Problem with 5.1 speaker setup

[lalaji]

Ok, i dont know if im wrong here or not so im looking for general advice here. I have an Asus A7N8X Deluxe Mobo. I just got the Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker system. Now the A7N8X Deluxe has built in 6ch audio, so i originally set up the speakers to use the designated center/sub and rear surround jacks. But when i did tone tests the center wouldnt get the signal right. Then i used the setup wizard and have them all using the Green Blue and Red jacks. The red used to be the Mic jack. Now when i use the nvidia nforce control panel and do a tone test all the speakers respond properly. But when i try to listen to audio only a few work. With winamp, only the front Left and Right speakers get signal, with iTunes or windows media player everything but the center get signal. I was under the impression that all the speakers would get signal. I also tried watching a DVD with 5.1 and still the center isnt getting signal. Am i wrong here or is there something actually wrong? The DVD was disc 1 of Family Guy Volume One. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Guys.
-Lalaji

 

[vegasgmc]

When you are listening to music you will only get sound in the front speakers and subwoofer because its just 2 channel stereo. There is usually a setting like Audio Expander or Surround that will send the audio to all the speakers while listening to 2 channel audio. To get true 6 channel sound the audio player you're using has to support. The basic DVD player software ususally only supports 2 channel sound. You have to pay for an upgrade to surround sound. If it does support surround then you may need to go into the audio properties and choose between 2.1, 4.1, 5.1 and so on.

 

[TS | Thomas]

If the speaker test outputs correctly then you've nothing to worry about. As vegasgmc said, music is stereo, some media players replicate the stereo channels to the rear outputs, others do not - hence the 2 or 4 channel output with winamp/media player. As regards the DVD, you'd have to check your DVD but it's likely Family Guy is only encoded in Dolby Stereo, not Dolby Digital 5.1, so 2 channel output would be normal if so.

 

[Liquidlen]

I do not see how you could get a speaker(output) to work if it is plugged into in a Mike (input) jack.Your 6.1 audio should have 3 output speaker terminals Green (front), Black(Rear) and Yellow(Woofer) then check that the software properties match the output .Remember Directx contols and Windows sound controls ,also affect sound reproduction check for conflicting settings

 

[lalaji]

Thanks for the info guys, to answer your question Liquid, my mobo has onboard 6ch audio, and there are 2 ways to set it up. One is to put the front L/R speakers into the typical green line out, the Rears into a purple output jack and the center/sub into an orange line out. The purple and orange are seperate from the typical trifecta of Green, blue and red connections. The other way, is to use the green blue and red for Front, rear, and center/sub respectively. Apparently Asus set it up this way. I figured this out by reading the manual that the mic port changes to center/sub when you enable it in the driver. I hope that cleared things up for you.