Resolved Sound from only 2 speakers

Hi all,

This is probably really dumb, but... I have a set of Klipsch speakers that I've owned for about a decade now. I don't know what model they are, what kind of output they have, or anything like that. AllI know is that they're pretty monstrous and powerful. I can tell you that stamped on the bottom of each speaker is P/N 09050281210. And they can make some serious sound!

There are 4 speakers and a subwoofer. One of the speakers (the "primary ") has a long cord with a big, round connection that goes to the sub. Then it has two (I believe 3.5mm) jacks colored green and purple that go to the PC. Then, of course, it has the RCA wire going to the sub, plugged into Right Front. The remaining 3 speakers all only have the RCA wires, each going to the sub.

This is plugged into my PC running Windows 7. For the last year, they've sat on the floor because I had no PC. Prior to that they were connected to a PC I had running Windows XP.

Now... When I go into the Windows Audio configuration and click on "Sound ", I see "Speakers 2-High Definition Audio Device" set as the default device. I click "Configure ". I have the following choices:

• Stereo
• Quadraphonic
• Surround
• 5.1 Surround
• 5.1 Surround (again)
• 7.1 Surround

The highlighted one above is what I have selected because it's the one that when proceeding through the wizard shows me the exact setup I have. Subwoofer and Rear Speakers are checked and when testing, I get sound from every speaker (except the sub). All four speakers are checked as "Full Range ".

Now here's the killer. When I play music through Winamp, for example, I only get sound through the two front speakers. I get nothing from the rears. Same with Windows Media Player. And I do seem to get output from the subwoofer.

HUH?!

Now for physical connections, I have the following (including descriptions from my motherboard manual):

• Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out Jack (Orange): Use this audio jack to connect center/subwoofer in a 5.1/7.1 channel audio configuration.
• Rear Speaker Out Jack (Black): Use this audio jack to connect rear speakers in a 4/5.1/7.1 channel audio configuration.
• Side Speaker Out Jack (Gray): Use this audio jack to connect side speakers in a 7.1 channel audio configuration.
• Line In Jack (Blue): The default line in jack. Use this audio jack for line in devices such as an optical drive, walkman, etc.
• Line Out Jack (Green): The default line out jack. Use this audio jack for a headphone or 2-channel speaker. This jack can be used to connect front speakers in a 4/5.1/7.1 channel audio configuration.
• Mic In Jack (Pink): The default Mic in jack. Microphones must be connected to this jack.

So right now I've got my green wire connected to the green jack and my purple wire connected to the black jack. Seems to make sense to me! And yet it doesn't work... As stated, I only get sound from the front two speakers when playing music througheither Winamp or WMP.

What am I doing wrong? I have no reason to believe that anything is non-functional here. All connections look good and the speakers are in good shape. HELP! THANKS!

Chris

 

Chris, can't see the highlighted choice. But the right choice in your case should be Quadraphonic as the sub woofer is taking its input directly from the speaker amp.

 

Thanks! I highlighted the choice. Sorry, missed that... LOL! Let me try the quadrophonic and see what happens. I certainly can't make it not work... Will post back with results.

Chris

 

OK... Changed to Quadrophonic and tested speakers. Fronts worked, rears did not. So I moved my purple cable from black to orange. Now, I get sound from all 4 speakers when testing through Windows Sounds. However, still nothing from the rears in Winamp.

Grrrrrrrr......

Even tried simply not plugging in the purple and leaving green on green. Same issue.

 

In order to have 5.1 sound, your files must be recorded in 5.1. If they are stereo files all you will hear during playback is 2 channel stereo. Adding speakers does not change this.
My guess is that your files are 2-channel. You can confirm this by checking the file properties, display the "choose detals" "channels" option in explorer. If that is the case , you will need something to convert the file from 2-channel to 5.1. SRS Labs Circle Surround II Plug-in is an example of software that will do this for you.

 

Interesting, Elkhound!

When in Windows Explorer, where do I go? I right-clicked on the file (randomly chosen) and selected Properties. Then clicked on the details tab and no channel info is found. Also chose "Channel Number" as a column in Explorer itself, but it provides no data for any listed files.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

Chris

 

Sorry bout that, Open your folder, from the toolbar at top select VIEW >> Choose Details >>> then select CHANNELS from the list of options.

 

You may have to hunt around for a file on your system that has data in the channels field but I'm guessing that is your problem. Not unusual for this column to be blank.

 

Sorry, but this doesn't seem to be working. Bear in mind I'm using Windows 7, not XP. I'm trying:

Open folder
Click Organize
Click Folder and search options
View Tab

Nothing there about "Choose details" or "Channels ".

:-(

 

Alternatively, you can right-click on the file in explorer, select properties, select summary tab and scoll down to audio section. Should show duration, bit=rate, channels etc.

 

Maybe someone familiar with Win7 can help you out - the explorer detail view where you can see the duration , bit-rate, type etc. should have an option to display the channels.
It's there in XP , I have never seen Windows7 .. sorry

 

:-(

Tried the properties of 20 different files. All I get is "Bit rate ". Apparently, none of my files have channels. Hahahaha...

Oh well, I give up. This is not Earth-shatteringly critical.

Thanks for all your help!

Chris

 

Have you tried playing a DVD movie ? Most of them are mastered in 5.1 Dolby/DTS Systems & your speakers should work.

 

Just played an MKV file of the Big Lebowski. Got sound from all 4! Must be it... Thanks, all!

 

If that's it, please mark the thread Resolved, it is in the Thread Tools menu. You can reply with any update later on if you want, it does not mean the thread is closed.