OK well I bought a 5.1 sound system for my PC and realised I didn't have a 5.1 sound card. The music was only coming out of the subwoofer and front left speaker. I bought a 5.1 sound card and put in in the PCI slot but it's still the same thing. I have 3 wires going from the sound card to the subwoofer whereas before I only had 1 with the old sound card so I think it's all connected properly. It's really quiet as well. Have I fitted the sound card wrong? I'm left with 1 wire and the manual said something about an analogue wire going from the sound card to the CD drive but there's nowhere this wire will fit. It's thin and black and is blunt and silver at the end. Thanks so much to anyone that will help. I owe you one.
Card looks good. First, you have to have a 5.1 source. So, make sure the file you are using to test with is AC3 encoded. (not stereo) Second, you have to have a way to decode the AC3: http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/codecs_and_filters/ac3filter.cfm It would be helpful if you could link me to the speakers you bought also. With that, I should be able to get you up and running.
I'll give it a shot. Thanks. The speakers were Median ones from Aldi in the UK. Obviously not great quality but they should work. I've checked online but I can't find anything.
I did the AC3 thing to no avail. I've just unplugged the subwoofer from the sound card and put my 2 old speakers in and they work fine.
Since you're no longer using the on-board sound, you should disable it in the BIOS (You don't need to, but it's a waste of resources). I didn't see it mentioned, but are you using Windows XP or Vista or some other OS? Assuming you're running XP, as it currently has the highest install base, did you change your sound setting from the control panel to use the new audio card as your default audio device? You should also change your speaker configuration to 5.1 instead of the default desktop stereo speakers.
Ah awesome, that AC3 filter actually worked. I was on VLC and 'mono' was enabled. I changed to iTunes and now it's working. Thanks a lot! I'll disable the other sound card when I get the chance. Thanks.
