multizoning setup

by **dalanik** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 8:50 pm

Might seem like a fairly basic thing, but I just don't get it... how does one setup multizone audio?

Just got me a new HTPC with 7.1 audio. It has 6 analog connectors at the back, so I can set it to 4 channel audio (no need for more for the time being) and use 2 pairs. 1st pair (analog output) for livingroom amp, 2nd pair for kids room.

I know u must install 2 copies of winamp and such stuff, each in it's folder, and xnet is running and so on.

What I don't understand is how the winamp is set? How does each instance of WinAmp know where to output? I understand from the point that you have 2 or 3 different audio cards, then u just select different cards in WinAmp under output. But what when u have only 1 card with 7.1 ?? How do I select which pair of channels to use? How can I tell WinAmp that zone 1 is 1st pair and zone 2 2nd pair (or audio output)?

Any kind soul shed light... :-)

D.

by **P3rv3rt B3ar** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:15 pm

If card in question is kX compatible (live/audigy) install kX drivers and then u have several winMME outputs. Elsif cards drivers support ASIO u could install winamp asio output plugin, if not u could try ASIO4ALL. Else things look more grim, u could try some channel mixer plugin though...

by **rembetis** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:23 pm

Just having a 7.1 card does not necessarily mean you can dedicate different channels to different zones. Much of the talk on these forums involves the kx drivers, which are somewhat unique in this capacity, and only apply to Creative soundcards like the soundblaster, audigy, etc. This may have given you the impression that all cards can do this, but unfortunately that's not the case.

by **P3rv3rt B3ar** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:30 pm

all cards can do it. Sameway i do with my onboard, BUT prob there is freaking xlobby cant control it cause it wont allow name change of winamp.exe. all my attempts to plea steven change this have been in vane.

http://www.xlobby.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4806

EDIT: That got me very frustrated, at somepoint i was thinking to code new winamp plugin for xlobby, but i found it easier just bid for another kx-card

by **dalanik** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:15 pm

Damn, I never read multizoning posts very carfully since I didn't have the hardware that supports it (or really the need), now that I got new barebone with 7+1 I thought I'd install kids a zone :-)

The card is onboard Realtek High Definition Audio ACL 880...

well, off I go to google... :-)

by **dalanik** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:04 pm

OK, no kX drivers for me.
ASIO not supported
ASIO4all (with winamp plugin) works -> produces sound :-)

what now?

D.

by **dalanik** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:55 pm

Disregard, i made it work. the only drawback is that I can't control volume of individual zones through winamp (xlobby). The master volume slider works, and zones 1/2 are mapped onto front/rear, respectivly, so this works too through front/rear slider, but I'm not clear how would I control this from XLobby...

Is this how it normaly works or is this only with ASIO4all? How are you controling volume of zones?

D.

by **P3rv3rt B3ar** on Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:17 am

Jebo te! Sorry Dalanik, bear was having a winter sleep...

Glad to hear u got ASIO4ALL together with winamp plugin to work. Yes, volume is a problem, i didnt think about it when i wrote that answer :oops:

ASIO is something i discovered few days ago myself http://www.xlobby.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5175 as u can read there volume is not problem for myself, cause of kX and kXd, but that wont provide help with onboard realtek

Well i guess options now are:

A) if u can control volume level of amps directly from xl via RF, IR or RS-232 or whatever...

B) to ditch ASIO and try to find last solution... some way to put channel mixer somewhere on signal path... most logical solution would be winamp plugin, but atleast i havent found suitable one, not that i looked that much though. Nearest i got for the solution was using directshow input plugin of winamp and have that load fdshows audio part with presetted mixer based on which winamp is launched, but unfortunaletely solution needs that filename change, so it works when u just runs winamps, but enter the xlobby and control goes... If u figure out something for this let me know... im very interested, cause im also stuck with realtek onboard.

Also one strategy ive been thinking of but never get quite around to try, since VAC also suports directshow and directshow sure has plenty of suitable mixers... so idea would be to have winamp output trough regular winMME to VACs and have these connected to directshow mixers on ds graph somehow and finally signal would flow to realtek renderer filter on dshow graph... but this is still speculative...

by **dalanik** on Mon Dec 04, 2006 2:40 pm

Really "Jebote"! :-)

I don't understand much ur saying, man! :-)

Too complex for me, I'm not very much into audio, u know? :-)

What I came up with is to setup one instance of winamp to use standard directshow, and other instance to use ASIO. Then I can change the volume for the primary (directshow) audio zone, while 2nd ASIO zone plays at max volume.

This is much better (at least 50%) than being unable to control BOTH zones :-)

Also, works OK for me, since my 1st zone is Amplifier, and 2nd one is just for Kid's room, where I'll be installing regular PC-speakers with builtin amp (gonna need long wire for that, but it'll work), so my boy can regulate volume via knob on the speakers :-)

Better than nothing :-)

D.

by **Marbles_00** on Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:28 pm

gonna need long wire for that, but it'll work

Depending on the length of the low-level audio you will be running, and if your into DIYing, then check out my www at my MayBALD project. It's a balanced line driver/receiver circuit based on an Elliot's Sound Project circuit (explanation of the circuit and why to use it can be found there as well). From initial testing, using a scope and a crap DIY signal generator, it is working well. Actually it is working so well that it has taken the noise out of the generator signal and left a pretty good sine wave considering the input signal characteristics. Not to mention, it is a pretty cheap project all considering.

I'm in the final stages of housing the receiver (will have to post more pictures). The driver is going into the same enclosure as another circuit called the Maylume which will be a volume control controlled by the computer via parallel port, girder and xlobby.

Hope this helps.

by **P3rv3rt B3ar** on Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:47 pm

Hey marbles, whatever happen to your other electronics projects? until a month ago i couldnt tell a difference between a cap and a resistor, now thanx to example set by u and some other gurus at kX forum and asistance of "electronics for dummies" im making my way into home made PCBs...

by **Marbles_00** on Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:02 pm

The DIY projects are very much alive, but they have turned into a new direction.

Well I ended up picking up a couple of those 6 ch amps off ebay that the guys here talked about, so it kinda shelved the gainclone projects for now. I mean two of those amps cost me less then just a toridal transformer for powering the 6 ch gainclone I was going to build. Not to mention that I have now an extra 6channels to play with. So I couldn't justify the cost anymore. The volume pot project has now evolved to the digital volume pot controller I named the Maylume. I'm no longer going to use mechanical pots, but digital rheostats from Maxim. The volume up/down controls will be a 4-16 decoder. So I use 4 data lines from the parallel port to toggle 1 of 16 outputs. Going this route also double the amount of possible potentiometers to control from 8 to 16. I still have to throw the schematic on my website, and I'm putting together a breadboard of the circuit now that the MayBALD is near the completion of its testing phase. There are much better ways of doing volume control, but that all requires programming...something I'm not good at right now.

The enlcosure for the Maylume, MayBALD driver and a couple of 15v power supplies will be one I got as a sample from Hammond Electronics that I was going to use for a 2 channel gainclone, so unfortunately I had already drilled a bunch of holes for connectors and heatsinks. To also make it as easy as possible, I'm using 3.5mm stereo plugs on the inputs (from the soundcards), and two 6 pin mini-din connectors on the outputs to the amplifiers (that is what the included cable with the amps are). This way the cables I make are simple 1 to 1 types without having to get fancy. I also wont have to worry about modifying the 6 pin mini-DIN connector to use in my application. The enclosure will also have a RJ45 panel mount connector for using CAT5 cable between the MayBALD driver to receiver. I just have to make sure that particular cable is well labeled so people don't mistakenly use it as a network LAN cable and drive +/-15 volts into their LAN...well, my LAN. Finally there is a of course a 25 pin connector for connecting to the computers parallel port.

I'm still making my own 3.5mm patch cables between soundcards and volume control so I can make them custom length, and it is still cheaper than buying them, as the connectors themselves were cheap off ebay and I have access to some good triple conductor twisted/sheilded wiring.

DIYing is fun...it's just finding the time to do it with everything else going on. The rewards make it worth while though. It may not even always be the cheapest route, but to say you did it, and the knowledge you learn along the way :wink:

.

by **dalanik** on Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:16 pm

Marbles_00 wrote:
gonna need long wire for that, but it'll work

Depending on the length of the low-level audio you will be running, and if your into DIYing, then check out my www at my MayBALD project.

Thanx for the suggestion. I'm not much into DIY, not to mention that I'm lazy :-)

So I'll try the regular wire method first. It is not THAT long cable that is required, you see, being from Europe, we mostly live in flats, so from my living room to the kid's room (if I drill through walls) is like 5-6 meters. I already used cables 5 meters long from PC to the amp w/o any problems, so I think it will work - hey and if the sound is not perfect, it's only PC speaker's I'm using (for now) so it probably won't be noticable :-)

Anyway thanx for help, I might need it, who knows :-)

D.