Rear channel issue with Logitech Z-540 and SB Live X-Gamer

[RKS]

Please help. I have tried two different sets of speakers with the same issue; no rear speakers are working. I moved the SB from the last pci slot to the first but that still did not resolve the issue.

Is the sound card compatible with the speakers? I am willing to try any suggestions...

 

[microAmp]

I can't remember, but check in the Control Panel for the SB Live and see if it's possible to tell it to turn on the rear.

I'm not 100% sure about that since I took mine out a while back.

If anything it could be defective?

 

[HumbleFish]

Hi RKS,

Check device Manager and make sure that You have no trouble in there.

Make sure You have your cables plugged in right to the speakers and sound card, and check settings on the Woofer and Control Speaker.

If You're using Win98 or Win2k (not sure about XP), go to your Control Panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel), and check the settings in "AudioHQ" and "Sounds and Multimedia"; make sure You're set up for 4.1 or 5.1 (whatever you have), and make sure the "Creative Surround Mixer" is set correctly. Then go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Volume Control and make sure Your settings are ok in there.

Hope You get it and Love You!
HumbleFish

 

[RKS]

motoamd, HumbleFish:

thanks for the suggestions I did order another audio card to test everything. I didn't see any specific control over turing the rears on/off.

I also checked everything in the AudioHQ twice and also had my wife check the connections again and everything seemed fine. The device manager shows the card as installed correctly.

I am kinda stumped but since newegg takes an order and ships it out within a few hours I be able to test the speakers with a new soundcard by this weekend.

Could the z-540s have a chronic rear speaker issue?????

 

[HumbleFish]

You probably already did but just in case: did You check the settings in "Sounds and Multimedia"?... In "Sounds and Multimedia" there's a setting for either 4.1 or 5.1 Speakers too.

 

[datallah]

how do you know that they are not working?

if you just play audio, it wont necessarily come out of the rear speakers (unless you have M3D turned on on the speakers).

You need to make sure that you are testing with an application that takes advantage of rear speakers.

I have an almost identical sound setup (its a Live value not the X-Gamer... really the same card) and in most applications i don't get sound out of my rears unless i'm playing a game that supports 4 channel audio.

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: HumbleFish
You probably already did but just in case: did You check the settings in "Sounds and Multimedia"?... In "Sounds and Multimedia" there's a setting for either 4.1 or 5.1 Speakers too.

I'll check there again, thanks again for the suggestion...

You need to make sure that you are testing with an application that takes advantage of rear speakers

I used the AudioHQ utility which tests the speakers and nothing was audible when the rear speakers were highlighted.

 

[stevewm]

In the Creative Mixer, which can be found in AudioHQ (you should be using the latest drivers from www.soundblaster.com if you are not already!, the drivers 2k/XP includes for these cards doesn't not support the rear channel!) there is a speaker setting for "2 speakers", "4 speakers", or "headphones". You should have this set to 4 speakers.


The standard Windows speaker control in the Sound Control panel DOES NOT WORK on Live series cards. You MUST use Creative's Mixer to set the speaker mode.

The Live series cards will mix EVERYTHING to the rear speakers if they are enabled. No matter what the source. So if youi have 4 speakers set, they should be working.

 

[RKS]

stevewm,

I have already downloaded the latest driver package from creative and choose the 4 speaker for testing but still no worky.