DIY surround-sound using multiple sets of speakers - need help


Recommended Posts

So for a long time, I had my old Sound Blaster Audigy (yes the original Audigy from 15+ years ago), a nice pair of massive tower speakers for the front L/R, and a pair of decent small computer speakers for the rear L/R.  The SB's drivers were perfectly capable of this setup - all I had to do was go into the Windows Playback Devices dialog, and tell it to configure the SB output as "quadraphonic":

 

post-49903-0-48411800-1403973987.jpg

 

It worked great for games and movies no problem - I could hear enemies sneaking up behind me on my rear speakers in multiplayer shooters, and I could hear the rear effects in movies as well.

 

But the SB died, and I'm left using my onboard "Realtek High Definition Audio".  Like the Audigy, it has 6 plugs, 4 of which are output, and I think only 3 of which are analog output - so it should be perfectly capable of DIY quadraphonic:

 

post-49903-0-75315100-1403973908.jpg

 

But for some reason, it refuses to work using the "Quadraphonic" option in the dialog - nothing comes out of the rear speakers at all.  The only way I managed to get it to work on the onboard sound was by selecting "7.1 surround" on that dialog, and then on the next page it lets me uncheck every "optional speaker" except for the rear left/right.  While this does work, and sound correctly comes out of my rear speakers, there's a problem - Games and movies now think I have 7.1 surround speakers, and not 4 speakers, and so I miss out on pretty much all the dialogue in games and movies because it gets mapped to a center speaker that I do not have.  I can fix that in movies by using the custom speaker mapping option in my movie player, but not in games - there is no way to remap the center speaker to the front L/R in games.

 

So can anyone tell me either A) if there is a way to get the "quadraphonic" option working using my onboard card, or B) if there is a way to DIY a center speaker?  I have no idea how that would work, or if it would even be possible - Is one of those 6 plugs for a center speaker?  The only sets of powered speakers I have are stereo; if there is a plug for the center channel, could I just plug a stereo speaker into it and hope for the best?

 

Thanks for any help, folks!

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • OpenAI to build giant AI hub in Norway, tightening US grip on Europe's tech future by Paul Hill OpenAI has announced Stargate Norway, its first AI data center initiative in Europe under the OpenAI for Countries program. It has a planned 230MW capacity and is expected to host 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of next year, with a significant future expansion hoped for. The site will be built by Nscale and Aker will help on the energy side of things, they will form a 50/50 joint venture, owning the site. The Stargate Norway announcement follows Stargate UAE and other partnerships, indicating that OpenAI is looking at a global strategy for its infrastructure needs. Stargate Norway will run entirely on renewable hydropower in Narvik, Norway. OpenAI cited low-cost energy, cool climate, and mature industrial base, explaining that these make it an ideal place for the project to take shape. The facility will run on 100% renewable energy and will use closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling to ensure maximum cooling efficiency. The excess heat from the GPU systems will be made available to help support low-carbon enterprises in the region. While renewable energy is often seen as an ethical choice, in the case of Stargate Norway, it is being chosen for entirely practical reasons. The data center will require loads of energy to power AI so using Norway’s hydropower makes a lot of sense. OpenAI said that the project aims to deliver on Norway’s sovereign AI goals and provide sovereign compute capacity in Europe. The announcement also stated that Aker and Nscale will provide priority access to Norway’s AI ecosystem and any surplus capacity will be available to the public and private sectors across the UK, Nordics, and Northern Europe. With the establishment of Stargate Norway, the country expects to see new jobs created, more economic activity, and AI research collaboration with local institutions. OpenAI called the deal “one of the most ambitious AI infrastructure investments in Europe to date.”
    • Because it's just a one liner fix. One person ( StartAllBack dev ) was able to fix it... in a cave!
    • I have a first draft of the setup script available here if anybody is curious.  It'll work well enough for me, but obviously adapt it to your own needs as necessary. Link: https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/4876568
    • You make it sound like Microsoft’s success was inevitable—like they just coasted to the top because the system is broken. But that ignores how deep in the gutter Microsoft was. A bit more than a decade ago, Microsoft was a bloated, boring giant—universally hated by developer communities and seen as yesterday’s villain. It was well on its way to becoming the next IBM: slow, corporate, irrelevant. The company had a horrible public image, a toxic internal culture, and leadership plagued by stagnation. It was losing the browser war, failing at mobile, and completely missing the open-source wave—pouring good money after bad into battles it had already lost, playing an impossible catch-up game. Even tech enthusiasts openly wished for its demise. Microsoft’s comeback was nothing short of a miracle. Most companies that size, once caught in that kind of death spiral, never climb back out. But Microsoft reinvented itself—against all odds.
    • Samsung's profit nosedives again as chip division bleeds cash by Paul Hill Samsung has shared its second quarter financials for 2025. Unfortunately for the company, its operating profit plummeted to KRW 4.7 trillion, a sharp decline from KRW 10.4 trillion in 2Q24 and KRW 6.7 trillion in 1Q25. The Korean smartphone giant also recorded a significant drop of net profit to KRW 5.1 trillion in the second quarter, down from KRW 9.8 trillion in 2024 and KRW 8.2 trillion in the first quarter. Finally, overall revenue for the second quarter was KRW 74.5 trillion, a decrease from KRW 79.1 trillion in the first quarter. These figures are based on the consolidated financial statements that have been shared before the external review is completed, so some parts could change once it’s done. The worsening of performance doesn’t seem to be a Samsung issue, but rather a wider industry issue as Intel and LG Electronics have also seen poorer results in the second quarter. The Device Solutions (DS) division, which includes Memory and System LSI/Foundry, saw a big fall in operating profits to KRW 0.4 trillion in 2Q25 from KRW 6.5 trillion in 2Q24 and KRW 1.1 trillion in 1Q25. Despite an 11% increase in sales quarter-over-quarter for the Device Solutions division, profits were severely affected by one-off costs such as inventory value adjustments. The company said that its Foundry earnings were weak due to inventory value adjustments arising from US export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China and prolonged low utilization at mature nodes. Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX/NW) division maintained double-digit profitability and grew both its revenue and operating profit year-over-year. The Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) saw revenue increase from new smartphone models and growth in IT/Auto segments, and Harman also improved profitability with increased audio sales and cost optimizations. On the flipside, smartphone shipments fell compared to the first quarter when new models were released. However, good sales of the S25 series, A series, and tablets contributed to year-over-year growth. The Visual Display (VD) division saw earnings decline due to intensified competition despite improved premium sales mix. Going forward, Samsung wants to focus on improving Exynos competitiveness for its 2026 flagship lineup and expand sales of advanced sensors. It also said that its Foundry business will ramp up mass production of a new mobile System-on-Chip (SoC) with the GAA 2nm processor and improve factory utilization. The Mobile eXperience division is also looking to achieve solid profitability by reinforcing AI In tablets and wearables. It’s also planning to launch new form-factor products like XR and TriFold. With US trade tariffs not expected to go anywhere in the near future, Samsung has acknowledged that its Harman and Visual Display/Digital Appliances divisions will be under added pressure but plans to mitigate the impact through its global manufacturing footprint. Source: Samsung | Image via Depositphotos.com
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      whiloh earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      memnoch earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      UAVXP earned a badge
      First Post
    • Dedicated
      Xinotema earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Rookie
      MrNukes went up a rank
      Rookie
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      658
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      205
    3. 3
      Xenon
      133
    4. 4
      neufuse
      125
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      123
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!