XPS 8950, 5.1 speakers plugged in, but no 5.1 sound

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).

Thanks. I did what you instructed, but, in Control Panel Sounds, there was no option to configure for 5.1 speakers.

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)

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@Champagne xps8950 wrote:

Thanks. I did what you instructed, but, in Control Panel Sounds, there was no option to configure for 5.1 speakers.

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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.

XPS 8950 uses Waves MaxxAudio Pro as its sound controller. So you have to configure both Windows and Waves for your surround sound.

1. Configure Windows as best you can with Realtek Audio set on Windows Sound screen
2. Power off fully and disconnect all speakers from PC
3. Power on and get to desktop
4. Plug in front L/R speakers and wait for Waves to pop up and ask what you connected.
   Select best option on the Waves menu
5. Plug in rear L/R speakers and wait for Waves...
6. Plug in subwoofer last and wait for Waves...
7. Open Waves control panel (may be a "W" icon on taskbar near clock)
8. Click Playback option
9. Turn Equalizer on by moving the slider to right
10. Confirm Output device is set correctly or choose better option on the dropdown menu
11. Make sure speakers aren't muted on Waves Playback screen and set volume level too
12. Click Sound Test button at lower right corner of the Waves screen
13. You may also have to look at settings on the "Dimension" screen in Waves control panel, if it has one (depends on version of Waves)

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  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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.