Newcomer / Intro What are you up to?

These guys are worth 16.2 million smackers, Cactoida Vermis.
011514.jpg

Osseus Discus worth another 12.93 million.
011517.jpg
 
I feel like this has come up on the forum before but TOSlink is a pretty limited standard and simply does not have the bandwidth to carry six channels rather than two, and even worse, it expects one of a few compressed surround standards most of which have been superseded - basically only DD and DTS. No HD for you.

You will be able to find either soundcard vendor or third party to downsample and encode the n-channel HD coming out of Elite into the 5.1 compressed encoded stream which TOSlink can decode at the other end but it just won't be HD.

I think people think this standard is cool because fibre yay and so it was in 1983 but cooking-grade HDMI carries more bandwidth now!
 
As for "why aren't there more systems tailored for PC" - it's gone the other way really, PCs now mostly have outputs like any other media source so what's to tailor?

Actually if you have a spare HDMI on the GPU or even onboard you could consider using that to send HDMI to your amp...

1. Compactness is basically what I am referring to.

2. If I find the audio direct input channels on the Z906 have died then I might be tempted to replace it with a discrete amp. At the moment the audio performance for streaming etc is OK (more than just PC-produced stuff) but I would like games like ED to actually provide a proper 3D soundscape. (I am assuming ED does produce 5 channel audio to the PC and it is just the on-board TOS encoder that doesn't handle it - i.e. doesn't produce a DTS signal for example. - Being new I have no experience of whether ED can do this.)
 
1. Compactness is basically what I am referring to.

2. If I find the audio direct input channels on the Z906 have died then I might be tempted to replace it with a discrete amp. At the moment the audio performance for streaming etc is OK (more than just PC-produced stuff) but I would like games like ED to actually provide a proper 3D soundscape. (I am assuming ED does produce 5 channel audio to the PC and it is just the on-board TOS encoder that doesn't handle it - i.e. doesn't produce a DTS signal for example. - Being new I have no experience of whether ED can do this.)
I think ED has 3D sound. At least my old Sound Blaster Omni provided my speakers with 3D sound.
 
I have used a Z906 surround system on my pc for years, the audio is amazing. Unfortunately I think something weird is going on with my MOBO audio as windeys (and the mobo's sound app) only seem to want to use the left and right channels. This is really weird 'cos I can play a BluRay and get full surround sound (THX, DTS Master Audio, etc) via those same jack-plug type connectors. Presumably the Cyberlink BluRay player app on the PC bypasses something in the MOBO's audio driver.

The Z906 works fine using the optical connection from the PC but I don't think the optical output carries proper surround channels from Elite. I do have memories of other games in the past giving surround-sound via the audio connectors.

I also have the second TOS-link input connected via an Amazon Fire 4K thingie - that works great too.

I am going to try using a Soundblaster X4 to check that the audio input channels are all working properly on the Z906.

BTW - I see the Z906 is now over twice the amount I paid for it 8 years ago, £400 is a lot of moolah so I hope it is a MOBO issue and not the Z906 failing. It is amazing that there are not more 5.1 (or 7.1) speaker systems tailored for PCs - leastways I don't think there are.
It looks very good, but at quite a price - yep, iirc it’s at least double the price I first saw it years ago…

Also - that G560 thing is a virtual surround thing (2.1) isn't it?
…it is a 2.1 system - importantly for me, inputs can be simultaneously active, whereas the 906 has more options but just switches between them, as far as i have been able to learn?
 
Joyce has been unpacked and plugged in. She's working and the binds are retained. We're in the pipe, five by five.

\o/ Hooray for everything.

The Corsair is locked and loaded and the FC is en route to Asterope for some scout funsies.
Not going to the CG in Dann(sp?) to bounty hunt, one contribution is good for some paint and pre engineered KWS modules?

Congrats on being back in control.
 
Hi :)

I have used a Z906 surround system on my pc for years, the audio is amazing. Unfortunately I think something weird is going on with my MOBO audio as windeys (and the mobo's sound app) only seem to want to use the left and right channels. This is really weird 'cos I can play a BluRay and get full surround sound (THX, DTS Master Audio, etc) via those same jack-plug type connectors. Presumably the Cyberlink BluRay player app on the PC bypasses something in the MOBO's audio driver.

May I ask what motherboard you have, and perhaps it's relevant audio drivers as this might be relevant...
I'm using an Asus MB on this computer (Rog Strix B650E-F) and I had a bit of a confusing time setting the speakers up (7.1 surround sound) with the Realtek Audio Console software, and the Windows 11 native speaker set up, initially after I built the pc. :rolleyes:

I finally sorted it out but sometimes very rarely windows updates sometimes revert it to a 2 .1 (or two speaker, can't remember which) or...leastways that's what I think causes it, which is slightly annoying.
In the Realtek audio it reflects that until I also go back into the software speaker app and change it to 7.1 again. :sneaky:....so....🤷‍♂️
The app lets you fine tune the sound levels from each set of 2 speakers (on 7.1) plus other sound related stuff including the cable connections etc. so it can be quite involved, but sometimes that can lead to it being a bit confusing too as to what's going on as well! :D

Also - that G560 thing is a virtual surround thing (2.1) isn't it?

Yup, but it's quite 'sophisticated' from what I can gather from the Logitech site info*., plus it's got pretty programable argb lights on the speakers!:D...I must admit, I like argb related hardware lighting, but that tends to inflate hardware prices unfortunately with no actual hardware improvements obviously. 🙄
Incidentally, talking of speakers... I was just recently looking at these...
They might be considered cheap n' cheerful but of the couple of reviews I've seen of them the reviews are surprisingly positive. 😲

What am I up to....🤔...Still travelling round the bubble like a door to door salesman, I've just a few more mined metals & minerals to sell off. I gave the Asterope system a visit to test out a recent theory, but it proved nothing of real value in that regard at this moment in time. Plenty of Thargoid ships around though to test the theory, but I didn't stay in one place for too long in the system!
The System is chocca block with carriers so I couldn't park mine in there directly. I parked in an adjacent system and then jumped in in a Mandalay. Jumping to the system and finally jumping out the systems my ship was shut down / offlined both ways by I presume a Thargoid vessel, the ship auto repaired etc. and no damage incurred. I've experienced this in past gameplay, so no surprises there, but I do think this is one area where new missions lead ins could be introduced to involve the player into a more constructive aspect of Thargoid interactivity. ;)

A long tome by me again, apologies!...:LOL:
Edit*..already answered by Timber McWolf!..(me's just a slow typer).

Jack :)
 
Last edited:
Hmm. It's a thought.

But, y'know, I've never done one CG in the entire time I've played. I really ought to rectify that.

Dann you say? Right...
Yes I did, I also hinted that I had got the spelling wrong.

 
it is a 2.1 system - importantly for me, inputs can be simultaneously active, whereas the 906 has more options but just switches between them, as far as i have been able to learn?
I'm not entirely sure about that. From what I could glean from the german website, they also switch between sources. But it was mentioned in vague terms, so I'd advise to take that with a grain of salt.
 
...I must admit, I like argb related hardware lighting, but that tends to inflate hardware prices unfortunately with no actual hardware improvements obviously.
I just bought a new computer for my wife and I spent a good half hour trying to figure out how to turn OFF all the darn RGB lighting effects!

The app that shipped with the computer was some sort of bloatware that you had to pay for to get full functionality, and the UI for it was incomprehensible even for me (I'm a computer programmer, or rather that is what I was my whole life until I retired). I had to go into the BIOS and figure out how to disable the lighting, and even then a couple of them stayed on. It's a nightmare.

I'm glad at least someone likes those lights. I hate them with a passion! :p
 
I just bought a new computer for my wife and I spent a good half hour trying to figure out how to turn OFF all the darn RGB lighting effects!

The app that shipped with the computer was some sort of bloatware that you had to pay for to get full functionality, and the UI for it was incomprehensible even for me (I'm a computer programmer, or rather that is what I was my whole life until I retired). I had to go into the BIOS and figure out how to disable the lighting, and even then a couple of them stayed on. It's a nightmare.

I'm glad at least someone likes those lights. I hate them with a passion! :p
I take it this was a prebuilt computer?
 
I just bought a new computer for my wife and I spent a good half hour trying to figure out how to turn OFF all the darn RGB lighting effects!

The app that shipped with the computer was some sort of bloatware that you had to pay for to get full functionality, and the UI for it was incomprehensible even for me (I'm a computer programmer, or rather that is what I was my whole life until I retired). I had to go into the BIOS and figure out how to disable the lighting, and even then a couple of them stayed on. It's a nightmare.

I'm glad at least someone likes those lights. I hate them with a passion! :p
Wasn't Armory Crate was it? That thing is awful.

EDIT: I also had Corsair iCue on my machine when I first go it but that wasn't very good either. I now use "OpenRGB" to set my lighting. It's a little fiddly but it works and, once set, no no need to tinker Unless you want to.
 
Last edited:
I always, always, always turn off the onboard sound in the BIOS when installing Windows, otherwise it will load one of it's crappy drivers and they are a nightmare to uninstall. If I get a prebuilt tower or laptop, I always delete all the partitions, reinstall Windows with fresh drivers and the software I want after creating new partitions.

But hey, that's just me.
 
I always, always, always turn off the onboard sound in the BIOS when installing Windows, otherwise it will load one of it's crappy drivers and they are a nightmare to uninstall. If I get a prebuilt tower or laptop, I always delete all the partitions, reinstall Windows with fresh drivers and the software I want after creating new partitions.

But hey, that's just me.
I work on a similar basis. Though, the worst part on some prefabed comps is the crippled BIOS/UEFI...
 
Back
Top Bottom