dual stereo output on audigy 2

[vshah]

is there a way to do a straight up stereo mirror to the rear channel outputs on an audigy 2 (without using cmss 1/2 that is)
i don't have room for my satellites anywhere so i'm stacking them on the front ones...

tia,
-Vivan

 

[vshah]

^^^^

 

[beatle]

Not that I'm aware of. What's wrong with CMSS? There's no actual altering of the sound. It just gets reproduced in all speakers.

 

[vshah]

you know what, you're right...i was always under the impression (from my own use/experience) that cmss added some sort of effects..
i know cmss 2 does, i thought cmss did as well...but i just put the sliders to 100% front speakers, and turned cmss 1 on and off...no difference
silly me, thanks a lot

-Vivan

 

[ronnn]

Try foobar as a player. It has stereo times 2. I use it often myself. :beer:

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: beatle
Not that I'm aware of. What's wrong with CMSS? There's no actual altering of the sound. It just gets reproduced in all speakers.

Uh, yes there is. Just listening to some Kenny Chesney just now, and switching back and forth between CMSS 1 100% stereo bias and no CMSS at all, I can tell that CMSS exagerates the bass.

All CMSS is crap.

 

[MasterHoss]

I've heard that people have had some success getting the Audigy 2 ZS drivers and applications loaded for their Audigy 2. Look around the Internet to see how people did it and if it's worth the risk.

In any case, there is a setting for Audigy 2 ZS users that allows for "Stereo Surround." It is a CMSS-driven feature; however, you get mirrored stereo sound over set pairs of speakers. (4.1 --> stereo x 2... 5.1 --> stereo x 2 + center speaker ... 6.1 --> stereo x 3).

This is the setting I use when listening to music. Literally NO sound degregation.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: MasterHoss
I've heard that people have had some success getting the Audigy 2 ZS drivers and applications loaded for their Audigy 2. Look around the Internet to see how people did it and if it's worth the risk.

In any case, there is a setting for Audigy 2 ZS users that allows for "Stereo Surround." It is a CMSS-driven feature; however, you get mirrored stereo sound over set pairs of speakers. (4.1 --> stereo x 2... 5.1 --> stereo x 2 + center speaker ... 6.1 --> stereo x 3).

This is the setting I use when listening to music. Literally NO sound degregation.

I'd be interested to see those sound patterns compared. I promise you the sound changes. Maybe you don't think it's "degredated" but it is changed...

 

[Pariah]

There's no reason true multichannel stereo should suffer any sound degradation from the original stereo.

 

[Nebor]

But CMSS is not perfect my any stretch. I think Dolby Prologic technologies sound WAY better.

 

[Pariah]

Stereo surround is stereo surround, no matter what buzz word is attached to it. Just because it was added to CMSS doesn't meant it has anything to do with it.

 

[Ronstang]

If you are using WinAmp then just try this and see what happens.

 

[vshah]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
If you are using WinAmp then just try this and see what happens.

eh...i'm using musicmatch jukebox most of the time, and i want this to work cross-application...so something driver level

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Pariah
Stereo surround is stereo surround, no matter what buzz word is attached to it. Just because it was added to CMSS doesn't meant it has anything to do with it.

I don't know what you mean by that, but when listening to music, turning on CMSS in any form or fashion alters the music.

 

[vshah]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: Pariah
Stereo surround is stereo surround, no matter what buzz word is attached to it. Just because it was added to CMSS doesn't meant it has anything to do with it.

I don't know what you mean by that, but when listening to music, turning on CMSS in any form or fashion alters the music.

i'm not so sure it does....
i unplugged the rear speakers, set the output to 4.1, and turned cmss on and off. i heard no change in the sound coming from the front speakers.
maybe my ears aren't sensitive enough....who knows

-Vivan

EDIT: never mind that...
i kept all 4 speakers plugged in, and stacked the rears above the front satellites. i turned cmss 1 on, and adjusted the slider from full front to full back...they should sound the same, right? but they don't....full rear is significantly more "spacy"

oh well

 

[MasterHoss]

What Pariah is saying is that the Stereo Surround feature found under the CMSS 3d tab for Audigy 2 ZS users is nothing special. More specifically, stereo surround mode found on the Audigy 2 ZS should react no differently than stereo surround mode found on most HT receivers out there.

I honestly hear no difference using the Audigy 2 ZS's stereo surround mode and just setting the sound card to output stereo signal only. I can say the same when I toggle between stereo and "all ch st" on my Onkyo HT receiver.

 

[vshah]

masterhoss...follow the procedure in my edit above... you'll surely see that the sound coming from the rear speakers is not identical to that from the front speakers with cmss. the rear speakers are much "spacier" and all the sound detail remains in the front channels
if there is another method to mirror the stereo to the rear on audigy cards at a driver level, i don't know about it.

-Vivan