Thread: How to hook up 4.1 speaker from sound card directly to AMP !!!

when you switch it to 4.1 you should get 5 channels of audio, one for each of the 4 surround speakers and one for bass. Your bass in a 4.1 setup may or may not be JUST bass, it may be a full range output. If this is the case, you can use a low-pass filter to pass just the bass to the amp (most amps have one built in). Otherwise, some sound cards offer the ability to mix any of the channels to the front. If yours offers this, you should be able to click a check box that will allow you to mix the center channel to the front channels, and your dialog will be louder.

When I switch to 4.1, there are actaully no output from the BASS output. The only time I get BASS output is when I switch to 5.1.

The software I am using is the one that came with the sound blaster audigy 2 ZX.

doesn't 4.1 computer speakers usually just plug into front and rear? then the .1 is produced offboard in teh speakers themselves?

correct me in im wrong....

In the speaker settings under the Bass management tab there is a check box for
Bass Redirection and a slider bar that controls your crossover point.

Once you check that, the audigy will take all the bass out of the other channels from
that set frequency and send them to the subwoofer output.

Should solve your problem... but I have a 5.1 setup (you still need to do this using an audigy 2 NX)
and I suggest you go for the center channel. It may be a pain to locate a good spot
for it and find a small amp to drive it... but man.. 5.1 in a car is so cool.. If you want
a wow factor when you show off ur carputer... 5.1 surround gets them everytime!

Plus enjoying a movie in 5.1 sounds really awesome. And when listening to mp3's it helps fill
in the center stage of the sound some too when using the CMSS which provides stereo
signals throughout your 5.1 or 4.1 setup.

If you were in Pittsburgh, I'd give you a demo

Good luck in whatever route you go for!

Thanks for the reply. The reason why I need bass coming out from the bass output is because I am going to hook up a monoblock to the bass output for my subwoofer.

I really do want a center channel in my vehicle but don't know where to put them. I originally planned to put it on top of my dash, but right now there are 3 defi gauges there.


After reading the forum, I believe I should have no problem going straight from my Audigy 2 to amps...am I correct ?

In my van, I have a very similar setup like this


So bascailly there is the two front seats, then there is a big TV with some space, then there are the rear seats in the back.

I am thinking if I could setup a 5.1 system just for the rear passenger. So the front left/right, and center speakers will be where the big TV is, then the rear speakers will be behind the rear seats. As for the front, I will just have a pair of left and right speakers.

I am thinking if I could mix the center channel into the left and right speaker for the front, and then have a seperate center channel for the rear passenger.

If your not going to have a tv/lcd/monitor up front.. why do you care if you hear the
center channel at all? When playing music you'll still get your stereo sound out of those
speakers and all will be well.

If your gonna have another screen up front, then you have a problem. And I can't think
of any way to mix in the center channel sounds besides just placing another center channel up front also.
One solution is if you split & run your center channel off a 2 channel amp and place a speaker in both
doors by the main speakers, this would get you a "mix" of the 3 channels.

I'll keep thinking tho... Good Luck! Sounds like you'll have a sweet little
5.1 movie theater in the rear of your van!

Actaully I do have screens up front. There would be a 10.4" touch screen in the dash and 2 7" screens in the sun visors.

The main problem is it is very hard to find a place to put a center channel speaker up front.

i'm an advocate of "center channels are lost in cars". unless you sit in the center it's not very usefull. scrap putting the center channel in the front.

So at your house, everyone sits right in front of the tv?
You got the McLaren of surround sound setups? (single seat in the middle...)

I'm sorry, but the point of a center channel is to make it sound like the voice is
coming from the screen... and not from where ur sitting. Even from my backseats
its sounds like the actors are in the screen and the action is around you like its
supposed to be... like your in the world.

Granted alot of people don't want to do the customization of a 5.1 setup... fine...
but sounds like he's more than halfway there and he has plenty of custom stuff in
his van already.

Make a grill in ur dash with a simple hole pattern... mount the speakers in the vents...
pull out the ashtray and mount it there (what I did), put tweaters behind your rearview
mirror and reflect off of glass.... just a quick ramble of ideas....
...plus clarion actually makes a slick 1/2 din center channel speaker/amp combo
for like $80ish on ebay if you have the means for locating that.

I went thru this.... I had my center so many different ways.. didn't want to
put one in... but I kept listening to the difference between 4.1 & 5.1...
...as you can see... 5.1 won