Windows 7 HL2 Sound Help Please!

[samsam7]

Ok so I've got HL2 running on Win7 x64, and I've just decided to try out surround sound with it using a new x-fi titanium card, but for some reason, I cannot get HL2 to let me change the speaker configuration. It stays on 2 speakers. When I try to change it, close the audio window, and reopen, its back to 2 speakers.

I've already tried changing the speaker count to 5.1 or 7.1 on both Windows settings and the sound card settings, but I still can't get HL2 itself to not be 2 speakers, and the snd_digital_surround command apparently doesn't do anything in HL2. Could someone please help me solve this? I know this have affected other people, but no one seems to have a solution.

 

[Adabiviak]

Under "Playback Devices" in your Win7 sound control applet, what do you see, and which of those devices is flagged as default?

 

[samsam7]

Well I want to output through the optical, but I've tried both the "x fi speaker" with the card's L/R jack and "x fi spdif" with optical. Also I have a generic "soundmax speaker" and "digital output". Those have been disabled on the control panel.

 

[Adabiviak]

I think when games do that, it's because they're looking at the Windows configuration as set in the control panel applet (despite what you may have set in your sound card's driver applet).

I have the same configuration (optic cable to amplifier) and here's what I have mine set at:

If I set Digital Output as default, sound only comes out of the front speakers (even with the virtual speaker shifter enabled).

edit - once you have your "speakers" set as the default device, configure them as 5.1 (or whatever) and see what HL2 does.

 

[samsam7]

Ok so HL2 is finally recognizing 5.1!!! I have no clue as to why it has decided to cooperate. I *think* it could be because when I went to configure for 'Speakers' and set it to 5.1 (nitpicking, 7.1 doesn't work still), I didn't click 'next' all the way to 'finish'.

Ok so that part is solved. Now I want to get that 5.1 signal through the optical port in Dolby Digital fashion to my mixamp. Since I have an x-fi card, I could use the headphone jack since x-fi can downmix 5.1 to "surround headphone" and everything is ready to go, but I could return the card and save a 100 bucks if I can figure out how to get my onboard sound to output 5.1 through the optical jack. Obviously 5.1 doesn't work through one onboard 3.5mm jack here because the sound drivers don't do what an x-fi can.

As a side note, I couldn't get the x-fi optical to work correctly either.

Edit: Nevermind, apparently my onboard sound (Asus p6t v2, soundmax ad2000) doesn't actually produce Dolby 5.1, so I will be needing a soundcard. Might still return the x-fi and go with an Asus Xonar as I've read good things about them.