Soundcard & Speakers guide Last
Updated
on February 18, 2003 by Thomas
McGuire
This guide will take you through everything from basic troubleshooting of playback problems, to Speaker positioning, Soundcard specific settings & more. Thanks to Mikael from 3D SoundSurge for answering a few questions I had, or pointing out errors.
Troubleshooting It is essential to have the latest drivers for you Soundcard. You can find links to the relevant hardware manufacturers on our Drivers page (Such as Creative, Turtle Beach & Philips). These can solve many audio problems you may have encountered or generally include other optimizations/fixes over earlier releases. You should also have the latest Chipset drivers for your Motherboard, & perhaps even the latest BIOS too. This is highly recommended for (Although not limited too) those with VIA Chipset based motherboards. Once more, you can find the relevant links on our Drivers page & also in our OS Updates - Chipset Updates section. Now install the latest DirectX on your system if not already installed. While this is required by some Games already, it also features numerous other updated components, of main concern for Soundcards being the DirectSound & DirectMusic components. Windows 2000 & 98/98 Second Edition have some problems with non-PCM wave formats, which you’ll most likely experience when it comes to AC-3/DTS pass-through. To fix this you’ll need to install the latest Windows 2000 Service Pack, or in the case of Windows 98 Second Edition – QFE269601 (No update is available for Windows 98 original). You should also update your Application/Games where possible. Similar to updating your drivers this can also fix audio playback problems or other irregularities. Check the Developer’s Website for the latest Game/Application patch. If you experience static noise or irregular audio playback, try the following (assuming that installing the latest drivers don’t fix the problems): 1. Click on Start, Settings, then Control Panel. If you have Windows 2000/Millennium Edition or XP installed note the icon names as shown in brackets below. 2. Open the Multimedia (Sounds & Multimedia or Sounds & Audio Devices) icon. 3. Select the Audio tab, select the Advanced Properties (Advanced) button, then the Performance tab. 4. Move the Hardware acceleration slider to the 2nd notch to the Left (Basic Acceleration). This procedure does however disable 3D Audio, e.g. DirectSound3D & all reliant extensions, such as EAX. As such this should only be considered a temporary solution to your problems.
Universal settings Regardless of which Soundcard you have installed there are some settings available which are common to all of them. I'll cover these first before moving onto Soundcard specific settings. Via the Windows Setup tab in the Add/Remove programs applet in the Control Panel, ensure sure that you have Audio compression installed in Windows 9x/Me. Volume control. You'll need to install some form of volume control on your machine. If your Soundcard’s drivers don’t come with one then install Volume control via Add/Remove Windows Components (Windows Setup) in Add/Remove programs. Click on Start, Settings, then Control Panel. If you have Windows 2000/Millennium Edition or XP installed note the different names as listed in brackets. Open the Multimedia (Sounds & Multimedia or Sounds & Audio Devices) icon & select the Audio tab.
Playback, Recording & Midi (In Windows 98 or earlier check the seperate Midi tab). From the drop down menus here select the preferred Audio device that you wish to be used for Recording, Playback of Audio & the MIDI Synth engine. You should only need to change the devices here should you have multiple Soundcards installed, or different Midi engines available to use for Midi playback. Use only preferred (default) devices. When Ticked the Audio devices you have selected previously will be the only devices used for the specific functions selected. Should your system contain only a single capable device for this then you may leave this setting Unticked (As this will be the only device available for use anyway), although should you have multiple devices available you should Tick this setting to limit the Audio function to the selected device only. Otherwise any available device may be used for the specific purpose. Now in the Sound Playback section select the Advanced Properties (Advanced) button, then the Speakers tab.
From the drop-down menu here select your Audio output mode here as appropriate. NOTE – Some of the options shown here may not be available with certain Operating Systems & selecting some of the choices available here may also interfere with the selections available in your Soundcard’s Drivers. Now select the Performance tab.
Hardware acceleration. Moving this slider to the 4th notch to the Right will enable Full Acceleration for your Soundcard. This enables complete use of your Soundcards Drivers & features, e.g. 3D Audio. Sample rate conversion quality. This option shouldn’t effect playback quality at all on most systems (Thanks Mark), nor as a result will it affect performance either. To ensure best sampling rate conversion quality set this placebo to Best sample rate converter.
Digital CD Playback By default when Audio CDs are played they are converted from Digital to Analog by the respective CD/DVD drives DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) before being sent to the Soundcard. By enabling digital CD audio playback this process occurs on the Soundcards DAC instead, most new Soundcards have a better quality DAC than an optical drive will & as a result CD Audio playback quality can be improved. To enable this feature on your CD\DVD drive, take the following steps depending on your Operating System:
Windows 9x Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel. Open the Multimedia applet. Select the CD Music tab. Enable digital CD audio for this CD-ROM device. Tick this setting to enable the Soundcards DAC to convert CD Audio rather than the drives DAC. Untick this setting should you experience problems with Audio CD playback as a result. NOTE – This process can reduce system performance slightly, although this should not be a concern to you unless you are a very old system, or very slow CD\DVD drive. More than likely you won’t even notice difference. Also, should you find this option greyed out then check out this Microsoft article, which should help you to enable it (Thanks to Roger Sinnott for the link).
Windows 2000/XP Right click on My Computer, select Properties then select the Hardware tab followed by the Device Manager button. Expand the DVD/CD-ROM drives tree & Right click on the respective drive & select Properties, then the Properties tab.
Enable digital CD audio for this CD-ROM device. Tick this setting to enable the Soundcards DAC to convert CD Audio rather than the drives DAC. Untick this setting should you experience problems with Audio CD playback as a result. NOTE – This process can reduce system resources slightly, although this should not be a concern to you unless you are a very old system, or very slow CD\DVD drive. On new systems you won’t even notice the slightest difference.
Disabling Sensaura logo Those of you with Sensaura based Soundcards may have noticed that when loading certain EAX, DirectSound3D or A3D Games/Applications that a short Sensaura splash screen is displayed as 3D Sound support is queried for, e.g. Aureal Minerva or Unreal Tournament. This is no doubt a minor annoyance to most of you but can easily be disabled. Click on Start, Run, type in regedit & hit Enter. Now open to the following registry key [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Sensaura\Audio3D\Settings].
Right click on the SplashScreen entry & select Modify. Changing the value (Hexadecimal or Decimal) to 0 will disable the splash screen from being launched. Speaker/Subwoofer Positioning The placement of the Speakers & Subwoofer is a highly important factor to consider for optimizing Audio playback quality. If you’re willing to spend a small amount of time setting these up correctly you may well be surprised at the improvement you can get. (NOTE - Images used are taken from my PCWorks manual). 2 Speakers. While positioning the Speakers it would be wise to have some Audio playback going on so as you can instantly gauge the changes in perceived Audio output as their position is changed. Both speakers should be placed an equal distance (& angle, i.e. One should not be positioned further back than another) from your monitor, preferably at around ear height – or tilted towards your head. Depending on the distance they are from you, you may need to aim the speakers at you slightly. The image below illustrates a typical desktop positioning.
After initial positioning try to keep the space between the Speakers & you free of any obstructions so as not to effect sound output. 4 Speakers. Position the 2 Front Speakers as shown above in the previous 2 Speaker section. Positioning the 2 Rear Speakers can be a more awkward prospect however. These Speakers should be placed so as to form a rectangle around you, or as close as your room’s environment will allow for. Similar to before, the Rear Speakers should be placed an equal distance from where you will be seated. Ideally the Rear Speakers will be elevated above you by some means (e.g. Wall/Shelf mounted or Stands), 1’ (12 inches) is generally a good height above ear level to aim for – most Rear Speakers can achieve this as they come with the necessary Tripods. The images below illustrate some common 4 Speaker placements.
As we’ll discuss later on, you may need to adjust the Volume balance between the Front & Rear Speakers in order to achieve some manner of equilibrium with their Output levels. 5 Speakers. For positioning of the Front & Rear Left/Right Speakers check the previous section – 4 Speakers. Placement of the Centre speaker is fairly simple. It should be placed on top of your monitor in a central position & near the front of the monitor (So as the monitor casing doesn’t obstruct the output in any way). The Centre Speaker in all instances should be shielded & have some form of adhesive tabs (Or similar) to keep it from sliding off the monitor & protect it against interference. Below is an illustration of a typical 5.1 Speaker system.
Subwoofer. The placement of the Subwoofer will be somewhat dependant on the quality of the Subwoofer itself. Those systems with a poor quality/weak Subwoofer should find the corner of a room to provide a stronger Bass output for the system, while those with higher quality subwoofers should find placing the Subwoofer further away from a corner retains much of the strength without adversely affecting quality. In contrast lower quality Subwoofers may well lose strength when not placed in a corner, while better quality Subwoofers will likely get a boomy output, reducing quality. As we’ll discuss later on you should adjust the volume level of the Subwoofer for best output level (Strong enough to be felt, although not strong enough to overwhelm the rest of the Audio). The remainder of this guide will cover Soundcard specific settings. Turtle
Note – The Videologic SonicFury is a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz & as such it’s recommended that you use the Santa Cruz Drivers with them, as these will be updated first. Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel then open the Santa Cruz/SonicFury applet.
Speaker Mode. From the drop down menu here you should select your Audio output mode as appropriate. The 3 settings available for Headphones merely refer to which output jack you wish to use. The Back Panel Connections image will change accordingly with the Speaker Mode that you’ve selected. This display will help ensure you have your cables connected to the correct jacks. Versa Jack. In most instances you shouldn't need to change this setting, as the In/Output mode here will be determined by your Speaker Mode selection. Record Source. You can ignore this setting until you wish to record audio with your Soundcard. Select the appropriate input source from the drop-down menu here whenever you do intend to record. In the Mixer tab ensure that the Record source isn’t muted out too of course. Pan L/R. This slider can be used to adjust the volume balance between the Left & Right speakers. This is particularly useful if your speakers are not placed equidistant from you. Should you find audio output from one side to seem weaker than the other try changing the position of the slider bar over to the affected side. Otherwise you should leave this set in the Middle. Fade F/B. This slider can be used to adjust the volume balance between the Front & Rear speakers. This is particularly useful if your speakers are not placed equidistant from you. Should you find audio output from the front/rear seems weaker/lower than the other try moving the position of the slider bar towards the effected speakers. Otherwise you should leave this set in the Middle. Master Volume. Use the slider bar here to set the global volume level for Audio output. Move this slider to Up to increase the global volume level & vice versa. It is generally recommended that you set these to 70% or thereabouts (Never to 100%) if you intend to adjust the EQ settings (in the EQ tab), this will reduce the amount of amplification the Soundcard can apply to a source, which could cause audio artefacts at higher levels. Although should you not intend to be adjust the EQ settings then you should be able to increase the volume level to a much greater level without compromising quality. This setting is of course affected by the volume level you’ve set your speakers too, so you may need to adjust the volume level of your speakers as well. Virtual 5.1. Available in 6 Speaker output mode, this is a rather complicated option. If you’re connected to a Speaker system which requires a separate Subwoofer input, e.g. Videologic DigiTheatre LC, you’ll only normally get Subwoofer output via the LFE Channel of AC-3/DTS content in 6 Speaker mode. With this option Ticked the Santa Cruz will generate Bass frequencies from the Front channels & output them to the Subwoofer. On such Speaker systems this will be the only way to generate Subwoofer output during Audio playback, bar that of the LFE channel as previously mentioned. As such it is highly recommended to enable this with such systems. Though now the Centre channel must be considered. In Virtual 5.1 mode the Centre channel will be generated from both the Front & Rear Speakers & outputted to the Centre Speaker. This isn’t too much of an issue for playback of Stereo sources such as CDs & MP3s. Since the release of the 4142 Build WDM Drivers this feature (Virtual 5.1) will be automatically disabled for any 6 channel content, e.g. Multi-channel wave files, which is a good thing as the source will be played back as created. However, should you play Games with DirectSound 3D enabled (As such this applies to all DirectSound 3D extensions, e.g. EAX) to maintain the integrity of the 3D Audio positioning it is recommended that you mute the Centre Speaker (Given that it is a mix of both Front & Rear channels). This way you will gain Bass output with your Subwoofer & not lose any 3D positioning quality by muting the Centre channel in Games. Some people also recommend swapping around the Versa Jack connectors so that you can gain improved Subwoofer output. Though be sure to re-connect them as originally intended if you’re going to play true 6 channel content, e.g. AC-3/DTS decoded by a Software DVD decoder, otherwise these multi-channel audio sources will be outputted to the incorrect Speakers, e.g. in the case of AC-3/DTS track the Centre would be wrongly sent to the Subwoofer & LFE would be wrongly sent to the Centre Speaker. Centre. This setting is available when 6 Speaker mode is selected. This slider bar controls the volume level of the Centre channel. Move this slider to the Right to increase the Centre channels volume level & vice versa. This volume level is set proportionately to your Master Volume level. Many Speaker systems with a Centre speaker include an externally adjustable volume control for the Centre channel. You should adjust the Centre volume level until it is equal to that of the other channels. Sub (LFE). This setting is available when 6 Speaker mode is selected. This slider bar controls the volume level of the Subwoofer. Move this slider to the Right to increase the volume level & vice versa. Most Speaker systems with Subwoofers also include an external volume control for the Subwoofer. I'd recommend adjusting these levels until the Subwoofer is at about 1/3 the maximum Volume level, e.g. Set the external control to 1/3 & set this slider to the maximum or whatever combination you prefer. Although you may prefer to set the Higher/Lower depending on your own preferences for bass output. In the Mixer tab you can independently adjust the Volume/Balance levels for different sources. In the EQ tab you can adjust the level of amplification for a variety of a variety of audio frequency ranges. Comprising the Bass (250Hz – 20Hz), Mid (250Hz - 6kHz) & Treble (6kHz - 20kHz) ranges, this allows far greater tuning capabilities than most other Soundcards, which generally offer only basic Tone Control. Adjusting these frequencies can noticeably improve Audio quality for many sources; although this is largely dependant on the Audio source itself (Some may benefit from more Bass, other Treble, etc.). I'd recommend selecting from one of the Presets available then try adjusting the sliders independently until you discover the best sounding positions for yourself. Now select the Synth tab.
Current Synth Bank. Should you wish to change the location of the default Soundbank file to be used select Browse & navigate to the appropriate directory, otherwise leave it set to Default. Memory Resident. Tick this setting to force the DLS Soundbank to be cached in system RAM, which can improve MIDI loading times, although will obviously lower the amount of RAM available to other Applications. As such you should leave this setting Unticked unless you require MIDI playback on a regular basis, this will improve overall system performance – especially for those with lower amounts of RAM. Maximum Hardware Notes. The drop-down menu here allows you to set the maximum number of notes to be generated by the CS4630 DSP during MIDI playback. For best system performance set this to 64. Maximum Software Notes. The drop-down menu here allows you to set the maximum number of notes to be generated by the CPU during MIDI playback. The maximum number available is 1024, although in most instances the 64 Hardware notes available should be enough. I’d recommend setting this to 128 or 256 as a result. NOTE – Remember more CPU generated notes will result in reduced system performance during playback of such high polyphony files. Voice Allocation. This specifies the scheme used to silence a previous note & play a new one when the limits for Hardware & Software synthesized voices have been reached. For best performance set this to Dynamic. Now select the Other tab.
Enable 3D Stereo Enhancement. When Ticked this provides a spatial enhancement effect to Audio playback. Essentially this gives a greater 3D feel to audio output. I'd recommend Ticking this setting only if you have Headphones or 2 Speakers selected for the Output Mode. Unticking this setting disables this & it is recommended that you do this if you have select 4 or 6 Speakers as the audio field should already be great enough. Enable multiple wave out devices. This feature is intended for use with certain high-end applications, as a result you should leave this Unticked unless you use high-end Audio Applications. Enable CD Digital Input. Tick this option to enable the CD Digital Input header of the Soundcard. If you intend to connect & use an optical drive for CD playback via this header then Tick this option. NOTE - You can still use digital CD playback without needing this setting enabled as shown earlier in the guide. Leave this option Unticked should the circumstances for using this not apply to you. Sensaura Virtual Ear Headphone Settings. Should you be using Headphones as your Audio Output device then click on New Profile to configure a profile your Headphones. More than likely this won’t have any noticeably beneficial effect during Audio playback, though this will depend a lot on your hearing really. Acoustic Echo Cancellation. This feature is extremely useful for those who engage in Internet conferencing, with programs such as Microsoft’s NetMeeting. Essentially this feature cancels out the background noise/echo that can be caused by using a microphone when speakers are active. Should you not engage in using such Applications then set this to Never for optimal performance, although those of you who use this feature regularly should set this to When Needed. To avoid any compatibility/detection issues set this to Always, though system performance will be slightly reduced as a result. Having problems still? Check out the support sites at Videologic or Turtle Beach. Hercules Crystak Soundcards Note - Some of the options shown here may not be available depending on the Hercules Soundcard installed. Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel then open the respective Hercules audio configuration applet. Select the Main tab.
Record Source. You can ignore this option unless you'll be recording audio with the Soundcard, in which case select the appropriate source from the drop-down menu. Speaker Mode. From the drop down menu here select the Speaker system you are connecting to as appropriate (Or the closest available option), e.g. if you have the Creative Inspire 6.1 6700 Speakers then set this to 6.1 Speakers. Master Volume. This slider bar sets the global volume level for audio output. Move this slider to Up to increase the global volume level & vice versa. It is generally recommended that you set these to 70% or thereabouts if you intend to adjust the Bass/Treble levels (In the EQ tab), this will reduce the amount of amplification the Soundcard can apply to a source, which could cause audio artefacts at higher levels. Although should you not intend to be adjust the bass/treble levels then you should be able to increase the volume level to a much greater level without compromising quality. This setting is of course affected by the volume level you've set your speakers too, so you may need to adjust the volume level of your speakers as well. Master Volume - Pan L/R. This horizontal slider can be used to adjust the volume balance between the left & right speakers. This is particularly useful if your speakers are not placed equidistant from you. Should you find audio output from 1 side to seem weaker than the other try changing the position of the slider bar over to the affected side. Otherwise you should leave this set in the Middle. Small Speakers. Tick this option to enable the redirection of bass content to a Subwoofer which requires a separate input, e.g. Videologic DigiTheatre LC, otherwise you will not be able to get any Subwoofer output on such systems (Bar that of the LFE channel in AC-3/DTS & such). On other Speaker systems you can leave this Unticked without issue (As they can create their own Subwoofer content using on-board bass management), though should you have no Subwoofer output currently then try enabling this to see if it fixes your problem. It is also recommended that you Untick this setting during Dolby Digital/DTS playback as they already contain a LFE channel. You can adjust the volume level per channel using the individual sliders available next to the speaker/subwoofer icons. Use the Test & Sound Rotation options finally to ensure you've configured your speakers correctly. Now select the Mixer tab. These sliders shown can be used to adjust the volume level of different audio sources, moving a slider Up to increase the volume level of said source & vice versa. It is recommended that you mute any sources you don't intend to use, e.g. Line-In. The EQ tab allows you to adjust the level of amplification for a variety of frequency ranges. Comprising the Bass (20Hz - 250Hz), Mid (250Hz - 6kHz) & Treble (6kHz - 20kHz) ranges, this allows for far greater tuning capabilities. Adjusting these frequencies can improve quality for many sources; although this is largely dependant on the source itself, e.g. some benefit from increased Bass & so on. Now select the Other tab.
3D Audio Acceleration. This setting determines support for DirectSound 3D & supported DirectSound 3D extensions, options available being;
MP3 Hardware Acceleration. Available with CS 4630 DSP based Soundcards, e.g. original Game Theater XPs, this enables onboard decoding of a single MP3 via the DSP which should as a result provide lower CPU utilization. Beyond the DSP limitation, hardware MP3 decoding also has a few other restrictions, it is only available when using Windows Media Player 6.4 or for a single MP3 with Voyetra AudioStation 4.x. Software decoders tend to offer greater flexibility & audio quality (generally), as such I'd recommend leaving this Unticked to ensure the DSP cannot perform MP3 decoding & a software decoder will be. Enable Stereo expansion. When Ticked this applies a spatial enhancement effect to audio playback, essentially yielding a greater 3D feel to output. I'd recommend Ticking this setting only if you have Headphones or 2 Speakers selected for your output mode. Unticking this setting disables this effect & is recommended that you do this if you have a 4 Speaker system or greater as the audio field should already be large enough. Digital output configuration. This setting controls how the digital output(s) on the Soundcard (Coaxial &/or Optical) are to be used. Options available being;
Show the Game Theater XP icon on traybar. If you require Headphone auto-detection support Tick this setting, otherwise you can leave this Unticked unless you really need the added convenience. Having problems still? Check out the Support site at Hercules Philips PSC 70x
series If you wish to try BETA WDM Drivers for your PSC 70x Soundcard in Windows 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 or XP then you can download these from 3D SoundSurge (No support is provided although issues can be reported on their Forums, which Philips checks). These are generally newer than the Official ones & generally contain multiple fixes over the Official ones also, be sure to check the Readme before installing of course. Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel then the Philips Audio applet.
Output Mode. Select your Audio output mode as appropriate for your Speaker/Headphone system. Depending on the option selected, some of the settings listed beneath may be available or unavailable. QXpander. When Ticked this provides a spatial enhancement effect to Audio playback. Essentially this gives a greater 3D feel to audio output from 2 Speakers. Unticking this setting disables this feature. I'd recommend Ticking this setting if you are using 2 Speakers only. DVD QSurround. Tick this setting to enable virtual 5.1 DVD playback using 2 Speakers with compatible Software DVD players (Untick QXpander). If your DVD player doesn’t support 5.1 playback then Untick this setting & select QXpander instead. Expand All. Ticking Expand All for 2-channel Soft-DVD players will expand the output to 4 or 5.1 channels. When playing 4 or 6-channel WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE files (Used in many multi-channel wave files) Expand All should be Unticked so that the sounds are outputted from the correct speakers. DVD SSM. When Unticked the PSC 70x operates in Large Speaker mode, i.e. The Speakers are sent the full frequency & Subwoofer output will be generated using your Amplifier/Decoders built-in Crossover. This is fine assuming there actually is a built-in Crossover in your system to do this, but for those with Speaker systems whose Subwoofer requires a separate input, e.g. Videologic DigiTheatre LC, you’ll only get Subwoofer output via the LFE Channel of AC-3/DTS content. Ticking this option will enable the PSC 70x to filter out bass frequencies from the Speakers & output them to the Subwoofer. On such Speaker systems with a separate Subwoofer input this will be the only way to generate Subwoofer output during Audio playback, bar that of the LFE channel, as previously mentioned. Balance. This slider can be used to adjust the volume balance between the Left & Right speakers. This is particularly useful if your speakers are not placed equidistant from you. Should you find audio output from one side to seem weaker than the other try changing the position of the slider bar over to the affected side. Otherwise you should leave this set in the Middle. Fade. This slider can be used to adjust the volume balance between the Front & Rear speakers. This is particularly useful if your speakers are not placed equidistant from you. Should you find audio output from the front/rear seems weaker/lower than the other try moving the position of the slider bar towards the effected speakers. Otherwise you should leave this set in the Middle. Center. Available in 5.0/5.1 Speaker mode. This slider bar controls the volume level of the Centre channel. Move this slider Up to increase the Centre channels volume level & vice versa. This volume level is set proportionately to your Master volume level. Many Speaker systems with a Centre speaker include an externally adjustable volume control for the Centre channel. You should adjust the Centre volume level until it is equal to that of the other channels. Master. Use the slider bar here to set the global volume level for Audio output. Move this slider to Up to increase the global volume level & vice versa. It is generally recommended that you set these to 70% or thereabouts if you intend to adjust the Bass/Treble levels, this will reduce the amount of amplification the Soundcard can apply to a source, which could cause audio artefacts at higher levels. Although should you not intend to be adjust the Bass/Treble levels then you should be able to increase the volume level to a much greater level without compromising quality. This setting is of course affected by the volume level you’ve set your speakers too, so you may need to adjust the volume level of your speakers as well. LFE. This setting is available when 5.1 Speakers mode is selected. This slider bar controls the volume level of the Subwoofer. Move this slider to the Up to increase the volume level & vice versa. Most Speaker systems with Subwoofers also include an external volume control for the Subwoofer. I'd recommend adjusting these levels until the Subwoofer is at about 1/3 the maximum Volume level, e.g. Set the external control to 1/3 & set this slider to the maximum or whatever combination you prefer. Although you may prefer to set the Higher/Lower depending on your own preferences for bass output. Tone Control Enable. Tick this setting to enable you to adjust the Treble/Bass levels for audio playback. This is essentially a simplified form of Equaliser, which allows you some tone control. Untick this setting to disable adjusting these levels. I’d recommend leaving this Ticked if available (Assuming you wish to spend some time on adjusting these levels). Adjusting these levels can improve audio quality for many, although depending on the audio that you listen to you may want to reduce/raise these levels for best quality for you. Treble. This slider bar controls the level of amplification for perceivable higher range audio frequencies (6kHz – 20kHz). Move this slider Up to increase this level & vice versa. Bass. This slider bar controls the level of amplification for perceivable lower range audio frequencies (250Hz – 20Hz). Move this slider Up to increase this level & vice versa. Apply Reverb/QMSS/QXpander to External Input Source. This setting provides a way to enhance the audio playback of External sources by using QSound features to enhance playback of over 4, 5.0 or 5.1 Speakers (This feature is automatically enabled for Internal stereo sources, such as .wav files when 4 or 5.1 Speakers is selected). Now select the S/PDIF tab.
Enable. Should you wish to input external digital audio sources to (only) the Acoustic Edge via the S/PDIF Input jack Tick this setting to enable it. Unticking this setting will disable S/PDIF Input & this is recommended for optimal performance should you not need to connect to an external devices for digital audio input. Apply QXpander/QMSS. When Ticked this enables the use of QXpander to enhance 2 Speaker Output (As described earlier) of any digital audio played via the S/PDIF Input. In 4, 5 or 5.1 Speaker modes this will enable the use QMSS (QSound Multi-Speaker System) to dynamically up-mix the digital stereo source into 4/5.0/5.1 Channel content. I’d recommend Ticking this setting, particularly if you have 4/5.0/5.1 Speakers select as your Output Mode. S/PDIF Out. This option allows you to select how the S/PDIF Output of the PSC 70x is to be used. For optimal system performance leave this set to Disabled. If you are connected to a Dolby Decoder you should set this to DVD AC3/DTS Passthrough should you wish to output an AC-3/DTS signal to your decoder during DVD playback. Select any of the other Speaker Channel options instead if needed. Now select the Effects tab.
Enable. Tick this setting to enable QSound Environmental Modelling support. This enables the use of EAX 1/2 in Applications/Games that support EAX 1/2 & also allows you to use Reverb with non-EAX Audio sources. Untick this setting to disable this support, which isn’t recommended. Environment. This drop-down menu allows you to enable the use of different environmental (Reverb) presets for Audio playback. If you wish to enable EAX in an EAX supporting Game then set this to None otherwise Audio playback in such Games may be distorted as the inappropriate Audio environment would be being used instead. For non-EAX Audio playback you can set this as you feel necessary, although I’d still recommend setting this to None regardless. Reverb Level – Audio Applications/ External Input/ S/PDIF Input. These sliders allow you to adjust the strength of the Reverb level for different Audio sources. Moving the slider Up will increase the Reverb strength & vice versa. Adjust these sliders as you see fit, in particular note the Audio Applications slider which you should increase should you find the Reverb level in Games to be rather weak. Now select the MIDI tab.
Default MIDI Device. This displays which MIDI synthesis engine is to be used for playback of MIDI files. H/W WaveTable Voices. If you installed Yamaha SXG SoftSynth then 2 Wavetable Synth engines will are available for use by the Philips PSC 70x - WaveTable Synth & Yamaha SXG SoftSynth. The Yamaha SXG SoftSynth is intended for high quality MIDI playback, with multiple simultaneous voices (Utilizing the CPU rather than the Soundcards MIDI engine), WaveTable Synth will provide lowest CPU utilization for optimal performance during MIDI playback (Although Audio quality may not be as good). If you do wish to use the Hardware Wavetable to play high polyphony MIDI rather than the Yamaha SXG SoftSynth (e.g. If you didn't install it), then you can set this to Better Polyphony. H/W WaveTable Reverb/Chorus Level. These options allow you to modify the Reverb/Chorus level used during MIDI playback. I’d recommend setting this to As Specified in MIDI File. In the Speaker Test tab you may check that your Speakers are setup correctly by determining whether or not audio is being played back from the correct Speakers. Having problems still? Check out Technical Support at Philips. Creative
SoundBlaster Live! & Audigy
|
Though we don’t see new Soundcards coming
out as fast as we do Graphics cards they have made several advancements
in recent times, such as commonplace 5.1 output & better 3D
positioning algorithms.
