I just bought a 5.1 speaker system and i cant get the rears to work! any input would help!?

Question

I just bought a 5.1 speaker system and i cant get the rears to work...I bought a 5 channel sound card...i set my system to 5.1 surround...Ive got windows xp....Im lost!!!

Answer 1

I'm a certified audio engineer and audio enthusiast, and would love to help!

There could be a multitude of problems here, and the fact that you are describing a speaker set-up for PC makes things a little more complicated.

First question: What makes you think your rear speakers aren't working?

If your answer is "There is no sound", this is doesn't neccessarily mean your speakers aren't working. Sound is not supposed to eminate from the rear speakers 100% of the time. They add ambience and directional cues. Also, sound will not come from the speakers if the audio for the software you use isn't encoded for 5.1 (or greater) audio.

The same is true for Home Theatre set-ups; not all movies are encoded to tell the surround processor to send audio signal to the rear speakers

That said,

The first thing to check: Make certain all of your speakers are connected propery. Depending upon what sort of system you purchased, some speakers can be directly connected to your soundcard, some need to "daisy chain" in order to work. That is, one speaker must connect to the another, and that connects to another, etc.

Next, check all your volume controls. How many do you have? Every single one must not only be on (not muted) but the more controls you have, the more you need to be aware of how they're set. In other words, the first volume control should be at max, or near max to send a strong signal to the next control. This will represent the loudest level you want to hear. The next control should be slightly lower or equal. If it is greater than the first, then you increase hiss as well as volume. Not good. Continue until you get to the last. This will be the master volume, and this is the only control you should use to adjust volume.

You have control panel volume. Do your speakers have their own volume knob? What about the sound card- is there a control you need to activate?

Of course, this is assuming all the software and hardware is compatible with one another.

If possible, swap the rear speakers with your front speakers, and test to see if they are working. That would eliminate defect in the speakers, as well as the wire leads connected to them.

Finally, make certain you have installed all required drivers to run your sound card.

It's a little difficult to offer advice without knowing more specifics regarding what sort of system you have. Hope this helps a little.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You have to make sure that the output is sending in 5.1. Otherwise only the front speakers will work. You can't just play a music CD and have your receiver setup for Dolby Digital 5.1

Answer 3

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Answer 4

go back to where you bought it from. they should be able to help you.