Windows 7 5.1 surround problems (realtek)

I just switched to Windows 7 Home and noticed right away that I didn't have any sound. I installed the latest Realtek drivers, and after some tweaking based on another user's recommendations, I was finally able to get sound. "Speaker fill" is not a solution, though. Everything used to sound crisp, but in Windows 7, my music sounds completely muddled... to the point where I don't even want to listen to it. This is ridiculous. 17 pages and many driver updates later, there is still no real solution. I feel like my only option is to get a new sound card, which I find kind of absurd since it used to work just fine.

It is time for Realtek to fix that drivers... I'm tired of upmixing with foobar's plugin - ChannelMixer. I want a real 5.1 sound!

Besides, when playing DVD's with stereo sound I can't get 6 channels also, instead I get only 2 channels... I haven't found a solution for this. I have one of the newest Realtek chipset, it is working, why don't they make the proper drivers already?! I'm mad !

Well after wrestling with the problem for several days the best temporary solution I found is enabling "Room" environment in Realtek Audio Manager -> Sound Effects and enabling proper room correction. It's not proper surround like it was in XP, but better than nothing imo.

xyakaix said:

Well after wrestling with the problem for several days the best temporary solution I found is enabling "Room" environment in Realtek Audio Manager -> Sound Effects and enabling proper room correction. It's not proper surround like it was in XP, but better than nothing imo.

Thanx, but I prefer ChannelMixer.

By the way, there are new drivers - 2.41. Don't bother downloading... I'm using Realtek 1200C and nothing changed... Still only stereo sound... It's like the early 90's

Im having this problem also, I have windows 7 set up on my gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L motherboard.
I can set it to 5.1 and do all the tests for each speaker fine, but only the front left & right speakers work in itunes and wmp etc. Center and rear are just dead
and 5.1 works in games ...

Frustration......

Wow, this is still going?

Seriously, it seems the best fix for this is to buy a new card. It's not worth all the time, effort, and frustration.

I got one for 22 bucks and it sounds as good as the onboard realtek I used to use.

Speaker and Room fill effects are not a solution.

For 22 dollars I got a new card and also learned a lesson. Don't buy/support Realtek in the future.

Well, i shouldnt have to buy a card. I bought the motherboard, and it supports 5.1. And it works perfectly in xp, so why not 7.

Just for your info guys it's not realteks fault its Microsoft. One of the most common sound devices out there is realtek. Microsoft should of made shure that the new version of windows worked with it but ONCE AGAIN THEY FAILED. If the code was correct in windows seven then it would work, but like I said once again it's not.

My windows 7 doesnt work right with the rear sound just like all of the rest of you and does microsoft give a crap ./....... NOPE!!! Fix it yourself or basicly blame it on drivers.

I know when i was in school and I turned in a program that had even one error on it I got an F. And we didnt get the opportunity to fail, it was just fix it and turn it back in. It was either make it work or fail, no in between. MICROSOFT FAILS ONCE AGAIN

20th Centry Hax said:

Well, i shouldnt have to buy a card. I bought the motherboard, and it supports 5.1. And it works perfectly in xp, so why not 7.

BUY A NEW CARD??? How bout get reimbursed from microsoft for windows 7. It might as well be freeware beta!

Personally, I think alot of these problems are being caused by people just not knowing how the thing works. I could be wrong of course, but I have 2 Realteks and both are actually working like a real charm in 5.1 mode. I see people assuming all kinds of things about what Speaker Fill is for, and a while ago I even posted what it's for... right here in this topic. To make matters worse, I even shouldn't have needed to post anything in the first place, because hovering your mouse over the option will bring up a tooltip that says almost exactly what I've posted.

That said, why don't you all just try a fresh install of Windows 7 or run a registry cleaner to see what really helps and what doesn't? I have a total of seven Realtek devices in my home and ironically as it may seem, none of them gave me any trouble with Seven.