Realtek HD Audio and continuous "You just unplugged a device" message woes

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I'm running a Gigabyte X58 board with integrated Realtek HD Audio under Windows 7 64bit and I'm wanting to pass surround audio to my AV receiver via the onboard coaxial S/PDIF output.

When using Microsoft's own certified driver for the Realtek HD Audio there are setup options for bitrates and surround codecs (AC3/DTS), I can select them, test them and everything works fine including the multichannel tests. So far so good. However, all applications that can output surround sound (games, VLC etc.) are unaware of the multichannel capabilities and the amp only ever receives a stereo signal. This issue is covered by this question although it's not adequately answered.

So, I thought I may be able to get better results using manufacturer provided drivers over the MS offerings, however this has opened up a whole new world of misery. I first tried Gigabyte's official driver, which is basically a branded version of the OEM Realtek HD Audio v2.70. Upon rebooting I suddenly started receiving a popup message from the Realtek audio manager saying either "You've just plugged in an audio device" or "You've just unplugged an audio device".

I was right about the OEM drivers in that there are more options for surround configuration, which is what I want. Or, would be what I wanted if the configuration page would stop disappearing and reappearing. This behaviour occurs at the same time as the connect/disconnect messages.

The popup messages are a real nuisance as they seem to have priority over just about everything, and the interruptions are unacceptable. The popups can be suppressed but the underlying problem still exists with the Realtek speaker setup page becoming available, briefly, before disappearing again.

I need to point out that nothing has been connected or disconnected and the only active connection is the coax S/PDIF output. All sockets are in good condition, basically having never been used. I've seen many forum posts to the effect of "You need to have your sockets checked by a technician, they may be broken and need soldering" etc., generally seeming to come from people taking wild stabs in the dark - there isn't a hardware issue as the the basic MS driver works fine, just no surround output. And yes, I'm trying to output DTS/AC3 audio streams as opposed to outputting stereo and expecting it to magically become surroundified, but the MS driver doggedly outputs a stereo PCM stream in spite of it successfully configuring and testing surround output functionality over S/PDIF.

I've tried the latest Realtek HD Audio drivers, v2.75, but these give exactly the same result.

So the big question is has anyone here experienced the same issue and successfully found a fix for it? I've seen many threads on this subject but I've yet to find one offering a working solution other than disabling the device and using a discrete audio card instead. It's frustrating because the hardware is working ok with the MS drivers, just no surround output.

ScunnerDarkly

Posted 2015-04-04T18:25:39.360

Reputation: 201

Sounds like it was working with the original drivers. Did you configure the applications' audio output? I'd assume they're defaulted as stereo. – Louis – 2015-04-04T19:22:13.753

Yes, everything was working with the original drivers but, as above, the S/PDIF only outputs stereo. Applications that are capable of surround sound are unaware of the audio capabilities and don't offer any config other than the usual stereo options (balance, bass boost etc.). The only time the amp sees an actual surround signal is when Windows is outputting test signals, and the amp display confirms this with either a DTS or DD/AC3 message. Otherwise, as above, all apps that are multi-channel capable only show stereo sound options despite the hardware's ability to output up to 7.1 channels. – ScunnerDarkly – 2015-04-04T20:47:13.350

Answers

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Crushing 5.1 through S/PDIF then decoding again at the amp is never a great way to do it, tbh.

I have a similar setup & eventually gave up on the nasty double encode/decode that happens over S/PDIF & just went the analog route.
I use the dedicated 5.1 analogue outs to my surround amp, letting the compy do the decode & using my amp as a passive system. I get far better control over it that way too, using Realtek's own drivers to balance speaker distances etc. & no longer hear the odd bad phasing that the double decode used to give.

qualification - I'm a professional sound engineer rather than a computer tech. Sonically, this provided the best solution to my over-sensitive ears. The out of phase & poor centre-placement/soundfield issues I was hearing over S/PDIF was driving me insane.

This may just coincidentally fix your 'is it stereo, or is it surround' issue, but I'm not actually certain.
It will stop the phase issues driving you crazy, though ;-)

I still do actually use the S/PDIF for true stereo sources, listening to music, iTunes etc, just not for anything 5.1

Tetsujin

Posted 2015-04-04T18:25:39.360

Reputation: 22 456

I've never heard anyone complain about using S/PDIF for multi-channel connections before, given it's a well established standard for both DVD and Blu-ray. I'm not sure where your "double-decode" comes from - surely an audio stream that has never existed in the analogue domain until hitting the amp's DAC is only subject to a single decoding process. Also, I'd much sooner use a digital link for outputting PC audio given how much RF noise lies in a PC. I've more faith in the fidelity of an external DAC/AVR than the basic "does the job" designs integrated onto motherboards. – ScunnerDarkly – 2015-04-05T14:16:21.927

S/PDIF can't really do 6-channel, certainly not uncompressed ref http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=S/PDIF , so the already-decoded 5.1 has to go back through another process to get it down the pipe. Your amp then has to decode that [again]. The end result is not a happy one. This is from an audio engineer's perspective, not a computer-tech one. Though the DACs in my 5.1 amp are far superior to those in the PC, sonically that was my choice in the end. <cont…>

– Tetsujin – 2015-04-05T14:26:02.820

<…cont>I spend months trying to improve it before giving up. I tried & failed to find a process/app/codec that would not decode at source to then have to re-encode at the sound-card into S/PDIF. – Tetsujin – 2015-04-05T14:26:36.970

I think I'm missing something here. I don't want to output uncompressed audio, just an AC3/DTS stream, which S/PDIF is eminently capable of. Many games support multi-channel output using these two codecs, as does VLC. Audio streaming from a PC via S/PDIF, such as an MKV file with a DTS soundtrack, shouldn't be subject to any re-encoding as S/PDIF is just a transport protocol and not an audio codec in itself. I'd understand if it was a case of converting a stream from lossless to lossy, but we're dealing with compressed streams that are ready for transport via S/PDIF - continues... – ScunnerDarkly – 2015-04-05T14:49:35.880

Additionally, using the multi-channel analogue ports on the PC isn't going to improve the sound quality (if we're talking about audiophile levels of SQ) as we're bypassing the amp's superior DACs. To get back to the original question though, this hideous Realtek driver issue affects all inputs and outputs whether digital or analogue, so I'd still be in the same position if I did use the onboard analogue outputs :-/ – ScunnerDarkly – 2015-04-05T15:02:52.330

I'd say in theory you're right, & I use S/PDIF just fine from my DVD player , which doesn't try to mess with the signal on its way through - but my computer manages to mangle it perfectly between VLC & the amp. The only conclusion I can reach is the double decode/encode one. Anyway, I doubt I'm going to persuade you to even try it to test, so I'm not going to flog it any further. – Tetsujin – 2015-04-05T15:04:31.707

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

– ScunnerDarkly – 2015-04-05T15:06:52.457

Asked: 2015-04-04T18:25:39.360

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