8790 Speaker Problem

Hey TimO, good question

I set mine to 5.1 surround sound in the winxp control panel and in the realtek soundmanager, but I honestly don't know what the speaker configuration really is. I never was a "sound guy" but if someone could answer it would be helpful to know.

There really are four speakers plus the sub, and you can verify this by looking at or placing your ear against them. Two are on either side of thekeyboard, on the upper face of the laptop, and two are in front, facing you.

The speakers are really configured as a 2+1. There are two left and two right speakers and then the subwoofer. In the VOlume Control there is a slifer labled "3D Depth:, this controls the volume distribution between the rear (nearest LCD) and front speakers. This functions much like the front/rear control on Auto Radio/Stereo units.

The Subwoofer slider Bar controls the volume of the subwoofer, you may need to play with it to avoid "rumbles" and distored sounds. The "Front" slider bar controls/clips the volume for the (4) speakers. I normally have this set at maximum or near maximum.

In the Sound manager, Speaker Configuration, set the 6 Channel mode for 5.1 speaker output, then go to speaker test and click on the Subwoofer. If you don't get a "Tah-Dah" sound, you should click the "Swap Center/Subwoofer Output" option and try again. You should have sound comining from the speakers to the left and right of the display (on the picture) and from the subwoofer. Go to Equalizer and insure that it is clicked ON and try the "Powerful" option. In "Sound Effect" set this to "Living Room".

Now you should be all set,

I'm having problems with the speakers too. I just got the subwoofer because the built-in speakers sound very weak. I got the sub and plugged it in, and ran some tests.

The results are unfortunate and frustrating.

First with the built in speakers, using the Sound Manager tool to select 6-speakers setup, the sub says ta-da when I test it, as does the front left and front right channels, but the speakers in the front-edge work at the same time as the left and right speakers next to the keyboard. That is, there is no back channel present, the ta-da's are not heard. But the front edge speakers do play ta-da when the front channel is tested. So it's like the 2+1 you were saying.

But when I switch the speaker setup to 4-channel or 2-channel it doesn't matter, I still can't get the front edge 2 speakers to work in surround mode.......until I test the audio surround with the Sound Setup utility, I forget what the name of the tab is, but it runs loopy music or a buzzing bee around your virtual location, and you can hear the speakers change from the front two by the keyboard to the rear 2 in the front edge. But this only works in the 2-channel mode. Switch it to 4 or 6 speaker mode, and the 2 speakers in the front edge stop working as the rear channel, and start working at the same time as the front-channel.

This may sound confusing, but I think that you can duplicate all this and confirm it. Compounding this is the fact that even though I can hear the subwoofer ta-da when I hit the test button in the Sound Utility when in 6-channel mode, it doesn't seem to be available for use by any other audio source.

I can not get WinAmp or Media player to use the subwoofer. Sure if I put my ear to it, I can hear it faintly, but even when I crank up the bass with the Sound Utility or in WinAmp, the sub is all but inaudible. What good is a subwoofer if it doesn't make your music sound any better? I can hear the sub very clearly when using the Sound Utility to either ta-da test or buzzing bee test, I can feel the sub buzz and vibrate. But no other program seems to be able to make any use of the sub, not music, not movies, not anything. This is not good.

To make matters worse the microphone is not usable, either the built-in mic or an external one, when the sound setup is in 4 or 6 channel audio mode. I must use the 2-channel mode if I want to use the headset. As soon as I swithc to 4 or 6-channel audio, the microphone stops working immediately. This is also not good.

In summary, my findings are:

4-channel mode is completely broken. Built-in speakers don't play the rear channel nor do external speakers plugged into the front jacks, nor does the microphone, built-in or external.

6-channel mode works if I do not wish to use a mic. Only external speakers plugged into the front jacks can play the rear channel, all 4 built-in speakers act as the front channel, the rear channel is unheard and absent in games. So 6-channel mode is useless unless I use external speakers with no mic.

2-channel mode works fine. Duh, it better! This is the only configuration where the micrphone will work, and the built-in simulated surround mode works only OK with headphones. It isn't hard to hear in games when things are behind you, but it is simulated, not real surround sound.

The subwoofer does not work at all in any mode to help songs or movies from any application except the stupid Sound Utility.

The microphone only works when the speaker setup is set to 2-chanel mode.

Finally, I am very dissapointed to find all this out. It looks like the Sound Utility is the only thing that can work the speakers and sub. It's kind of like cheating IMHO, I click and it says ta-da, which makes me think that it is working properly, but in games and listening to music, both the sub and the mic are all messed up and do not work as they should, or work at all.

Can you help me confirm this G-Omaha? You appear to be the big 8790 guru here. Please.....

You went Buzzing by a lot of things rather quickly.

My guess is that some setting are not set correctly or set too low.

I don't believe that the internal laptop speakers are "surround sound (front/back)". The sound level can be adjusted to these using the 3D Depth slider bar in Volume Control - If you can not "see this", then you will need to activate/enable this control in Volume Control Properties. You will also need to enable the "Front" and "Subwoofer" controls at the same time. Mine appear to be disabled; however, the sliders are funtional.

In the AC97 Audio Configuration (Speaker Configuration Tab - Right Hand Side) are several buttons that control the "external jacks". The bottom ones are adajustable and the bottom most allows selection of an external mic (I'm assuming this is what you meant). I have the "Syncronize" box enabled on the left had/bottom side of this screen. I do not use an external mic; however do use the internal one without any problems. I have auto gain selected in the "Sound Effect" Panel. I also use Headphones without a problem.

My subwoofer works for most everything - Especially DVD's.

Where is the "Buzzing Bee" test? I am unable to find it.

The "buzzing bee test" is one of the demos to test the speakers surround sound using the AC97 Sound Utility from the tool tray. There is a picture of a person in the middle of a bulls-eye and a red ball that goes around that represents where the sound is supposed to be coming from. The default is set for "loopy music" but I think that the "buzzing bee" is much better to demonstrate the surround sound function.

Could anyone with an 8790 please simply follow this procedure to test out and either validate or refute my 2 key assertions:

First, the 4-channel surround option appears to be completely broken using either the built-in or external speakers.

Second, the microphone doesn't seem to work while using surround mode, either the built-in mic or an external one.

To test the first assertion, when you select "4-speaker mode" (but NOT the 6-channel 5.1 mode) in the AC97 Sound Utility, and you do the ta-da speaker test, do the rear channels work on your 8790? Mine do not work. Neither external speakers nor the built-in speakers make a ta-da sound for the rear channel in 4-channel mode no matter what the jack settings or configuration on my 8790.

For the second assertion, does your mic work while using 6-channel 5.1 surround mode (but NOT 4-speaker mode)? Mine does not work. It doesn't matter which setting I use for the jack or whether I use an external mic or not, the microphone simply does not work at the same time while using surround sound mode. It almost looks like it works innitially, but then after I start a game or another application test it out, I find that it actually doesn't work as it should. Does yours actually work using any mic testing utility while in surround sound mode?

Windows XP SP2 includes a cool mic testing utility for gaming that verified these problems with my mic.

The headphones and mic combonation works as expected as a fall back, but this is just not right. I do not think that it is too much to ask to be able to use the talk feature during Counterstrike while using multi-speaker surround sound. The new in-game sound testing utility that comes with CS:Source also verified these problems with my mic and with the rear channel setup problems (in addition to the new WinXP mic testing utility.) :-(

I'm getting ready to call Sager, and I suspect that I'm not the only one with this audio problem. It almost sounds to me like a motherboard or bios issue. I won't even get into the subwoofer problems now, just to keep this simple. Can you please check these two issues out on your 8790 G-Man?

Actually I'd love to see everyone with an 8790 test these two items out, I bet many don't work like they expect it to or haven't been tested carefully in this manner.

Thanks!

I suspect that "multi-function" jacks are not understood here! You can not have the same jack perform two functions ar the same time. Where did anyone find the specifications that stated that the internal speakers for the 8790 were anything but stereo?

Please call Sager, I'm wasting my time with this one.

Hey G, you seem to be missing missing my point. Forget about the jacks.

The microphone simply does not work, ***at all *** at the same time as the surround sound. It has nothing to do with the jack out.

Let's not even talk about the jack out. Does your built in mic work in 6-speaker mode? Do your rear speakers work in 4-channel mode? Can you use a mic and surround sound at the same time?

Please just try the test and answer these simple questions. I am trying to verify or refute my assertions. Will you simply try the procedures to test these few settings on your 8790, please?

My guess is that the mic does not work in 6-speaker 5.1 mode, which means that if you want surround sound and to use a microphone, that you must use the 4-speaker setup.

But the 4-speaker option does not work the rear channels on my 8790! Neither external speakers or internal. In fact I really don't care about the built-in speakers, I really want to use surround sound and the microphone at the same time, but I can not ! ! !

Can you?!? Can anyone do this test? That's all I am asking.

Can anyone with an 8790 get your mic (either built-in or external microphone) to work with 4 or 6 speaker surround sound (either built-in or external speakers)?

Not missing the point - the "dual function" may be the answer.

Which microphone? Internal or external? Internal will work, external may not - Again, dual function jacks.

Ignore the "dual function" of the output jacks and, I guess you just miss the point (or the configurations that are available). My internal microphone works well in 4/6-speaker mode (Please clarify what you mean by 6-speaker mode). You CAN NOT use the external mic and surround sound at the same time - READ about the dual function jacks.

Mine work with the expectations of the functionality of the dual function jacks.

You simply can not use the same jack for two different functions at the same time.

What you "WANT" is not offered, IMHO!

Anyone can; can you listen to their results?

I doubt it. It isn't set up to allow this. LISTEN, Please. Internal mic will work, external may not.

"Like pulling teeth".......

Thank you for your patience, but I still have a problem then.

Let me get this straight first, when you select "4-channel mode for 4 speaker output" and then you go to the speaker test tab and ring the rear external speakers, that they WORK?!?! OMG! You can get a ta-da from your external rear channel speakers in 4-channel mode? I would like to hear from someone else who can verify this on their 8790. I bet it doesn't work.

When I select 4-channel mode, it NEVER has ever driven any rear channel speakers in any way and ring the ta-da rear speaker test. And I bet G hit it righ about the dual port function being the culprit.

I think that this is the rip-off, my mic switches off mysteriously when I switch to use 6-channel mode. When I switch back to 2 channel mode the mic switches back on.

In 4-channel mode the mic starts working again but the rear speakers all of a sudden stop working. It's almost like there aren't enough audio channels to support front and rear AND a mic on the 8790 all at the same time.

I'm afraid that I can't ever get it working!

hmm, this thread might be able to help me G-omaha here is the deal when I am set to 6 channel mode for 5.1 and i click on speaker test and i click the sub it goes ta-da, when i click on the speakers on the desk (in the pic) they go ta-do but when i click on the center or either speaker on the stands (in this pic) nothing happens. Is this right?

That is what it does when it is set up correctly. There is a slider bar in the Volume Control Labled 3D Depth. Enable this and you will be able to balance the sound between the front two and rear two speakers on the 8790. The subwoofer scaler control works even though it may be "greyed out". I set the subwoofer volume just a bit above midrange. Anything higher may cause excessive vibrations and distortions - depends on what you are playing.

Cool thanks alot.

Well, I don't get a ta-da or even a hey you when I click on any speaker but the two rear ones. I don't really have a prblem with that. My problem is the speakers rattle and the sound-sounds like ****! Like little tin cans. I was emabrrassed when I clicked on a link with sound when I was at a restaurant.
THAT is my only disappointment with my 8790. I was really hoping it would sound great.

BTW, if you tilt the unit, either up in the front or the rear, it runs at 37-41c. Otherwise it's 44-59c. I use Henrik's maxfan , but would love, and would PAY for, a feature to make it cycle the fan speed according to temp. (user defineable).

Otherwise I love this lappy!


wesley

Hi guys, just a quick note from a UK owner of the same sager model...

I find "Swapping the centre/subwoofer output" so that the centre speaker outputs to the laptops' subwoofer sounds a great deal better than having the subwoofer output to it.

I know this sounds like a strange thing to do, but try it. If your 8790 is the same as mine it'll make a great deal of difference.

Make sure you adjust the centre speakers volume appropriately in the volume control panel, then try the test option by clicking the centre speaker. Mine sounds much clearer, and less "Extreme bass" is output.

With subwoofer output selected, it sounds way too loud, even with the volume turned low for the subwoofer... sounds like the sub is going to blow!

And yes the 5.1 isn't really 5.1. it's 2.1, but just coming from the 4 speakers. Bit pointless really.