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XPS 8950, 5.1 speakers plugged in, but no 5.1 sound
Is there a way to obtain 5.1 surround sound on the XPS 8950 with no add in sound card?
I have my 5.1 surround sound speakers plugged into the PC but only the Left and Right speakers produce sound.
I have no problem buying and installing a sound card but i don't want to violate the warranty. I would have bought a sound card with the XPS 8950 when I bought it two weeks ago, but I bought it on Amazon and there was no option to buy a sound card.
Thanks.
RoHe
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September 20th, 2022 11:00
Open Waves Control Panel. Is "Select Output Device" still set correctly?
Open the Windows Sound screen. Is Realtek set as the output device? Then run the Troubleshooter on that screen...
RoHe
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September 22nd, 2022 11:00
@Champagne xps8950 Glad to have helped, but what's the "10%" that isn't resolved?
Selecting Realtek Audio as Output on the Win 11 Sound screen has nothing to do with NVidia audio. Realtek audio is a chip on the motherboard and is used for external speakers. NVidia audio would be used if you're using audio over HDMI (or DP) from an NVidia GPU to speakers built into the monitor.
In them olden days, they didn't have Realtek chips on the motherboard or audio over HDMI/DP, so sound add-in cards were used.
That all said, there's nothing stopping you from installing an add-in PCI-e sound card and using that instead of Realtek. One reason OEMs probably don't install add-in sound cards is extra cost to customer...
Lots of reviews about sound cards compatible with Win 11, for example here and here. Don't know how well any add-in sound card would compare with Realtek in a head-to-head audio test, or how much extra system resources they may need.
There are some threads about installing a sound card in XPS 8950, eg here, so read some of them.
Tesla1856
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September 19th, 2022 07:00
Start by going to (legacy) Control-Panel / Sound. Be sure your Speaker System is properly configured for 5.1 audio . They must first pass the testing (ie, each speaker plays by itself when called-upon).
Champagne xps8950
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September 19th, 2022 09:00
Thanks. I did what you instructed, but, in Control Panel Sounds, there was no option to configure for 5.1 speakers.
fireberd
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September 19th, 2022 10:00
The Dell Setup and Specs document details what jacks to use for 5.1. Its not straightforward like old sound cards.
XPS 8950 Setup and Specifications (dell.com)
Tesla1856
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September 19th, 2022 10:00
Set your (analog) audio device as the Default. With your audio device selected click Configure button. If it only lists Stereo (ie no 5.1 listed) you have a deeper-rooted problem. Resolve that (maybe as @fireberd suggested) and then come back here to configure them.
5.1 Audio will not work as long as Windows does not detect or think you have the proper number of speakers connected.
RoHe
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September 19th, 2022 13:00
XPS 8950 uses Waves MaxxAudio Pro as its sound controller. So you have to configure both Windows and Waves for your surround sound.
Select best option on the Waves menu
Champagne xps8950
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September 20th, 2022 11:00
I have success now with the 5.1 speaker set up. The KEY and most important step is to Power Off the entire system. Unplug all speakers from the computer. Then Power On. Once on, plug in the speakers One at a Time! You'll be prompted by the computer to proceed to the next step as it detects each newly connected speaker.
Champagne xps8950
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September 20th, 2022 11:00
No, I spoke too soon, Ron. The speakers function during the Test. Yes, that part is fine.
However, none of the speakers function when I try to use the computer to play a game or use YouTube.
When I first reported the problem, the Left and Right speakers functioned well for all applications. The other speakers were silent. Now, when I try to use the computer none of the speakers work.
RoHe
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September 20th, 2022 11:00
@Champagne xps8950 Glad you got speakers working. Waves has its own rules and you have to play its little game...
If my post helped, please mark it as the Accepted Solution. Thanks!
Champagne xps8950
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September 20th, 2022 12:00
In Waves control panel, Select Output Device is set to Internal Speakers and that cannot be changed.
Realtek is the output device. i dont' see the Troubleshooter on that screen.
RoHe
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September 20th, 2022 16:00
Troubleshooting Audio Problems in Windows 11
What version of BIOS is installed? v1.6.0 is latest.
Are your drivers up-to-date? Latest Realtek audio driver fixes "audio is disabled after the Out of Box Experience".
There was another recent thread where Waves control panel said "internal speakers" and it couldn't be changed. No resolution found there...
If you need to update the Realtek driver, you should then play the Waves "waiting game" again.
Champagne xps8950
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September 22nd, 2022 07:00
This entire thread contains my solution and many solutions to such problems. I don't think that I have achieved the 100 percent solution, but, certainly, with Ron's able assistance, I have achieved a 90 percent solution. I should also add that, because my computer is only 2 weeks old, Dell's own Customer Support worked closely with me to solve this issue.
Ron, a couple of final questions, please - 1) Can you help me understand why my particular computer is sold as a "Gaming" computer, but the designers decided that the Nvidia graphics card's own sound feature would be sufficient, and that a Sound Card was unnecessary? 2) I've always had a sound card in all of my computers of the past. Could my system benefit from a sound card? Which sound card would you recommend that I purchase and install? Thanks.
Champagne xps8950
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September 22nd, 2022 12:00
The 10 percent is the "Unknown" that remains with regard to why I can't hear all 5.1 speakers in some applications. The explanation is probably that those applications and modes were not created to express sound in 5.1.
RoHe
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September 22nd, 2022 16:00
You may want to check the support sites for those apps to see if they do/don't support 5.1 or if -maybe- there's an update to enable 5.1.