A6Ja S/PDIF out problem

I recently purchased a Asus A6Ja notebook. I tried to connect it to my home stereo receiver through the S/PDIF output (the notebook has this ability), but i cannot get any sound. I have the "S/PDIF Surrounded" logo printed on my notebook.

The cable i connected it with was used to connect my previous desktop computer's SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS to the same receiver through S/PDIF and that worked flawlessly. So it's not the cable.

I'm using a standard cable with a 3.5 minijack converter to connect to the S/PDIF output (both on the A6Ja and the Audigy 2 ZS), i guess that is correct?

I've checked in the Realtek HD Audio software, and i have enabled S/PDIF output there. However, the S/PDIF volume slider is greyed out, so i cannot adjust it. I have also updated to the latest Realtek ALC880 drivers.

Analog output works perfectly, but i want S/PDIF to work also.

Any help/tips would be highly appreciated!

 

Very strange. I wonder why it is greyed out.

Try uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers off the cd that came with it.

 

if you look into your 3.5mm headphone socket can you see the red light? and have you checked the 'anologue and digital output' tick box. sounds pretty strange to me....

my fader is also greyed out in my volume control, but when i check the mute button, the red light goes out in the sockek and back on again when i unmute it. but the fader remains greyed out.


insane

 

Red light in the socket? No i cant see any light in it/around it.

I have enabled Digital out in the drivers, and tried everything, but i cannot get any sound. I have also posted this on the Asus support forums, and i see a few others are having the same problem, but nobody is answering the posts though.

I guess i'll have to live with analog out

 

No, that's not right. The Creative soundcards use an electrical signal, but they've chosen a proprietary 3.5mm plug instead of the standard Coax hookup. As others have noted: Asus notebooks use a 3.5mm mini-TosLink optical connection. You need an optical cable with a 3.5mm adapter. See the attached image. Any electronis store should have one.

 

Thanks for the input. Finally some answers

I have used a standard 3.5mm mini-jack on my Audigy 2 ZS for about a year, and it has worked, so it cannot be that proprietary, since i used a coax + coax -> 3.5mm minijack converter.

So i need a optical cable for the Asus? They should have stated that in the user manual, or on the internet then, cause it doesnt say this anywhere

But thanks for the info, i'll try to find a optical cable and a 3.5mm mini-toslink adapter and see if it works.

 

Perhaps a better word is 'non-standard hardware interface'. Creative doesn't officially *support* SP-DIF without the use of their own accessories (they've got digital speaker systems to sell). Electrical SP-DIF should be 75 ohm coaxial. The fact that one can get it to work with an adapter made for a different purpose doesn't really make the solution less propiretary.

Anyway: Good luck getting the digital out on you Asus working, and yes: They really should mention the nature of the connection in the manual.

 

Your Audigy has a coaxial digital connection (via the miniplug->coaxial adapter) while the digital out on your A6 is optical (mini-toslink ->toslink), the cables are not interchangable. You need the stuff bugmenot showed.

 

was this situations solved... i would like more detailed info on how to use the s/pdif on my a6ja notebook

 

ZiXeL,

get the right cable (with Toslink and mini-Toslink connectors, as said). You need an amplifier which has an "optical in" port. From advanced sound controls, make sure that "Disable digital output" is NOT ticked. There might be some other sound settings regarding this (if there are differences between A6Ja and V1J), but basically they're all to be found through your control panel.

Digital output can't be manipulated from your computer, unlike analog. Therefore the volume can't be changed. It doesn't matter what mode you set it in Windows sound settings (stereo, surround), that only affects the analog output. The source (software) is what matters. All you can do in Windows is turn the digital signal on/off. Everything else has to be done on the receiving end (the amp).

The good part is that if your amp supports it, you can set it to identify the type of digital signal. For instance, play a DVD on the computer, set it to Dolby Digital, and your amp receives DD. Games are a different matter, can't confirm anything regarding them. But the DVD sound playback works really well as explained (tried yesterday), and I'd imagine that if you can get surround sound out of any software, the amp can pick it up since the digital signal is sent as it is, with all the channel information.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation, I hope you can follow. I'm by no means an expert here. Just sharing my recent experiences.

 

thank you man i think i got it... i find the cable test it on a friends surroud sysitem and then think about getting one of me own
oh and that talk about red light in the port, is there realy?

 

Hi, Know anybody what driver use? HD audio doesn´t use S/PDIF out. Thanks

 

Yes, the red light only turns on when you have the correct cable connected (mini-Toslink). Just attach the "mini-toslink" adapter head only into the connector without the cable and you'll know what we're talking about.