nforce2 + my speakers = silence.

C

.Cask

Guest
I must be doing something really obviously wrong here but not sure what.

I'm using an Asus A7N8X deluxe board with my old boston acoustics speakers. That diagram kind of shows how the speakers are set up, basically you just plug all the speakers into the sub woofer thingy and then connect that to the line-out. It worked fine with my old SB Live but since getting the new board I wanted to get the onboard sound working as it is probably a lot better.

I plug the cable into the line-out socket, select digital sound (as that is what I did for the SB Live) but no sound at all comes out. If I plug my headphones into the line-out and select analogue sound then they work fine but I want my speakers working for some things :/

There are 6 audio related sockets on the board. These are:

*S/PDIF
*Surround L/R
*CNTR/LFE

and a bit further down

* Line In
* Line Out
* Microphone

I read that the S/PDIF is for digital sound but I don't have any cables that fit that socket. And I assume the other two sockets below that are for individual speakers but my speakers plug into the sub woofer and don't fit those sockets :/

So I can only assume that I'm doing the right thing plugging it into the line-out, but the lack of sound says I'm not. I've tried all the obvious things like volume settings so it's none of that. I've tried setting it to analogue sound as well but no change, and the cable which I use to connect to the sound card specifically states that it was for digital sound... I did have an analogue cable too but I probably chucked it out :(

It's a bit long winded I know but I've exhausted all my options so hopefully someone else can give me some clues to what the problem is :)
 
W

WPKenny

Guest
I've got the same board as you but have plain old 2.0 sound.

I'm guessing you'll either have to connect it all up to the analogue sockets on the mobo or get the right cable for the SPDIF.
 
C

.Cask

Guest
Bumping this due to utter desperation.

Can't connect up the invidual speakers. My left and right speakers have mini-phono connecters and they won't fit, and even if they did I wouldn't have anywhere to plug in the sub :(

Emailed Asus, no reply. Emailed Boston Acoustics and they replied a few weeks later with an email containing a virus, which was blocked by BW mail server.

HEEEEELP ME PLEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!!!!! Don't make me install my old SB Live :(
 
J

Jonty

Guest
Hi .cask

Well, sadly, I'm no expert with such things :( However, from previous experience (I have an Altec Lansing 2.1 setup which sounds similar to yours) I believe you're right to plug the speakers into the line out socket.

After a little searching, I have found that older versions of the nVidia's reference nForce2 drivers had problems with your motherboard and, in particular, the onboard sound. Henceforth you should download the latest nForce v2.03 drivers which fix all such issues (I'm assuming you're running XP, if not, just select the right drivers from this driver selection page).

Hopefully this will be the cause of your problems, although the fact that your headphones work makes me a little unsure. Is there any way of testing that your speakers aren't damaged in anyway (e.g. by connecting them to another PC)?

If you're still having problems please feel free to post again.

Happy Easter

Jonty

P.S. Sorry about the lack of a reply before now :(
P.P.S Have you checked the settings in the Soundstorm program?
 
C

.Cask

Guest
Thanks for reply =]

But think there is no solution to this that won't cost me money. Had already upgraded drivers but tried those ones just in case, no change. The speakers worked right before I installed the new mobo and the test tone works so I think they're fine.

Found this guy with the exact same problem so there must be some kind of hardware incompatibility. Looks like I'm going back to my old SB Live :(
 
J

Jonty

Guest
Okay, sorry I couldn't be of more help :( Personally I'd auction off the SB Live! and put the money towards some new speakers :)

Happy Easter
 
W

WPKenny

Guest
I have vague recollections of the sound not working unless you use any nforce drivers other than those specifically from the ASUS website. Version 1.16 IIRC
 
C

.Cask

Guest
foibles

<insert much swearing>

Stuck in the SB Live, and guess what? Silence. Switched to analogue sound and my headphones were fine, back to digital and speakers still didn't work.

Looks like they are the problem after all :( Just can't imagine how they could have broken while I was upgrading my PC. Only 4 years old but spose I can buy something with real 5.1 surround this time.

Any recommendations? Preferably something not far over £100, with decent volume and needs to be surround.

Thanks for the replies up till now guys but I had a feeling that I'd end up spending large amounts of money :( That mobo upgrade turning out to be a lot more expensive then I first imagined.

*EDIT* It also needs a decent sized subwoofer :D
 
E

Embattle

Guest
Sadly I do believe that there is no solution apart from buying new speakers.
 
J

Jonty

Guest
I don't have really have a clue about speakers, it has to be said, although (like most things) you pay for what you get. I don't believe either of these sets are particularly powerful, but at ~£58 and ~£53 respectively, they're not too pricey (if you say it quick ;)): Creative Labs Inspire 5.1 5100 and Logitech Z-540 4.1. No doubt other people will be able to better advise you.

You may even wish to put up with your headphones for a little while and then splash out on some really cool speakers.

Kind Regards
 
O

old.LeitMotif

Guest
Originally posted by WPKenny
I have vague recollections of the sound not working unless you use any nforce drivers other than those specifically from the ASUS website. Version 1.16 IIRC
Click to expand...

Definately, there can be major problems with stability and features of the board if the Asus driver kit is not used. However people have had success with the NVidia drivers.

.Cask you may wish to try searching the following forums for similar problems.

http://www.asusboards.com/forums
http://www.nforcershq.com
 
G

GypsyCurse

Guest
on the old live cards they offered both digital (S/PDIF) and analog from the same 3.5mm connector, and depending what you selected from windows it piped out a different signal.

Unfortunately the connectivity Creative opted for is by no means standard - S/PDIF is normally a coax (phono) style connection) and that's what ASUS opted for on the A7N8X (even Creative on their newer stuff have dumped their customised connector).

As they both use the same signal there might be a connector or something out there to help you fix it... failing that you're going to need new speakers because the boston acoustics you have there don't support an analog source
 
G

GypsyCurse

Guest
/slaps forehead

it is, but his motherboard already has a coax SPDIF port, while his speakers need the bespoke 3.5mm driver Creative used on the old Live! cards.
 
C

.Cask

Guest
Yeah cheers guys I decided to ditch them and buy some new ones.

Went for the logitech Z-640's. Not bad at all for 70 quid, I was tempted to go for some really expensive ones but after hearing these I'm pretty glad I didn't. 5.1 at last :)
 
J

Jonty

Guest
Hi .Cask

Glad everything's sorted out :D At that price, if you'll forgive the pun, those speakers sound brilliant. Try not to annoy your family/friends/neighbours (Delete as applicable) too much with them blasting out :D

Kind Regards
 
Y

~YuckFou~

Guest
Jonty = Sensible Dad
(In a Borg kind of way of course)


:)
 
J

Jonty

Guest
Originally posted by Deadmanwalking.
Jonty = god
*feels humbled*
Click to expand...
Oh please, I'm not God. I just work for him :D hee hee. Okay, so it seems we have yet another thread going hopeless off topic. What is a moderator to do? :p

Kind Regards
 
W

Will

Guest
How much would they damage the bank account Jonty?

And he's my boss too.;)
 
J

Jonty

Guest
Originally posted by Will
How much would they damage the bank account Jonty?
Click to expand...
About £400, which puts them in the enthusiast and/or 'more money than sense' category :) I don't doubt they're absolutely amazing, and they are unrivalled (even by the giants of the industry like Sennheisser and Bang & Olufsen), but that is a heck of a lot of money for a pair of headphones.

Kind Regards
 
W

Will

Guest
I'll put that idea on hold and keep my £25 headphones then.;)
 
Y

~YuckFou~

Guest
They are sexy though, I notice that you can run several sets off that one base station.

*hopes for 6 numbers on Saturday*
 
T

Tom

Guest
I can't quite figure out how those headphones would work - even with multiple drivers in each ear, your brain relies on differences in phase to work out direction, thats why your ears are shaped like they are (try moving your ear forward with your fingers to hear this effect). Putting headphones on eliminates much of the brain's ability to do this, so there must be some serious processing going on to counter that effect.
 
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Jonty

Guest
Hi Tom

You're exactly right :) Whether the effect is as good as 'proper' Dolby Digital surround sound, I don't know. That said, Dolby are very happy with their Virtual Dolby Digital standard, and they believe it does a good enough job of creating accurate positional audio. (When A3D first came out, crude but effective left-right '3D' pan effects could be achieved with 2 speaker systems and headphones).

The accompaning unit in the Sony package essentially receives the audio signal, and alters the sound on the fly to create an accurate sound environment. The headphones then receive this modified signal and recreate the audio as desired. The shape of the headphones and the design of the speakers inside thus create an environment in which the brain is effectively fooled into believing a sound is coming from certain distances and directions.

It's all very clever, and I won't profess to understand it, but I do know Dolby don't certificate items unless they're absolutely certain it meets their (high) standards. That said, at £400, I doubt I'll be putting the kit to the test any time soon ;)

Kind Regards

Jonty

P.S. Sorry for rambling :(
 
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WPKenny

Guest
I've got an old dance CD single. It's got a track on it that tells you to listen to it on headphones.

When you do, the opening of it has scissors going round your head like you're having your hair cut and dogs barking in the distance and all sorts. VERY 3D, best I've heard (and I've got a 5.1 DVD setup).

From what I understand it was recorded using microphones in side a model of a human head, with sculpted ear canals and everything so that when the sound reached the microphone it could be reproduced to sound like it did.

Perhaps with all their technology Sony have managed to figure out a equation or whatever to encode sound in this way on the fly.
 
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