7.1 Surround Sound speaker systems

[joemendel]

I have been using the Creative Labs GigaWorks S750 7.1 surround system for many years. The RF speaker is having sporadic drop-outs in the sound. I am unable to find someone to repair the system so I have decided to just replace the whole thing.

I searched Newegg and the web and I am not seeing anything 7.1 other than headphones. Is the 7.1 PC sound system a thing of the past? What do other sim drivers use for their surround sound systems. Any help in direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Emery]

Is the 7.1 PC sound system a thing of the past? What do other sim drivers use for their surround sound systems. Any help in direction would be greatly appreciated.

Home theater amp with speakers of your choice(*). Look for used amps to get value. And Dayton Audio for a big 10" or 12" subwoofer (watch for sales or scratch & dent offerings), though a subwoofer is pretty useless for simracing outside of ACC & Wreckfest unless you're using those tiny tinny-sounding pc speakers.

(*) Being an old guy, I went with big stereo speakers from the '80s or '90s that have 10" woofers and that's part of the reason the subwoofer doesn't add much for simracing. On the other hand, movies with LFE are fantastic!

 

[issh]

Home theater amp with speakers of your choice(*). Look for used amps to get value. And Dayton Audio for a big 10" or 12" subwoofer (watch for sales or scratch & dent offerings), though a subwoofer is pretty useless for simracing outside of ACC & Wreckfest unless you're using those tiny tinny-sounding pc speakers.

(*) Being an old guy, I went with big stereo speakers from the '80s or '90s that have 10" woofers and that's part of the reason the subwoofer doesn't add much for simracing. On the other hand, movies with LFE are fantastic!

How does one connect the PC to the home theatre amp? I have a spare Denon I can use for this.

 

[Emery]

How does one connect the PC to the home theatre amp? I have a spare Denon I can use for this.

Wire the computer outputs to the appropriate amplifier inputs. If the amp has fewer inputs than the computer has outputs (e.g. amp is 5.1 and computer outputs 7.1), then skip the side inputs on the amp and orient speakers in the 5.1 pattern rather than the 7.1.

 

[stigs2cousin]

You`ll need "discrete" 5.1 inputs aka "external in.

Then you can connect the 3,5 jacks on your motherboard to the RCA ( cinch) jacks of your amp.
If you want to keep it simple/lean use some beefy front speakers with goodsized woofers and rears with good mids and treble for tyre sounds and opponents aproaching. the center is mostly obsolete, woofer doesn´t do much in AC.

I done this twice, 5.1 for audio with home theater speakers and sub as described above, and a another AV receiver for my tactile transducers over a cheap USB Soundcard.

The ( quite old ) receivers were 20€ and 75 € respectivly.

Receivers with 5.1 external in are rather old or very High End.
My RX-V 1900 in the home cinema is from 2008, the ones on the simrig are even older, maybe early 2000s.
They are quite cheap because noone wants theme anymore ( they mostly don´t have HDMI inputs or modern sound formats) the risk is minimal. Should one die get another one.

MFG Carsten

 

[issh]

Right now I have my sound card outputting to the Buttkicker only. Can I still do it?

 

[Emery]

Right now I have my sound card outputting to the Buttkicker only. Can I still do it?

Sure. Where are you currently getting your sound from?

 

[stigs2cousin]

From what I know it´s not possible to run Simhub and audio from the same soundcard which seems to be a windows configuration problem.
Thats why I use the USB soundcard for the bassshacker setup.

MFG Carsten

 

[blekenbleu]

it´s not possible to run Simhub and audio from the same soundcard

Actually, for using an older piece of test software that uses only default Windows (stereo) output,
SimHub can use the other channels of an e.g. 7.1 card, while leaving Windows its main left and right.

 

[issh]

Sure. Where are you currently getting your sound from?

Realtek sound card for the buttkicker and I use usb headphones for my audio.

 

[Emery]

Realtek sound card for the buttkicker and I use usb headphones for my audio.

That's more difficult. No motherboard sound outputs? You may have to buy another device depending on blekenbleu's info.

 

[joemendel]

Realtek sound card for the buttkicker and I use usb headphones for my audio.

This is my best option so far.

 

[blekenbleu]

Realtek sound card for the buttkicker and I use usb headphones for my audio.

If you provide specifics about which model of Realtek sound card and Denon amp,
then you could receive more specific suggestions.

 

[issh]

If you provide specifics about which model of Realtek sound card and Denon amp,
then you could receive more specific suggestions.

Actually it is the motherboard sound card, not a separate one. It must use Realtek drivers? The Denon is the AVR2312CI. Do I need a separate card for just the haptics, and use the optical or hdmi for the sound? I'd like to set up a surround sound for my rig since I already have a spare system. At worst I believe I need a separate sound card.

 

[joemendel]

Actually it is the motherboard sound card, not a separate one. It must use Realtek drivers? The Denon is the AVR2312CI. Do I need a separate card for just the haptics, and use the optical or hdmi for the sound? I'd like to set up a surround sound for my rig since I already have a spare system. At worst I believe I need a separate sound card.

I use the on-board Realtek on my PC and use a RCA to 3mm Y-splitter for the dual Buttkickers LFE via a separate amp (Behringer).

 

[blekenbleu]

Actually it is the motherboard sound card, not a separate one. It must use Realtek drivers? The Denon is the AVR2312CI. Do I need a separate card for just the haptics, and use the optical or hdmi for the sound? I'd like to set up a surround sound for my rig since I already have a spare system. At worst I believe I need a separate sound card.

I use motherboard sound card, which uses Realtek drivers, as be confirmed by
Settings > Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers > Realtek(R) Audio > properties > Driver

Sadly, the AVR2312CI is TOO NEW to have discrete inputs.
Consequently, HDMI is your best hope for multichannel output to it,
configured for PCM/Multi Ch
That leaves your sound card free for other use.

What would be your source for sim racing >>surround audio<<?
Most games offer only stereo.
For that case, Windows would use the front left and right for audio,
then SimHub could use other channels for tactile.

 

[Fennario]

HDMI -> Home Theater Amp can get you 7.1. Not sure about the ability to wire it into buttkickers or other elements though.