Asus A7N8X onboard sound

[Bat21]

Hi pc gurus! Concerning Asus A7N8X and Deluxe. Do both MB's have good onboard sound? I was reading,in this forum, that the deluxe has the surround sound capability. Is that true? Then is the A7N8X sound good enough to not have to add an additional sound card? Thanks

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by bat21 on 03/08/03 00:09 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TKH]

Only Deluxe comes with "SoundsStorm" the 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and yes, it is the best on board sound ever. I'm now running Creative Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500 on it and it sounds fantastic. Technically SoundStorm is better than Audigy and almost head to head with Audigy2. Only if you want to run 6.1 or 7.1 channels sound then you have to get an add on sound card.

My PC has gone to hell... because it's a killing machine...

 

[timeless420]

You say you have the DTT3500 working great? Ihave the DTT2500 and my center channel desn't really work? Did yours work right out of the box or did you have to do anything?

 

[TKH]

It works right out of the box. I use SPDIF coaxial output, what connection do you use? And you have to use the nForce control panel to set up the speaker by choosing 6 speakers, digital (or analog) output and select Dolby Digital Encoder enable.

My PC has gone to hell... because it's a killing machine...<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TKH on 03/08/03 01:33 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[cookj128371]

The sound quality may be comparable to Audigy/Audigy2, but does having the on-board APU rather than a separate sound card affect system performance at all? I understand it'd probably be difficult to tell even if it did - just curious, though. For example, I'd say the on-board sound for my A7N266-E is comparable to my SB Live Value, but I opted for the SB because the sound crackled a bit if I was playing MP3's and installing software at the same time using the on-board sound. I think the install seemed slower, too, though I may have been imagining that. Works great with the SB, however. Thanks for any input!

 

[Cuda]

If I remember correctly, one of the points made in the review of the Nforce2 chipset is the performance is enhanced by having the sound onboard. You should read the review of the chipset itself as well as the mobo reviews.

 

[TKH]

If you have the non-deluxe board then you may get the problem but SoundStorm is actually a hardware sound controller. It's actually like combining an external soundcard on the mobo, technically it is nothing different from an add on soundcard with it's own APU. The APU cost less then 2% of CPU resource.

My PC has gone to hell... because it's a killing machine...

 

[Bat21]

Hi. I have yet to purchase a board until I'm sure its does all I need. It's my understanding that I will need a surround sound reciever inorder to take advantage of the "soundstorm" capabilities. Is that true? I will probably only use two speakers with a subwoffer, i think that's what it's called, on my system. I just don't want to by more board than I need, but still want good sound quality. Thanks

 

[Cuda]

If all your going to do is hook two speakers and a subwoofer up there is no reason to buy the Deluxe board for the "Soundstorm".

You will also lose the following features if you don't go for the Deluxe board.

Dual LAN
IEEE1394 Controller
SATA/RAID controller


So for an additional $25bucks you get 2 NICs,6channel sound,SATA/RAID, and IEEE1394. Up to you, but I would check to see what it would cost to add those items to your system later if you decided you wanted any one of them. I think you will find it's a Bargain for $25.

 

[timeless420]

I 'm using he standard outputs on the back of the mobo. I have everything setup correctly (I believe) and if I do enable the Dolby Digital Encoder, I do get the centre channel working, but then I loose my rear channels and subwoofer. I really don't get it

 

[LumberJack]

I've had bad experiences with on-board sound, especially the AC'97 codec.. very bad.. C-media chips tend to be the better quality ones... But I say get yourself a sound card if you really care. It's one piece of hardware that you can cary with you upgrade through upgrade.

To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[TKH]

Are you having the non-deluxe board?
If you do:
Open your volume control, go to Option select the Advanced Controls, click on the 'Advanced' button, check all the option.
If you don't:
Open nForce Control Panel, go to check the Create LFE Channel at the Speaker Setup tab, then go to Main tab, enable the equalizer, select a pre-set one (I prefer Full Bass & Treble). Play a music and see if there is any activity on your rear and sub channel. If no activity do a Test Tone. If there is still no response after Test Tone, reinstall your Sound Driver.

Wait, I forget something... are you sure your DTT2500 is good or actually they are in fault?
My PC has gone to hell... because it's a killing machine...

 

[timeless420]

We'll it looks like my settings are correct. And this was happening both before and after I reinstalled windows (crashed during XP SP1 install). How should I go about testing my speakers to see if they are not at fault?

 

[TKH]

Take your speaker and go to one of your friends who has a computer. (Need I to teach you that?) Well or you can just hook them on to your DVD player or any similar device. Just to make sure your speaker is in good condition, if your speaker still resist to work normally then you have to claim your warranty... sad.

My PC has gone to hell... because it's a killing machine...

 

[timeless420]

I was just hoping there was an easier way than hauling stuff over to a freinds house.

 

[mjjohn]

Do you have a potable cd player - Walkman ? Anything that has the 1/8" headphone jack will work for testing. Provided, your speaker system is powered, as in, the speakers or sub-woofer plug into 110 volt house outlet.

For it is not what is seen, but what is not seen.

 

[jhl72]

Timeless,

I am having your exact same problem. If you fix it please post it. I'll take a shot at ASUS tech support.

 

[timeless420]

I thought about that but the DTT2500 has separate jacks for the front, rear and centre/sub so connecting it to my cd player won't test it.

I'm thinking it is a driver issue, but I won't know that unitll I bring the speakers over to test on another machine (pain in the azz since I have te cables routed throguh my ceiling).