7.1 surround sound from ALC1200 on B550

[MIAHALLEN]

I feel like a total noob posting this...but here it goes:

I have a new build as follows:

• ASRock B550M Pro4
• Ryzen 9 3900X
• 64GB G.Skill DDR4-3600
• MSI RTX2060 (3000 series or RDNA2 in the next couple months)
• Sabrient 2TB M.2 QLC
• Windows 10 Pro x64
• HP Reverb G2 in November (9MP VR)
• LG PF1500 1080P LED projector

This question is about audio....so here are some details about that:

• I have audio running from the RTX 2060 to the LG projector via HDMI
• I have also tested with Displayport>>>HDMI cables fromt he RTX to projector...same results.
• The PF1500 projector has toslink output which runs over to my AV reciever, which powers the surround sound.
• At first, only stereo worked due to the EDID issues with Windows 10.
• I have already installed a EDID Override to attempt to resolve the problem.
• AC3 & DTS now work, but 6ch LPCM is still not working.

I could run this another way...and that is via analog output from the sound controller directly to my AV receiver....but this motherboard only has stereo L/R analog output. Which got me thinking....it seems to me all the hype/marketing about the capabilities of this motherboard's audio controller, relies completely on the digital audio section of the GPU....is that correct?

My question then, is this:
If I were to purchase a brand new audio system to use with this motherboard's 7.1 surround capabilities, what features would be required of the audio system? How would average person get the 7.1 functioning as ASRock intended? Would I have to posses a surround sound system with HDMI handling? I have an older Denon AVR3805 which is a beast of a receiver, but was the last generation of high end AV receivers lacking HDMI handling.

What would be the best way for me to get good surround sound with my setup? Should I buy a soundcard with toslink output? Should I get a soundcard with 7.1 analog output? Should I get an HDMI splitter with audio breakout? Should I buy a new AV receiver?

It seems like my current configuration should work....but even after spending several hours with this EDID override madness, Widows audio is still not working properly...

note - if you're not familiar with the EDID override stuff; here is a link - https://www.tenforums.com/sound-audio/148247-force-hdmi-carry-5-1-dolby-whatever.html

 

[freakdiablo]

Ok, I'll get this out of the way -

The motherboard in my HTPC has the ALC1220 chipset and I never got the hype. Wired it direct to my receiver via a 3.5mm to RCA cable, a basic Yamaha R-S202, and all I got was fuzz and mud. This may be due to it being an mITX board and lacking the space for proper filtering, but...whatever.

As for your question about it "relying on the audio section of the GPU", this would be the onboard ports only, NVidia (and AMD as well) have their own basic onboard chipsets for handling audio through the card. But I never found that to be a problem, the limiting factor being the DAC/capability of the audio source.

I'm not *terribly* up-to-date with types of encoding but you can get a card with TOSLINK out, go direct between the card and receiver, but it does compress surround audio. Depending on how picky you are about that, you can either go that route and just choose a cheaper card with TOSLINK capability or a nicer card with a decent DAC and wire it up the same way I had my HTPC originally, using 3.5mm to RCA cables.

 

[MIAHALLEN]

I'm not *terribly* up-to-date with types of encoding but you can get a card with TOSLINK out, go direct between the card and receiver, but it does compress surround audio. Depending on how picky you are about that, you can either go that route and just choose a cheaper card with TOSLINK capability...

Thank for the reply FD...I think this solution would be best because one of the main features of the Denon receiver is its amazing Burr Brown DACs....so getting the digital audio to it is ideal. Would you all agree with the ASUS Xonar SE 5.1....if all I need is 5.1 output? Any other suggestions? TIA

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Wired it direct to my receiver via a 3.5mm to RCA cable, a basic Yamaha R-S202, and all I got was fuzz and mud.

Expect it to sound like poo, until you made adjustments to the PC graphic equalizer.

I have a Technics SA-EX140 receiver with Polk VT60 speakers and it sounds super!

 

[EarthDog]

Fuzz and mud are different than tweaking an EQ for the best quality I'd imagine.

Swapping mobos to one with a SPDIF out is another option... though... not cost-efficient, clearly. That Asus Xonar will work, yep!

 

[pinky33]

I had to deal with this year's ago. Ended up getting a sound card with toslink. Now I always get mobo's with toslink. Did not have good luck with 3.5 to rca. Could have been my cheap cables or receiver at the time though. I felt bass was much more clear with toslink.

To this day I still don't have a receiver with hdmi.

 

[JLK03F150]

I had to replace my pre-HDMI receiver years ago now. I actually have a couple failed HDMI inputs on my current Denon 5.1, but the HTPC, DirecTV box & BluRay player have working HDMI inputs. Sound & video from all devices come in to the receiver on HDMI, and there is one HDMI out going to the TV. Much cleaner wire/cable management than the old system. I used to have a TOSlink splitter on that old system. lol