the receiver new from a local B&M I can't take it anywhere easily to test the inputs.

The simplest option right now seems to be to spend a few $ on pc analog audio cables to connect to the receiver that way. I know it works.

As was mentioned in my last post, this is an interim solution so if I can get it to work for a while, even with less than optimal analog conversion in the PC, thats fine.

At this point, I want to wait 6-8 months for all the newest gen receivers to be released and evaluated by the early adopters so I can figure out what is going to work best for me.

I still need to sort out how best to do audio from flac or similar through a receiver. Once I figure that out, I will know what feature set to look for in a receiver and how much I really need to spend.

I swear that the people that design these things and write the manuals have no clue how they are going to be used. I think Gigabyte and AMD tried hard on this board, and they came really close, but the didn't close the 'last mile' gap.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: Fred's Setup Thread
fredk #210283 06/02/08 05:33 PM
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 Quote:
I still need to sort out how best to do audio from flac or similar through a receiver.


Keep me posted, willya? \:\)

I evaluated what seems like 20 different music software front-ends. Fatal flaws abound. I'm using Winamp at the moment, but Media Monkey seems to do some stuff I like. I'm sure I just need some Axiom beer-bro consultation. Stupid space-time continuum.

Oh, you were talking about hardware, weren't you?


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: Fred's Setup Thread
tomtuttle #210307 06/02/08 06:03 PM
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 Originally Posted By: fredk

3. Checked that. It seems to only send over one output at a time, but I can switch manually and it works switching between HDMI and analog out.

You can’t switch to “digital?” In VISTA it should be under Start>Control Panel>Sound; in XP Start>Control Panel>Sounds and Audio Devices>Audio. Should say something like “Realtek Digital Output” If it’s not there then either you have the wrong or bad drivers (check both Windows Update and Realtek) or a bad/disconnected optical output. There shouldn’t be a cable for onboard digital but double check that if there is that it’s connected. Also try disconnecting the HDMI cable and just run VGA to a regular monitor to see if that allows optical output to your receiver.


If you don’t see the option for “Digital Audio” or can’t select it then this is likely the source of your problem.

 Originally Posted By: fredk

5. Tried with a movie as well. I don't have any cables handy to connect from the receiver to the display (am using HDMI to sent video directly to the display, which may be another Rats nest).

If in the Realtek settings you are telling it to send PCM that’s what it’s trying to send. PCM is the source of most problems I’ve encountered so make sure you told the Realtek software and Windows if necessary to send AC3 or something else other than PCM. In Realtek select “Output digital audio source” and start with the lowest sampling rate.

 Originally Posted By: fredk

7. I thought about this, but its a special order and may end up as 'good money chasing bad'

True but eventually you are going to want digital rather than analog and if nothing else works it’s likely cheaper than a new soundcard, receiver (unless you are upgrading now) or motherboard. Also for some reason I’ve seen fewer problems with digital coax connections than with optical, no idea why.

 Originally Posted By: fredk

8. Could order a sound card, but $100 gets me the next gen AMD2+ mobo

True but it’s still onboard audio which always seems more finicky than a dedicated soundcard for anything but analog. If you do go this route try to make sure it has a digital coax as these seem less troublesome than optical.

 Originally Posted By: fredk

There are a lot of options here with no guarantee of success. Since I didn't buy the receiver new from a local B&M I can't take it anywhere easily to test the inputs

You are in a troubleshooting nightmare right now because you have no know good components. You really need to “bracket” the problem (e.g. is the PC sending digital, is the cable transmitting it, can the receiver read it. Without knowing what works there is no way to know what to tweak, fix or replace.

If you don’t have a friend who’s house you can take the PC to and hook it up, you could try taking the PC to a shop and ask them to troubleshoot it. If it works for them you know for sure it’s something with the receiver, or they may figure out why the PC isn’t sending. It will cost but may in the long run be cheaper than randomly replacing components.

 Originally Posted By: fredk

I swear that the people that design these things and write the manuals have no clue how they are going to be used. I think Gigabyte and AMD tried hard on this board, and they came really close, but the didn't close the 'last mile' gap.

Now you just need to add a Denon to the mix cause their manuals are just awesome.

Lastly, unless you have reason to suspect your receiver hardware or setup the most likely issue is the PC especially if it’s DIY. Receivers have few user defined variables whereas DIY PCs are chalk full of them.

Tom, Fred thanks for the complements. I troubleshoot airplanes for a living …very similar to your vaporators in most respects.

Cheers,
Dean

P.S. One last thing. Start simple. Concentrate on getting Windows sounds like kcarlile said then use the Realtek test tones to work before using a DVD, CD or audio file.

Last edited by grunt; 06/02/08 06:11 PM. Reason: one more thought

3M80 2M22 6QS8 2M2 1EP500 Sony BDP-S590 Panny-7000 Onkyo-3007 Carada-134 Xbox Buttkicker AS-EQ1
Re: Fred's Setup Thread
tomtuttle #210365 06/02/08 11:45 PM
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 Quote:
I evaluated what seems like 20 different music software front-ends.

Actually I was thinking software and hardware. There have been some comments here about streaming audio over network wire into the 3808.

Care to share your list of 20 and some comments. Perhaps the 3 most promising?


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
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