Connect PC to 5.1 Speakers and HT Receiver

[Melf18]

Hello, I'm hoping someone can help me.
I had an HP Pavilion that had Realtek ALC888S chipset on-board. This worked GREAT as I could plug my sub-woofer into the lime green "line out" jack on the back of the pc and get sound from all 5.1 speakers when sitting in front of my monitor. The spkrs I have are an old Altec Lansing model where the ctr+frL+frR+rL+rR all plug into the back of the sub. In addition, I was able to plug in a digital coaxial cable from the orange "line out" to my HT receiver and get 5.1 when playing BD/HD or DVD on the RPTV. Unfortunately, I had to return the HP due to Vista 64-bit software compatibility issues.
So now here's my problem....The computer I now have has Vista 32-bit and on-board Realtek ALC888 (no S). When I plug my subwoofer cable into the lime green "speakers" jack I only get L+R sound from my PC spkrs when I test them in the Realtek HD Audio Manager. I have d/l'd the latest drivers (v1.99 was the latest I found) and I'm still not able to get the audio working the same as on the HP. It's rather annoying!
I admit that I haven't even tried to connect the HT receiver as the mobo only has an optical SPDIF "out"...no coax. But I do have an optical digital "in" on my HT rcvr...I just don't have the cable Would any happen to know if this will work for the HT?
Any info / solutions regarding connecting the 5.1 and HT would be greatly appreciated....Thanks.
BTW - I can't even tell if the source of this problem is hardware, software or driver related!

 

[turbo1]

Have you tried/tested the sound,setting your sound manager
from 2.1 to 7.1 at a time?
(which ever sound format you have there)

and for the digital part:

it will do just fine if you have the SPDIF OUT (optical fiber) from your
computer & SPDIF IN to your Home Theater.

you might need this:

http://www.shoppingcentre.net/shop/images/(35207big).jpg


and here's another type of digital audio cable:

Digital Optical Mini-plug Cable

http://www.impactacoustics.com/assets/product_images/27023.jpg


and what motherboard model do you have now?

 

[Melf18]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Yes, I have tested my spkrs at all settings. When the Aud Mgr scrolls through the spkrs on the screen I can see it testing all of them but I still only get sound at frL+frR even at 2.1 and 7.1 settings.
A friend of mine suggested that I should try connecting all the spkrs directly to the PC instead of the sub. Which I is a good, simple suggestion and will most likely work. (I'm wondering why I didn't think of it myself! Probably cuz I was over-analyzing the dilemma.)
I'll be trying this as soon as I get some jack adapters.
Regarding the HT connection...I just went out last night and bought a Toslink cable. It works like a charm!
BTW - my new mobo is an MSI P45 Platinum

 

[turbo1]

A friend of mine suggested that I should try connecting all the spkrs directly to the PC instead of the sub. Which I is a good, simple suggestion and will most likely work. (I'm wondering why I didn't think of it myself! Probably cuz I was over-analyzing the dilemma.)
I'll be trying this as soon as I get some jack adapters.

No,No...dont do that.you might damage your sound chip.
your sound card is not amplified.the impedance may backfire
if you tend to push the volume level up expecting for it to work?

if ever it will produce sound,you'll only get .005 percent &
distorted i bet.

you can only do that if your speakers are all amplified,i mean as
in each & every single of your cube speakers are all individually
amplified.

 

[Melf18]

Okaaay...so I guess I'm not going to shop for jack adapters...perhaps instead I'll be shopping for a sound card!?!
In the mean time...still doing some reading here and on other similar sites to see if there are any suggestions.
Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[turbo1]

Regarding the HT connection...I just went out last night and bought a Toslink cable. It works like a charm!

are you having problems with the SPDIF connections?
personally,i prefer using that & very rare (SPDIF IN) for HT systems.

if you got that thing working,then no need for the PCI sound card.
youl'll only need it if you have a PC speakers,yours is a Home Theater
speakers.

 

[Melf18]

No problems with the SPDIF. All is good on the home theatre front.
But I also have 5.1 PC spkrs --> this is the connection I'm having problems with.

 

[turbo1]

and what is your Altec Lansing model?

 

[Melf18]

An old Altec Lansing model 325. They still work great...but they're old enough that I haven't been able to find any info on the net.
I'm guessing it's time for either a sound card or new spkrs!

 

[turbo1]

yeah,right....

i would invest for a new set of 7.1 ch speakers first if i were you.

if you care for a really good sounding then you can throw in
a new PCI sound card.

but mind you,your mainboard already has 7.1 ch built-in sound.

 

[Melf18]

Oh hell, yeah...if it comes down to it, I will definitely go the 7.1 route! Thanks so much for trying to help out!

 

[turbo1]

you're welcome