All inputs produce static interference sound from all speakers EXCEPT when in 2 channel stereo playback, which sounds fine. I've checked all connections and do not find any shorts or other wiring issues.

Stereo is actually two identical amplifiers which when the left and right of a stereo signal is fed into the respective inputs will reproduce the stereo sound through the left and right speakers.
Mostly there is a mono/stereo switch so if only a mono signal is available it is reproduced through both speakers.

You don't make it clear whether the playback is in mono or half a stereo?

If playback is in mono it will emerge from both speakers but the directional element will be absent. If the playback is in half a stereo the sound will emerge from one speaker only or mostly one speaker.

Most common problem is the failure of one of the amplifiers which could be electronic or the failure of any of the various switching usually used in such things.
The amplifiers can be tested by injecting a signal into each amplifier input and will be found satisfactory if the sound emerges from each speaker in turn at a similar volume.

it is receiver defect only i think

try swapping the speakers around if the problem still persists either the speaker is faulty
the speakers plug/outlet is usually at the back of the computer you will have to open up the computer to check the lead attached to the rear of the input plug make sure the connection is good
be sure to wear an anti static earth strap before touching anything inside your computer
try cleaning your computer of dust using a fine air blower from a compressor making VERY sure that there is no MOISTURE in the air line specifically around the CPU central processing unit and your sound card dust causes static to build up in a computer causing it to overheat any many other problems
hope this helps

Are all the speakers turned off (set to None) in the speaker menu.(except the sub)?

2 channel direct analog stereo may still work, but any surround modes will use the speaker settings and the full DSP digital section.

Check also the input mode isn't incorrect - although if the sub is wired correctly and gives sound this can't be whats wrong.

The sound chip may have gone in the stereo, especially if someone has had it on very loud they sometimes blow, otherwise you have 2 speaker wires touching each other, that way you only get static noise, insidee the door they sometimes come free and touch the body

Check all your speaker wires first.

Hi,

I have a creative SoundBlaster LIVE! 24 Bit External Sound Card and this annoyed me for weeks.

depending on your surround sound reciever depends on the solution.

i have an Acoustic Solutions surround sound system with coxial and optical inputs, aswell as stereo red & white jack inputs.

not knowing the method or connection your using makes it difficult to give you a single solution so i'll list a few.

The soundblaster software shoudl include the Creative Audio console with all sorts of effects, one is CMSS (CMSS-3D) Stereo widening which is still stereo but gives a surround sound effect.. but i'm guessing you payed for 5.1 and you want 5.1 onto the next part

5.1 surround sound can only be produced when the actuall audio your playing contains 5 channels of audio, for example you cant play a stereo song in 5.1 surround sound without some sort of hardware or software sound manipulation. Luckily my surround sound system has Pro Logic II built in and some other effects which convert a 2.1 signal to a 5.1 signal and it works brilliantly. I'm not sure of a software alternative.

setup for your soundcard will be different under XP and Vista also, but there should be a properties option for your sound device where you can select your speaker setup such as headphones, built in speakers, 2.1 speakers, 5.1 speakers, 7.1 speakers and you should be able to manage this from the creative software.

If using Coxial / Optical or SPDIF under vista you MUST set the playback device as SPDIF, at least you have to with my sound card and drivers and seems to be a limitation of the actual sound card drivers for vista.

Personally i was looking forward to hearing the windows login melody in 5.1 surround sound too, but this doesnt happen.

Infact i find that almost all programs bar a few will not play Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 surround sound via any or my output options hence the next solution..

if you have the 5.1 sound but winamp simply just plays it in stereo try the following.

You need to use DirectSound Output:

Preferences (Ctrl-P) > Plug-ins > Output > Select "DirectSound Output"

That should work in most cases, but if not, then:

Checkmark: "Allow hardware acceleration" in DirectSound Output config,
and make sure your sound card/chip is selected as Output Device.

Note that any changes will take effect only after playback is restarted.
In some cases, a Winamp restart is required.

If that doesn't work make sure you have the latest version of DirectX
(v8.x or higher is required)

Winamp 5.25/5.3 and higher:
For actual multi-channel files (ie. aac/wav/ac3/ogg/wma files encoded in 5.1ch surround, as opposed to standard 2-channel stereo mp3's), you need to checkmark "Allow surround sound" in 'Winamp > Prefs > Playback' for the music to play in its original 5.1 channel format (Note that this setting is checkmarked by default).

Windows Vista:
In addition to the above instructions, Vista users will also need to go to:
Control Panel > Sound > Playback tab > Speakers > Configure:
Select: 5.1/7.1 Surround.
Then:
Control Panel > Sound > Playback tab > Speakers > Properties > Enhancements tab
and checkmark "Speaker Fill"

Hope this helps

Anthony Kinson

i think it would probably be somthing inside the channel???

Use the remote and switch it to be in the sub mode (top right corner of remote) It is here (in the sub mode) that you can change volume and inputs.

Your problem is somewhere between the tuner and video detector circuit. The signal entering your TV carries: video,red color,and blue color as well as sychronizing pulses for color and horizontal and vertical deflection ( actually vertical sync. is derived from horizontal sync.) along with burst pulses to synchronize the color. After all these, the sound is an fm signal entwined with a pilot signal for stereo audio. WHAT a mess! After the audio passes through all this, it is detected and sent to the audio processor. If any frequency has drifted away from it's value then you loose the sound. SO... your problem could be in any of the tuned circuits or in the audio processor IC (chip). Any component changing value could creat this problem. Most likely the audio processor IC. You'd need to have the set checked out by a tech to find your problem. Stargazer

Dolby 5.1 is not supported via either of the Aux inputs. Be sure to check your main menu/audio setup screen to ensure that "stereo" is not selected. If it is, DVD's will not downmix, giving you only 2.1 stereo.