ac3-passthrough and analog output simultaneously with audigy2 ?

York_W

My English is not perfect, but I hope you understand what I want to do. So here is my problem, I hope you can help me:
I have a SB Audigy 2 soundcard with the CL-driver installed, but I think about using the kx-driver.

Would it be possible with using the kx-driver to decode an ac3-signal from a software-DVD-player with the Audigy2 and use ac3-passthrough at the same time?
I want to have my home theater decode the "raw" ac3-signal to 5.1-sound and simultaneously use headphones.
When I let the Audigy decode the signal, I don’t have 5.1-sound at my home theater (only digital-in) and in ac3-passthrough-mode I don’t hear anything from my headphones.

York_W

25 views so far and no reply…

Ok, what about my “more complicated” plan B?
I’m trying so solve my problem with 2 soundcards:
The OnBoard-soundcard is set to ac3-passthrough (works) and now I’m trying to split the signal with a Y-cable, one side goes to the home theater and the other to a spdif-in of the audigy2 and I want to decode the signal there.

And now it gets a bit complicated:
I just have an audigy2, so I don’t have any digital inputs I can connect to. As far as I know, only a live!-drive has a spdif-in. But even if I had a live!-drive, I couldn’t use it, because I don’t have a free 5.25” slot.
Now I found this pin assignment
http://kb.kxproject.lugosoft.com/AD_EXT.jpg
and bought this ASUS SPDIF in/out digital audio connector Bracket:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2250/asusspd1vl.jpg
I connected both as follows:
Spdif i/o connector -> audigy2:
+5V -------------------> pin 1
spdif-out--------------> pin 9
gnd --------------------> pin 7
spdif-in ---------------> pin 5
gnd --------------------> pin 3 or 6
and connected pins 25 and 35 to fake audigy drive.

The CL-driver now gives additional options, like spdif-in: “standard”, “passthrough” and “dd/dts-decoding”.
First I tested the “new” spdif-out with the CL-driver and connected to my home theater: pcm and dd/dts-passthrough works fine.
Then I tried to connect my external dvd-player(digital out) with the new spdif-in: I didn’t hear anything, neither pcm (playing music-cd) nor dd/dts (movie-dvd). I checked all settings, couldn’t find any mistake.

Now I installed the kx-driver 3537 and was surprised of the better sound-quality, but
1.) ac3-passthough doesn’t seem to work(?), only pcm(music) works well, and 2.) like with the CL-driver, I don’t get any signal at the spdif-in.

Now I wanted to check, whether the spdif-in connector is working (or maybe broken?) and connected the spdif-in- and gnd-pins of the spdif-i/o-connector with the cd-spdif-in at the audigy2. Again, I connected the external dvd-player with the “new” spdif-in, played a music-cd and this was working fine, so the spdif-in isn’t broken. Playing a movie-dvd, I only heard a strange sound - the encoded ac3-signal I guess.

So what now?
------------------------------------------------
Plan A:
a) Is it possible to “split” the signal with the kx-driver “internally”, to have ac3-passthrough and decoded analog-output simultaneously? see post #1
if not,
Plan B:
b) Is it possible to decode an external ac3(dts, too?)-signal with the audigy2, using the spdif-in connector?
c) Why is the “new” spdif-in not working, when I connect it to the spdif-i/o-pins at the aud_ext? Is there any mistake?
d) If c) is not working: is there a possibility to decode the ac3-signal, when it’s coming from the cd-spdif-in?

dj_stick

a) no, it's pretty much one or the other iirc
b/c/d) ac3 decode only works with the CD_SPDIF header on the card

__________________

York_W

I tried Plan B d) with kx-driver 3537, got a popup saying "spdif in", but the decoder doesn't seem to work.

I installed driver-version 3538L and now it works

There is just a little delay between the headphones and the hometheater: the kx-decoder seem to be a little slower than the decoder of my hometheater. But it's ok, I'm quite happy that it works now, MANY THANKS.