# Looking for an HDMI to Surround Sound (three 3.5mm jack) adapter



## grecinos (Jan 9, 2019)

Hey Folks,

I have an interesting situation...  I have a Creative Labs surround sound system.  It came with three 3.5mm jacks to connect the 5.1 speaker system.  My new Windows 10 desktop PC comes with a Realtek audio adapter, but does not include the standard 3.5 mm line out jacks for a 5.1 surround sound system.   I was exploring other possibilities and came across the idea of using an HDMI (or DisplayPort) to three 3.5 mm adapter.  I've yet to find one.  Is there such a device?  If so, can you please post a link?  Otherwise, if you have other suggestions, I would be glad to hear them.

Regards,

George


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## Brusfantomet (Jan 9, 2019)

Have never heard of a HDMI to 3 x 3.5 mm adapter.


Seeing as the audio data stream in both HDMI and DP are digital, while the 3.5 mm jacks are used for analogue audio the box would need to be an active converter with D/A converters, meaning that it would need to be powered.


I think a usb sound card with 5.1 jacks probably are the way to go, or you could check if the speaker system has a digital input, and your computer has a digital output possibility.

The Asus Xonar U7 mk2 would probably work


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## FreedomEclipse (Jan 9, 2019)

There actually is such thing but only for 2.1 AFAIK


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 9, 2019)

Check which expansion slots your machine has available.  Hopefully it has a PCI Express x1 like this (two in the middle):


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## Brusfantomet (Jan 9, 2019)

Overlooked it being a desktop, in that case there could actually be a header for the extra ports, or just get an ok internal card.



FreedomEclipse said:


> There actually is such thing but only for 2.1 AFAIK


its still active, as in need of a external power source.


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## grecinos (Jan 9, 2019)

Brusfantomet said:


> I think a usb sound card with 5.1 jacks probably are the way to go, or you could check if the speaker system has a digital input, and your computer has a digital output possibility.



I'm currently using a $15 dollar external USB 5.1 surround sound device that I bought from Amazon.  My previous PC was a laptop, so it made sense at the time. It worked quite well.  fortunately, it works with my current desktop.  But, I prefer not to use a USB port for this purpose.



FordGT90Concept said:


> Check which expansion slots your machine has available. Hopefully it has a PCI Express x1 like this (two in the middle):



My desktop has one available PCI Express x1  slot.

It has an MSI  A320M PRO-VH PLUS motherboard.  The user manual says something about 7.1 Surround Sound capability from the Realtek sound adapter (but I've yet to figure it out):

Audio 7.1-channel Configuration
To configure 7.1-channel audio, you have to connect front audio I/O module to JAUD1
connector and follow the below steps.
1. Click on the Realtek HD Audio Manager > Advanced Settings to open the dialog
below.
2. Select Mute the rear output device, when a front headphone plugged in.
3. Plug your speakers to audio jacks on rear and front I/O panel. When you plug into
a device at an audio jack, a dialogue window will pop up asking you which device
is current connected.

I can see that the desktop has front and rear audio ports.  Thus, the JAUD1 connector appears to be connected.  Not sure what else to make of this, though...  Am I supposed to use both front and rear audio out jacks for surround sound purposes?


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## hat (Jan 9, 2019)

It seems to read that way... but that's very unorthodox... and doesn't seem like it should work? You're better off nabbing a cheap pci-e x1 sound card, like the Xonar DGX, to get analog 7.1 audio.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 9, 2019)

grecinos said:


> Am I supposed to use both front and rear audio out jacks for surround sound purposes?


If you want to go with Realtek's solution, yes.  Having cables hang out front and rear is less than ideal.

If you don't want cables hanging out front and rear and the PCI brackets are full height (as opposed to half height), I'd get this and call it a day:
https://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/Sound/Sound-Cards-Video-Cards/~PCISOUND5CH2 Edit: PCI

Shop around and you can usually find it for quite a bit cheaper than MSRP on their website.


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## Gumby (Jan 9, 2019)

The rear audio is configurable thru the Realtek audio app. you can assign rear sub center and front. On the back panel.


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## droopyRO (Jan 10, 2019)

Did you try to connect all your cables to the i/o 3.5 mm jacks on the motherboard ? do you have the latest Realtek drivers installed ?


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## grecinos (Jan 10, 2019)

droopyRO said:


> Did you try to connect all your cables to the i/o 3.5 mm jacks on the motherboard ? do you have the latest Realtek drivers installed ?



This is an I Buy Power PC.  So, it was pre-assembled when I got it.  I haven't tampered with the connectors on the motherboard.  Yes, it has the latest drivers.


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## Brusfantomet (Jan 10, 2019)

If the warranty of the system allows you to make changes, and you are ok with doing some DIY something like this would allow you to route the front audio to the back of your case internally, allowing you to use the integrated sound card with a 5.1 output without the extra cables dangling of the front of the case.


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## droopyRO (Jan 10, 2019)

grecinos said:


> This is an I Buy Power PC.  So, it was pre-assembled when I got it.  I haven't tampered with the connectors on the motherboard.  Yes, it has the latest drivers.


What ? just plug in your speaker jacks in the back of the motherboard, the red, blue and green holes.


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## grecinos (Jan 10, 2019)

droopyRO said:


> What ? just plug in your speaker jacks in the back of the motherboard, the red, blue and green holes.



Here's what the rear part of the PC looks like.  As you can see, there are no Surround Sound outputs.  Just the standard in/out/mic jacks.  

I could reroute the cables from the front of the PC, as per Brusfantomet's suggestion, but I prefer not to.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 10, 2019)

Yeah, just install a PCI x1 sound card.  That's a full height case so virtually any 5.1 capable sound card will work.


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## droopyRO (Jan 10, 2019)

When you plug in your three cables at the back, dose your software ask you how to use the mic-in and line-in ?


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## silentbogo (Jan 10, 2019)

grecinos said:


> Is there such a device? If so, can you please post a link?


There is, and it's not cheap. There are quite a few HDMI audio DACs in various configurations and options, but you might be better off getting a decent 7.1 audio card or using whatever you have built-in on your motherboard (nearly all audio codecs can do 5.1 in the past 15 or so years).

Here are some examples of what you've asked for:
https://www.amazon.com/HDMI-LPCM-Analog-Surround-Decoder/dp/B071KXR3G2
... or a slightly better Chinese equivalent:
https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/HDMI...h-Converter-LPCM-DAC-HDMI-to/32771042468.html


EDIT:


grecinos said:


> It has an MSI A320M PRO-VH PLUS motherboard.


Your motherboard has an ALC887 codec, which does 7.1. Just install the audio driver, open Realtek HD Audio manager, and then right-click on each rear jack and repurpose it as an output for your surround system. Don't forget to change the default output device (windows sound tray icon, click the "up" arrow to show the list of available devices).
This way you don't have to spend a single penny, and you won't have to use that shitty external audio card.


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## Juventas (Jan 10, 2019)

At a minimum, you're computer should have 3x 3.5mm jacks on the back labeled for line out, line in, and microphone.  On modern computers, you can change the function of these jacks.  It should be in your "Realtek HD Audio Manager".


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## grecinos (Jan 10, 2019)

silentbogo said:


> Your motherboard has an ALC887 codec, which does 7.1. Just install the audio driver, open Realtek HD Audio manager, and then right-click on each rear jack and repurpose it as an output for your surround system. Don't forget to change the default output device (windows sound tray icon, click the "up" arrow to show the list of available devices).
> This way you don't have to spend a single penny, and you won't have to use that shitty external audio card.



Thanks for the tip.  I'm going to give it a whirl.  I just finished downloading the Realtek drivers from MSI's website.  I'll let you know if it works.  Cheers.


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## 95Viper (Jan 10, 2019)

Just some info:   Monoprice BlackbirdTM 4K Series 7.1 HDMI Audio Extractor 


> Model
> 13348
> 
> Video Bandwidth
> ...



Monoprice BlackbirdTM 4K Series 7.1 HDMI Audio Extractor  at Amazon

Some reviewers state it works with, both, 5.1 and 7.1.


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## grecinos (Jan 10, 2019)

I've installed the drivers and, as per silentbogo's suggestion, I've connected the three surround sound plugs into the rear audio jacks.  Upon booting up, the computer detected that the plugs were connected and I was able to open the Audio Manager with all the features available.  I used the "Retasking" option to reassign the jacks for surround sound purposes.  And, it worked like a charm.  This resolves my problem, thanks to you guys!

Cheers!


P.S.  Prior to starting this thread, I contacted both I Buy Power and MSI.  Neither of them knew how to do this...


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