# Need HTPC Audio Direction....



## Restless (Mar 14, 2008)

Hello all. Im writing with a question to see if anyone can get me on the right road. I'm reviewing the forum posts as we speak, but not totally understanding the audio realm, I needed to see if anyone would respond to this post in the meantime...Being a very visual person, the more detailed you can be will be the most helpful. Shoot, even pics of what Im looking for would be superior! I just need to know what I should be shopping for. Thanks in advance.

We are converting our home theater and need some audio direction. The old set up was the standard projector hooked up your average "home theater in a box" setup. It worked great for our needs, but we have decided to move into the HTPC direction. I have everything working great using Windows Media Center but have no idea which way to go with the audio. 

My brain wants to say, "hey, its a computer...just plug in a set of 5.1 surround sound speakers into the pc and place them around the room." But as soon as I say that, we cant find a set of pc speakers that will reach around the room. 

Next idea was to get something like a receiver to run the existing speakers we have mounted on the wall, but how does that hook up to the pc? I just think we're looking in all the wrong directions or looking for the wrong things all together.

Needless to say, we cant spend thousands of dollars on audio, so for now, can someone direct us what we should be looking for to connect with the HTPC that runs Windows Media Center? Thanks again.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Get an AVR and 5.1 speaker set, just like you would in any Home Theater. Get a graphics card for your HTPC that has an HDMI output. Connect with HDMI cable, and your done.


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## vann_d (Apr 7, 2009)

My motherboard has SPDIF (optical) output. That's what I use as my AVR does not have HDMI. Before that I had an audio card with SPDIF coaxial output that I used with my AVR.

You should be able to use either of these methods with your current setup I would think. Just need to configure your sound output for digital out.


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## newrival (May 18, 2010)

hey, in order to effectively help you with any specificity we need the details of your HTPC. motherboard, videocard, outputs, etc. 

I can tell you how I'm running mine:
Im running a XFX raedon 5770 outputting through HDMI to my VSX-84TXSi receiver. it outputs both video and audio. If I wanted to , however, my motherboard is an Asus P7P55D-E PRO and has the ability to output 7.1 individual pro audio channels. most receivers will have the ability to input these signals with mini-jack jumpers. also it has an optical out and itd be hard to find a receiver that doesnt have optical in. but only use optical if you arent running blu-rays with HD 7.1 audio.


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## zryder (Apr 13, 2009)

It all depends on the reciever, and htpc components you are looking at.
If you can pick up a set of affordable 5.1 speakers, and a receiver that accepts Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA, I would look into getting one of the ATI 5xxx series video cards to be used in your HTPC. This will allow you to send unaltered, complete audio from blu ray to your receiver.


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