HDMI + ANALOG sound setup

[maxrockpro]

Hi,

I have a 2.1 speakers + head phones that I want to keep plugged in at all timse without having to get up and switch it at the back (Front panel not working).

I do not want to use a splitter as I'm using on board Realtek sound chip which has speaker / headphone modes (which are very helpful respectively) but each mode cannot be used for the other or else there is sound drop like very low volume dialogues(nearly inaudible) or missing sound channel(if it is a 5.1/ 7.1) in a movie.

Here is my config:
Intel i5 Quad 3.10ghz
P8H77-M
RADEON HD6670 1GB
DELL 22" FULL HD HDMI with analogue audio in/out
Windows 7 x64 ultimate
8Gb DDR 3

Here is what I'm trying to do....
Use the mother board's analogue out for the speakers.
Use the HDMI (audio only) for the headphones via monitor out.
....both via system tray volume icon to change the primary audio device.

However, i dont know how to use the HDMI in audio only mode while using DVI for picture. Whether I use the on board graphics or the GPU the monitor uses the HDMI input for display as well taking DVI as an extended desktop screen.

I've installed Lucid logix virtu software and tried various DVI-HDMI / GPU-on board graphics combinations. I either get no sound or picture with audio via HDMI or sound only either with head phones or speakers.

How do I use HDMI in audio only mode?

Is it even possible? or it works only with audio devices?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Vyom]

I wanted to use my headphones along with the speakers, and able to switch between them conveniently whenever I wish. I have done that by plugging the speakers audio jack in the back panel. Now when I plugin the headphone jack to the front panel, and select headphones from the "Realtek HD Audio Manager" software, it gives output to the headphones. And when I pull out the headphone jack, speakers regains the audio output. Works for me. Sadly you said your front panel is not working. Don't know how can I help you here.

Sorry, not being helpful at all.

 

[maxrockpro]

I wanted to use my headphones along with the speakers, and able to switch between them conveniently whenever I wish. I have done that by plugging the speakers audio jack in the back panel. Now when I plugin the headphone jack to the front panel, and select headphones from the "Realtek HD Audio Manager" software, it gives output to the headphones. And when I pull out the headphone jack, speakers regains the audio output. Works for me. Sadly you said your front panel is not working. Don't know how can I help you here.

Sorry, not being helpful at all.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, indeed. No help.

Everyone knows that what you are talking about is quite general. But, I was looking for an out of the box work around.

 

[whitestar_999]

HDMI carries both audio & video signal so unless you have some intelligent headphone capable of filtering audio signal from video in a HDMI cable which i seriously doubt even exist i don't see how you can use HDMI for audio only.

 

[maxrockpro]

Okay, let me get to the core issue.
I am getting a very low volume on my Sony headphones using on my PC. The issue just started some 15-20 days back.
Here's what I have tried:
1) Re-installed the OS twice
2) Tried all the drivers on Asus and Realtek websites
3) Tried using graphics card's HDMI to connect the monitor, resulting in really loud audio causing tearing sounds.
(probably because the HDMI connect is meant for receivers/ speakers and the HDMI to analogue converter in the monitor is low grade)

Yes, I have already checked the headphones with another source resulting in superb sound clarity with deep bass. I used to have the same experience with my PC sound until a few weeks ago.

Im thinking that mobo repair is the only option left for me (Yes, within warranty). I cannot afford a good sound card for now, may be I will eventually buy ASUS Xonar DGX.

 

[gameranand]

What about the audio when no drivers are installed, I mean Win 8 built in drivers ??

 

[maxrockpro]

What about the audio when no drivers are installed, I mean Win 8 built in drivers ??

I dont remember. I am no longer using Win 8 anymore as others in the family find it difficult to use.

However, with Win 7 system default realtek drivers, the issue remains.

 

[gameranand]

Well if after all the solutions you have tried, issue remains then its a hardware problem after-all.

 

[maxrockpro]

Yep. I purchased an Asus DG sound card.
Now, I have an issue with this one. The thing is that different sound files/ av files have a huge volume difference. Previously, with realtek I hardly had this issue. I understand that some files may have bad volume. However, not all of them at the same time. Also, if I increase the overall volume, the highs are too high and the lows are too low. I've tried enabling/disabling SVN(Smart Volume Normalization), uninstall/ reinstall of drivers and even tried uniXonar drivers.