Surround Sound on my X360?

[K07]

I apologize if this doesn't belong here, but it looks like there are a number of threads not directly related to collectibles here. And everyone here is a gamer so you're the best authority to ask. I have a Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound system and am baffled as to how to make it work with my XBOX games....

I have the black console (Elite?) that replaced my original white one which finally died last summer. I'm using the composite cables (blue, green, red) that came with the white console to connect it to the TV and an optical cable to the Bluray player. The Bluray player is connected to all the speakers. The sound works through the front three speakers but I don't hear anything through the rear ones. I've played with the levels to see if they were very quiet or if they weren't working and they don't work!

I've Googled this countless times and my diagram matches the results I get. I have changed the settings of my console to Dolby 5.1 and still can't seem to get it to work. The games I am most interested in getting to work are the Mass Effect games because those are the ones I'm currently replaying. I've Googled this game specifically and most results turn up how to make surround work on a PC instead of a console.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the n00b question but I'm not a die-hard gamer and this hardware is all rather new to me.

 

[WellCQCaboutthat]

the back speakers dont make sound until theres something to play in that direction. theyre just fillers. you can try to mess with the sound modes to make all the speakers play but that would defeat the surround feature and make it essentially stereo pass through. is the optical cable from the tv or the xbox? if its from the tv and youre using component cables your putting crappy sound into a premium wire. if you can run the optical directly from the xbox to the receiver or you use an hdmi to the tv and optical from the tv to the receiver youll achieve full surround.

 

[K07]

My optical cable is plugged into the composite cable actually and leads to the Bluray player:

It is enough to give sound to the front speakers but I NEVER hear any sounds from the rear. I know it wouldn't play constantly but I figured some ambient noises in the background or gunfire coming from different directions would play through there.

I'm noticing this graphic though for newer X360s:

I must have gotten the optical cable before the white one got the red ring of death and didn't realize the set up was that different for the newer systems. Do you think this will help? I'm eager to test it when I get home later tonight!

 

[WellCQCaboutthat]

seems like a sound mode on your surround needs to be set. it also looks like the newer xbox has the optical directly on the machine. id try that. get rid of those component cables and get an hdmi youll get better picture with that. also look in your sound options on the xbox. make sure its set for surround sound and not pcm or dolby.

 

[K07]

I just got home and switched the optical cable to the console itself. Triple checked to make sure I had 5.1 selected in the sound options. Still nothing...

I don't know where it came from, but I found an extra HDMI cable laying around my computer room. I'll put it on and give it a go. I don't expect that to fix this sound issue but I know it'll give a better picture.

 

[K07]

What is an XBOX E and XBOX S? I don't know which I have. I got it as a gift from my wife last summer when my original got the red ring of death. Apparently one doesn't use the TOSLINK cable but a standard audio cable? Argh, I dunno what that even is. I'm guessing I must need that because this TOSLINK isn't doing anything.....

EDIT - I don't have the XBOX E because I can use composite cables. Hmmm... I'm troubleshooting with Microsoft this weekend I guess. I want my surround sound.

Thanks for your time, I appreciate you trying to help

 

[Jameson Rook]

I don't know much about the Xbox's connectivity, but you might wanna do a test tone playback via calibration discs.

Also, check your Xbox audio settings and make sure it has the Dolby Digital 5.1 checked at least. I know for a fact though that not many games support DTS unlike the Ps3 due to space limitations.

 

[mfoga]

Are you talking about one of the blu ray/5.1 speaker deals? If your getting sound through the front speakers it sounds like its setup correct if not you would get stereo sound(should only play through front r/l speakers). It sounds like either the game doesn't have a rear channel sound or the BluRay players is dropping it.

 

[WellCQCaboutthat]

That too

sent from a tormented past

 

[Jameson Rook]

It's rare that a current gen game not supporting Dolby Digital 5.1 at the very least, so yeah I guess a calibration disc is your best bet. Check also if your cables are securely connected and that if your receiver is displaying "Dolby Digital". Hope that helps!

Like I said I don't know anything about the 360, but if you have Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, the first level of MGS2 had rain effect and that reflects brilliantly on your surround setup. You can hear drops of rain and waves crashing on the ship from your rear speakers.

 

[K07]

Are you talking about one of the blu ray/5.1 speaker deals? If your getting sound through the front speakers it sounds like its setup correct if not you would get stereo sound(should only play through front r/l speakers). It sounds like either the game doesn't have a rear channel sound or the BluRay players is dropping it.

Yes, it's an RCA 5.1 Surround Sound Bluray Home Theater. When I play DVDs/Blurays through the player itself and select HDMI 2 as my TV Input (the Bluray player), I get movies with surround sound.

If I play games through the X360 and choose Component or HDMI 1 (last night I tried an HDMI cable) I get no sound from the rear. But it's not a bad optical cable and it's going to where it needs to go because the front is working. Not sure if all three are working or if just the R/L are working. Don't think the subwoofer is doing anything either.

What's a calibration disc? I could just pop in a movie and see what happens knowing there's surround on those. Not sure when/where sound would come through the back. It's my understanding modern games have 5.1 audio included and I am just trying to get the full potential out of my system.

I tried looking at the settings of my Bluray player and don't see anything to enable that would be preventing 5.1 from an audio input so not sure where the problem lies.

 

[WellCQCaboutthat]

The only bad optical cable is one that just doesnt work. It puts a beam of light through a clear cable. If light comes out its doing its job. Just saying. By what you say it sounds like an audio setting on the xbox or the receiver. Id say the xbox seeing you get surround from the receiver alone.

sent from a tormented past

 

[Jameson Rook]

The only bad optical cable is one that just doesnt work. It puts a beam of light through a clear cable. If light comes out its doing its job. Just saying. By what you say it sounds like an audio setting on the xbox or the receiver. Id say the xbox seeing you get surround from the receiver alone.

sent from a tormented past

Optical cables are very susceptible to being damage by even the slightest bend. You might wanna make sure your TOSLINK cable is working properly.

 

[WellCQCaboutthat]

itd have to be an actual fold in the wire, ryan. i have optical/toslink cables that are clear with no outer jacket and they work totally fine and i snake them up walls so they take quite a bit of a beating and work fine. they are actually really resilient. the only thing you have to watch out for is the connector on the end, if its bending the lght like the wire had a fold in it then it wont work either.

 

[Natrix]

Check your player/receiver settings. Without knowing the model you are using, it looks like most RCA combos player/receivers have an option to output sound in stereo or 5.1 for the external inputs. If it is set to stereo only the fronts will be active and could also output to the center channel depending on the system. Verify your model is the same by looking at the operator manual. I just pulled up a manual for a random RCA blu ray/surround system.

Select your audio input for the 360 then check the setting.

Q: I have no surround sound.

Check to see if the system is actually in full Surround mode. To do this, press the SURROUND button on the remote control - the front panel display should indicate the current setting. If the current setting is STEREO, the surround speakers and center speaker will be inactive. Press the UP/DOWN button to change to SURROUND mode accordingly instead of STEREO. Note: Different files/discs can have different audio types. Press the SURROUND button on remote control followed by the UP or DOWN button and select the appropriate mode from the available surround modes displayed on front panel.

 

[WellCQCaboutthat]

Check your player/receiver settings. Without knowing the model you are using, it looks like most RCA combos player/receivers have an option to output sound in stereo or 5.1 for the external inputs. If it is set to stereo only the fronts will be active and could also output to the center channel depending on the system. Verify your model is the same by looking at the operator manual. I just pulled up a manual for a random RCA blu ray/surround system.

Select your audio input for the 360 then check the setting.

there you go, thats what i was getting at in the beginning. check your receiver for the right setting. this is much more specific.

 

[K07]

Thanks for the tips. I finally figured this out last night before checking back here but this is exactly what I did after trial and error of button mashing.

Now I've got HDMI and Optical connection surround sound. Thanks guys!