Question about using a umik1 with a home theater system and rew for first time user.

[Klipschlover]

I just moved into my new place and have a 7.1.2 ht system with a Onkyo tx-nr7100 receiver and all Klipsch rp series speakers and subwoofer hooked up to my pc via hdmi 2.1 and I plan on getting a umik1 mic to use with rew. My question is can I use just the hdmi connection from my pc to my ht system or do I need an external dac to use the umik1 mic with rew to enhance ht system? And if I need an external dac what would you guys recommend? And what are some good guides to watch to learn about how to use the umik1 mic with rew to enhance my ht system?

 

[Keith_W]

Welcome to ASR. The main issue is whether your PC can "see" your receiver. Plug in your receiver and turn it on, then open Windows sound settings. You should be able to see every channel of your receiver. If you don't see that, then you need a USB driver for Windows. Check your manufacturer's website and download one. If it's not available, then contact customer support and ask them how to connect your receiver to your PC.

 

[staticV3]

When you plug the AVR into your graphics card and only two channels show up in the sound control panel, make sure that your graphics card's HD Audio Driver is up to date.

With Nvidia cards you can install GeForce Experience and it'll check and update all relevant drivers, for AMD there should be something similar.

 

[Klipschlover]

Windows 11 itself doesn't show multiple channels in its windows settings no matter what gpu is ran in the pc and no matter if the driver is up to date or not and no matter what sound output device is being used. For example my ht system is 7.1.2, my headphones are 7.1, and my monitor is 2.0 and windows settings only shows what's in the attached pictures and all my drivers are up to date. Microsoft got rid of showing multiple channels in windows settings a long time ago.

 

[Keith_W]

In that case, open REW and check if it can see your device and all the channels. Then use REW's generator to send pink noise to each channel in turn. If it can do that, then you are good to take measurements.

 

[Chagall]

Windows 11 itself doesn't show multiple channels in its windows settings no matter what gpu is ran in the pc and no matter if the driver is up to date or not and no matter what sound output device is being used. For example my ht system is 7.1.2, my headphones are 7.1, and my monitor is 2.0 and windows settings only shows what's in the attached pictures and all my drivers are up to date. Microsoft got rid of showing multiple channels in windows settings a long time ago.

But you can still go into the old control panel -> sounds -> configure speakers setup. In REW you set the output device AV Amp (in my case AMD hdmi) and you should get all channels. Did you install Dolby Access app from the Microsoft store?

 

[Klipschlover]

But you can still go into the old control panel -> sounds -> configure speakers setup. In REW you set the output device AV Amp (in my case AMD hdmi) and you should get all channels. Did you install Dolby Access app from the Microsoft store?

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Yeah I use the Dolby Atmos app for windows. And no Microsoft removed those cp options and put the audio options in windows settings as part of their process of eliminating cp altogether I think. I'll check when I get back home. I'm currently away from my pc running errands.

 

[Klipschlover]

So I just checked cp and the sound options in cp and it doesn't recognize height speakers bc the cp audio settings are old and have never been updated ever by Microsoft as you can see in the picture. For windows it's mandatory to use the Dolby Atmos app to use height speakers in a ht system bc you have to enable the channel upmixer to height speakers in the Dolby Atmos app to get any sound out of them on pc. Windows doesn't recognize a 7.1.2 channel setup by default only 7.1 and lower channel setups.