ADA885 speakers cut out randomly (restart?) on pc... but not on dvd player!

[chris_bramley]

Hi

I recently transferred my Altec Lansing ADA885 speaker system to my pc (as it is built primarily for the pc) cos I have a nice new speaker system for the dvd, xbox etc.

imagine my surprise when I hooked it up, updated all drivers.. and the sound was perfect in all modes, full dolby digital or analogue. Bass works, all the modes are fantastic.

BUT. The system turns off with a click (restarts I guess) then fades back in as it comes back on, but only on a PC.

I have tested it with 3 sound cards on two pcs, and back with the dvd player, checked all cables, investigated HT issues, drivers etc, did it with creatives and ac97 onboard sound as well.

The system only works properly with the dvd player!

Is there a significant signal difference between a pc output and a dvd player?

This is driving me up the wall....

 

[vegasgmc]

Those are fairly old speakers. Maybe they have developed a short or there is a fault in the amplifier or power adapter.

 

[chris_bramley]

Hmm I don't think this is the case, old they may be but they work flawlessly with any input EXCEPT from a pc soundcard.

Very odd. All the same wires are used, it is the same input used (rca digital), the only difference is it is a pc's spdif not a dvd one.

power is the same, everything is identical. I know some speakers drop if they don't get a proper signal from the output source, I'm trying to work out how the hell this would apply...

Driving me mad, I KNOW they work fine. I keep retesting them! but as soon as I put em into my pc they randomly drop out again.