Now select the Settings button.
AC-3 decode. Ticking this
setting will enable software (CPU) decoding of an AC-3
(Dolby Digital) stream via the Soundcard’s Driver. Should
you wish to use an external Decoder Dolby Digital decoder
then Untick this setting. This is most useful if you
have a Software DVD decoder with poor down-mixing
capabilities, or limited Audio output modes (e.g. Only 2
Speaker S/PDIF Output) &/or no external Decoder
available. For this feature to work with a Software DVD
Decoder you must set the Audio output mode of the
Decoder to S/PDIF Output (If it’s available that
is), this will enable the Driver to decode/down-mix
the AC-3 stream as appropriate for the Speakers mode
selected.
Whether or not you enable this feature for
DVD playback should of course depend on the Software DVD
decoder (More specifically the Audio output modes available
in it) you have installed. For best system performance &
Audio quality however you should find that an external Dolby
Digital Decoder provides best quality (Particularly with
more expensive Decoders). That said, if you have no external
Dolby Digital Decoder & Games with AC-3 Soundtracks (Or
just wish to playback AC-3 encoded audio files with, say,
PlayCenter) then it would be well worth enabling this
feature.
Bass Redirection. 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 AC-3 playback if AC-3 decode is also
enabled as AC-3 already contains a LFE channel. This feature
can be further customized using the Crossover Frequency
option, described below.
Center Speaker Volume. This setting
is available when 5.1 Speakers mode is selected. This
slider bar controls the volume level of the Centre channel.
Move this slider to the Up to increase the Centre
channels volume level & vice versa. This volume level is
set proportionately to your 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.
Subwoofer Volume. 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.
Crossover Frequency. With Bass
Redirection enabled this option becomes available. Using
this slider bar you can adjust the crossover frequency (10
– 200Hz), beneath which, such low frequencies will be
directed to the Subwoofer. Increasing this value will
result in a stronger bass output from the Subwoofer &
vice versa. NOTE – Be sure to check your Subwoofers
specifications to see what frequencies it can handle also so
that you don’t set this too low or too high.
Once you have made your changes select the Close
button & then select the Bal/Fade button.
Balance/Fade. By clicking on
& dragging the yellow
button around you can adjust intended position of a sound
source. This is most useful where your speakers aren’t
positioned equidistant – as described earlier & you
wish to apply a greater Left/Right &/or Front/Rear
bias to compensate for this. Press the Default
button to reset
it to this to the default position.
Re-enter AudioHQ & open the Device
Controls applet & select the Sampling Rate
tab.
Digital Output Sampling Rate.
Depending on the device you will be connecting the Live!/Audigy’s
S/PDIF Output to, you should set the sampling rate to the
highest which the device supports to ensure highest audio
fidelity.
In the Options tab you can select the
Audio device to use from the drop-down menu should you have
multiple devices installed.
If
you are still having problems with your card I suggest
visiting Creative's
own support site.
