z5500+xonar+wii+xbox360

Noufas · 2 May 2008 at 15:59

Hello, i (will) have these speakers and the xonar pciexpress.
whats the best method to connect them to the sound card and if its possible, how can i add the wii and xbox360 on the speakers? i have a component and a vga cable on each console.
what extra cables i need to buy?
thank you

snowdog · 2 May 2008 at 16:09

Do you really need to put them trough the sonar?
Anyways, use the analog cables from your sonar, the optical from your xbox to your z5500, and a coax from your wii ( although I don't know if wii supports diginal over coax ?)

The z5500's have 3 inputs anyway which you can switch between with a button. 1 coax digi, 1 optical digi and 3 mini jacks analog 5.1...

Noufas · 2 May 2008 at 16:15

i dont want to put them through the sonar as i have the xbox/wii on my xfi atm and i dont like it.
the wii has standard rca outputs so it might need to go through the xonar

so i just go to the shop and get a normal optical cable to connect the xbox?

Noufas · 3 May 2008 at 14:38

i am having trouble using the normal analog connectors with the xonar. i connect the cables green to green orange to orange and black to the white led connector on the xonar and the channels are EVERYWHERE on the test page.
center plays on the back left, the rear plays from the center,front left plays on the front right, front right doesnt play at all, and the sub plays from the back rear.
i went with the optical and installed ac3filter and movies play fine, they use back speakers and everything is fine apart...
i dont have rear speakers with wmp, or winamp. i have 5.1 mp3s, and i would like to use the back speakers even with stereo files. also, in media player the back speakers dont work with the same movies that work fine on mpc. problem is that with mpc i cant use the 2nd screen i have and play games on the first screen (mpc doesnt show video, i tried all the filters, wmp plays fine)
so to sum up
1:analog connection doesnt work properly
2: how to use the back speakers with wmp and winamp

edit: fixed movies on wmp, winamp still not working

Noufas · 4 May 2008 at 13:20

changing to 2 channels makes all the speakers play the music
but its kinda stupid to do it all the time, and i cant understand that nobody has mentioned that. unless you like mp3s from only 2 speakers and minimal use of the sub (which still happens even with this)
still analog connections are not working properly

snowdog · 4 May 2008 at 13:54

Of course your only goign to get 2 speakers playing if you have a stereo source.
Use dolby pro logic II to mix it into 5.1 on the audio console or use CMMS3D on your soundcard to mix stereo into 5.1.

EDIT hmmm:
After re-reading it really sounds like you've messed your speaker cables or the sound u have isn't 5.1 at all. Open it with VLC media player and see wether it says ''5.1'' in ''audio device'' in the ''audio'' menu.

What kind of sound card do you have?
What are the instructions for it when plugging in 5.1?
Are you sure you've plugged in the correct colors on both the audio console and the soundcard?

Really double check your cables and sound card settings and that aside check your music too...

Noufas · 4 May 2008 at 14:02

ok the inputs are a bit weird on the xonar.
i had to invert the analog cables to get all speakers working properly (the output from the card)

snowdog i said i have the xonar card and i cant find the cmss options anywhere.
and its the same with 5.1 mp3s.

Noufas · 4 May 2008 at 14:09

selecting surround on the speaker control station makes the audio play on all channels (only in analog, you cant change anything from optical)
still i find it annoying there is no cmms option. not because is not there, but because everyone is raving about the xonar, and it still has a subpar control panel....

Margaret · 13 May 2008 at 20:28

Noufas said:
selecting surround on the speaker control station makes the audio play on all channels (only in analog, you cant change anything from optical)
still i find it annoying there is no cmms option. not because is not there, but because everyone is raving about the xonar, and it still has a subpar control panel....

CMSS-3D is a Creative thing, the Xonar has a similar setting, I believe you need to look out for Dolby Pro Logic or so, I'm not a great deal of help as my Xonar has not arrived yet and I'm just reading from the spec list.

You can also use an optical cable from your TV to the Z-5500's, this is what I used to do and set the 5500's into Pro Logic Movie mode for the Wii.

Noufas · 14 May 2008 at 04:02

no the prologic is not the same as the cmss option
the later is surround output from stereo sources (mp3s)
with the current drivers you have to change manually (with audio apps closed) everytime.