Low volume over spdif to surround receiver?

[angrynerdrock]

Recently have developed an issue with spdif sound from my htpc to my surround receiver. When I first connected it, volume was loud and everything worked perfect. Now the volume level is extremely low, almost inaudible. I can turn the volume to max on the receiver and it's still the same level and inaudible. I don't believe it to be the receiver as when I try my bluray player the sound level is just fine.

Computer details:
Gigabyte p35-ds3l (on board sound, with optical out)
Windows 7 ultimate 64bit

I do have an ati hd6450, however I have told the sound settings in windows set to output via optical and not hdmi, and it does output via optical, just at very low volume. Like I said it was working for months prior to just the other day.


What settings can I look at to see what may be a causing my issues?

 

[cl-scott]

My initial thought is that the somehow the volume for that specific device in the mixer was muted.

Check the Windows volume mixer as well as any custom driver config software for your audio chip.

Also, it can't hurt to remove the cable from the computer, and make sure you actually see the red light that generates the signal.

 

[angrynerdrock]

My initial thought is that the somehow the volume for that specific device in the mixer was muted.

Check the Windows volume mixer as well as any custom driver config software for your audio chip.

Also, it can't hurt to remove the cable from the computer, and make sure you actually see the red light that generates the signal.

It is getting signal, and not muted. Like i said, I can hear noise, but it is very faint. The volume from the subwoofer is loud, but the remaining speakers the volume is very very low.

 

[cl-scott]

It is getting signal, and not muted. Like i said, I can hear noise, but it is very faint. The volume from the subwoofer is loud, but the remaining speakers the volume is very very low.

Did you by chance configure the Windows sound to be like 5.1 or anything other than stereo? Even if you have a 5.1 speaker set on the receiver, in my experience anyway, setting it to anything other than stereo ends up causing problems unless you're playing something with 6 channels of audio.

Also, a lot of devices don't really properly mute, they just force the volume to a very low level, so you get something exactly like what you describe. If you listen really carefully, you can still hear it, but it is very quiet.

An optical cable should either work or not work, but you could always hit Monoprice and get a new one. You only risk a few dollars either way.

One other thought, is my receiver can store about 6 different speaker configurations. While it can't (to the best of my knowledge) change those profiles based on the input, I also only have maybe a low mid-range receiver; so it doesn't seem unreasonable to think a more high end receiver could do this. If yours can, is it possible that your speaker config somehow became corrupted and the volume for everything except the sub was set to basically the lowest possible value?

 

[angrynerdrock]

Did you by chance configure the Windows sound to be like 5.1 or anything other than stereo? Even if you have a 5.1 speaker set on the receiver, in my experience anyway, setting it to anything other than stereo ends up causing problems unless you're playing something with 6 channels of audio.

Also, a lot of devices don't really properly mute, they just force the volume to a very low level, so you get something exactly like what you describe. If you listen really carefully, you can still hear it, but it is very quiet.

An optical cable should either work or not work, but you could always hit Monoprice and get a new one. You only risk a few dollars either way.

One other thought, is my receiver can store about 6 different speaker configurations. While it can't (to the best of my knowledge) change those profiles based on the input, I also only have maybe a low mid-range receiver; so it doesn't seem unreasonable to think a more high end receiver could do this. If yours can, is it possible that your speaker config somehow became corrupted and the volume for everything except the sub was set to basically the lowest possible value?

I'll take a look at the settings and get back to you on that. I do use xbmc with this and outputting 5.1+ is necessary. The problems still exist when xbmc is closed, so I wouldn't think xbmc is to blame. I'll double check that nothing got muted as well.

 

[cl-scott]

I'll take a look at the settings and get back to you on that. I do use xbmc with this and outputting 5.1+ is necessary. The problems still exist when xbmc is closed, so I wouldn't think xbmc is to blame. I'll double check that nothing got muted as well.

I use XBMC with my HTPC as well, but you don't need Windows set to 5.1 to do Dolby 5.1 or DTS passthrough. I just have Windows set to stereo, and then when it runs into a surround sound track, it's automatically passed to the receiver for decoding.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Have you tried going into your receiver setup menu and making sure everything's set correctly for your PC? With my Anthem receiver, I can set different speaker configs for each source. It's possible that some of your speakers are turned off. Can you set up your system to output the audio over HDMI instead, or maybe try a different receiver or other optical-equipped speakers/amp/DAC to test?

EDIT: You might also try playing something back using a player that supports WASAPI, as this bypasses the Windows mixer (in case that's the source of the problem).