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AppleHDA Surround Sound [Guide]

Using an aux cable, the connection is 1-on-1, from Sub's aux input to the green connector.
Sony HT-RT3
Analog: Stereo/2.0 only
Digital: Optical/5.1 or HDMI/5.1
Motherboard: Optical (optional, AppleHDA.kext edits required)
HD630: HDMI, see AppleHDA HDMI Audio
 
Hi Toleda, thanks to your help I've graduated from the No Audio Devices thread to this one.

Sound is working now but having some issues:
  • Using optical connection, surround sound doesn't work - seems to only be sending stereo audio (receiver doesn't display DD or DTS logo, Plex displays "5.1-->2.0" in Info view under audio stream)
  • Connection codec seems to "flicker" back and forth - receiver will click and display DTS, then back to stereo, tied to system sounds possibly (when system sound would play, receiver flicks to DTS, then back, for example)
My setup:
  • GA-H77N-WIFI (892 audio)
  • GTX 1050 ti (DP --> HDMI, using Club3D adapter)
  • Audio out via onboard optical SPDIF
  • Audio into Onkyo TX-SR605 receiver (DTS/DD decoding)
Using same setup under Sierra, Mavericks, etc. had no issues with surround over HDMI and Optical (had previously used a version of your HDMI Audio patch).

Please have a look at the attached files when you have a chance. Thanks so much
 

Attachments

  • mtyhk no audio v6.zip
    5 MB · Views: 204
Start simple.
Select System Preferences/.../Digital Out
iTunes/Play a song
What happens?

Thanks for your continued patience!

Selected Digital Audio Out, opened iTunes, play a song...
Receiver clicks, briefly showing DTS logo, then back to PCM, then sound plays as normal

Same process if I then open up a YouTube clip
Receiver clicks from PCM to DTS, then back to PCM, then sound plays as normal

Seems as though the computer is flicking between output format/streams.

Other tests related to Plex:
  • Not sure how familiar with Plex you are, but in Plex Media Player/Settings/Audio, if I choose "Device Type>Basic" and select 5.1, I get audio, albeit stereo (according to Receiver), regardless of source type.
    • With DD/AC3 source, when pressing "i" for info display, I see under Audio "Channels:5.1(side)->stereo" and "Output driver:coreaudio_exclusive"
    • With stereo source, I see "Channels:stereo->stereo" and "Output driver:coreaudio_exclusive"
  • If I choose "Device Type>Optical (SPDIF)", which is what I want, I get (stereo) audio for stereo sources, and no audio for 5.1/DD/DTS sources.
    • With stereo source, when pressing "i" for info display, I see under Audio "Channels:stereo->stereo" and "Output driver:coreaudio_exclusive"
    • With DD/AC3 source, I see "Channels:5.1(side)->passthrough(ac3)", and "Output driver:null"
What other info can I share?
 
Receiver clicks, briefly showing DTS logo, then back to PCM, then sound plays as normal
Receiver problem.
If I choose "Device Type>Optical (SPDIF)", which is what I want, I get (stereo) audio for stereo sources, and no audio for 5.1/DD/DTS sources.
  • With stereo source, when pressing "i" for info display, I see under Audio "Channels:stereo->stereo" and "Output driver:coreaudio_exclusive"
  • With DD/AC3 source, I see "Channels:5.1(side)->passthrough(ac3)", and "Output driver:null"
PLEX Media Player problem. HDMI audio works as expected, DD and DTS.
 
Thanks for the reply

Receiver problem.
No it's not a receiver problem. This same setup used to work correctly - same optical cable, same receiver, same mobo, etc. Any other possibilities on the installation side for why this is happening?

PLEX Media Player problem. HDMI audio works as expected, DD and DTS.
Possible it's a Plex issue I guess, but given that this and the other issue, seems more likely that the two are related.

You say HDMI audio works as expected but I don't see that as an option in my System Preferences - does cloverALC not install HDMI audio? The method you created previously seems to be deprecated. Is there an updated methodology I should use?

Thanks again
 
Any other possibilities on the installation side for why this is happening?
No, do the research.
Possible it's a Plex issue I guess, but given that this and the other issue, seems more likely that the two are related.
Do the research.
You say HDMI audio works as expected but I don't see that as an option in my System Preferences - does cloverALC not install HDMI audio?
No, cloverALC - Realtek onboard audio only. See AppleHDA HDMI Audio/Post #1/cloverHDMI
 
AppleHDA Surround Sound [Guide]
View attachment 93821

These solutions enable macOS surround sound audio for HDMI, DP, Optical, Analog and USB. There are many other solutions providing similar capabilities. Professional audio is beyond the scope of this guide.

This thread is not a buyer's guide; posts requesting purchase recommendations will be deleted.

Posts documenting macOS surround sound successes are requested.

Change Log
  1. v3.0 - 12/18/2017 - High Sierra, Plex Media Player
    • Renamed from Audio - Surround Sound Realtek ALC AppleHDA [Guide]
  2. v2.2 - 11/8/2016 - Sierra, minor updates
  3. v2.1 - 11/14/2015 - El Capitan
  4. v2.0 - 12/20/2014 - Yosemite
  5. v1.0 - 5/25/2014 - Mavericks 1st Release
Requirements
  1. macOS/OS X
    • High Sierra 10.13+
    • Sierra/10.12+
    • El Capitan/10.11+
    • Yosemite/10.10+
    • Mavericks/10.9+
  2. Speakers
    • 2.1
    • 3.0, 3.1
    • 4.0, 4.1
    • 5.1
  3. 5.1 Content
    • Dolby Digital 5.1
    • DTS 5.1
Recommendations
  1. HDMI/DP - highest quality surround sound solution, native/nearly native (Note 1, 2 and 3)
    1. Players
    • Plex Media Player (PMP)
    • Kodi - select System/Audio/Enable Passthrough
    • VLC - select Audio/Audio Devices/HDMI (Encoded Output)
    • MPlayerX - Yes/DD D/DTS (Preferences/Audio/Pass through AC3=Yes/DTS=Yes)
  2. Optical 5.1 - DD/DTS receiver/speakers with SPDIFin (Note 2, 3 and 4)
    1. Players
    • Plex Media Player (PMP)
    • Kodi - select System/Audio/Enable Passthrough
    • MPlayerX - Yes/DD D/DTS (Preferences/Audio/Pass through AC3=Yes/DTS=Yes)
  3. Analog 5.1 - 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, 4.1 or 5.1 speakers (Note 2, 3 and 4)
    1. Players
    • Plex Media Player (PMP)
    • Kodi - select System/Audio/Analog_5.1_Surround
    • VLC - select Audio/Audio Devices/Analog_5.1_Surround
  4. USB 5.1 - 2.1 or 5.1 speakers with or without Receiver/optical
    1. USB2Optical 5.1, same as Optical 5.1 above
    2. USB2Analog 5.1, same as Analog 5.1 above
Installation
  1. HDMI/DP audio
    1. AppleHDA HDMI Audio
    2. Select System Preferences/Sound/Output/HDMI
  2. Optical audio
    1. Onboard audio
    2. Select System Preferences/Sound/Output/Built-in Digital
  3. Analog audio
    1. Onboard audio
    2. Audio MIDI Setup/Aggregate Device/Analog_5.1_Surround
      • See Audio MIDI Setup/Create Aggregate Device - Below
    3. Select System Preferences/Sound/Output/Analog_5.1_Surround
  4. USB audio (example, Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1, both)
    1. USB2Optical 5.1 (MICRO II - Turtle Beach, Inc.)
      1. Audio MIDI Setup/Aggregate Device/USB2Optical
        • See Audio MIDI Setup/USB2Optical/Format - Below
      2. Select System Preferences/Sound/Output/USB2Optical_5.1_Surround
    2. USB2Analog 5.1 (XS71U - DIAMOND Xtreme Sound 7.1 USB Audio Device)
      1. Audio MIDI Setup/Aggregate Device/USB2Analog
        • Audio MIDI Setup/USB2Analog/Configure Speakers - Below
      2. Select System Preferences/Sound/Output/USB2Analog_5.1_Surround
Player Downloads
  1. Plex Media Server - Your media on all your devices
    1. Plex Media Server: Download Plex Media Server & Apps/1.
    2. Plex Home Theater: 3. Get apps and ...
  2. Kodi | Open Source Home Theater Software
  3. MPlayerX
  4. VideoLAN - Official page for VLC media player
Details

Solutions
Player Test Result
Configurations
Audio MIDI Setup/Create Aggregate Device
Audio MIDI Setup/USB2Optical/Format
Audio MIDI Setup/USB2Analog/Configure Speakers
Notes
Problem Resolution
Screenshots

Solutions
  1. Digital audio - HDMI/DP/DVI devices
    1. Supported codec (Note 2)
      1. Realtek ALC AppleHDA.kext
      2. Audio ID: 1, 2 or 3
    2. Other codec (Note 3)
      1. Native AppleHDA.kext
      2. Audio ID: 1
    3. HDMI2Optical Adapter
  2. Optical audio - Receiver/Soundbar w/SPDIF input
    1. Supported codec (Note 2)
      1. Realtek ALC AppleHDA.kext
      2. Audio ID: 1, 2 or 3
  3. Analog audio - 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 speakers
    1. Supported codec (Note 2)
      1. Realtek ALC AppleHDA.kext
      2. Audio ID: 1 or 2 (Audio ID: 3, not supported)
  4. USB audio - 3, 4, 5, 6 speakers
    1. Other codec/No codec (Note 3)
    2. USB2Optical 5.1 Adapter (DD/DTS Encoded Digital Audio capable)
    3. USB2Analog 5.1 Adapter (up to 48000 Hz/24 bit)
Player Test Results (OSX: 10.9.2/C1021/DD 5.1/DTS 5.1)
  1. HDMI 5.1
    1. Plex_v0.9.3.4 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    2. PlexHT_v1.0.7 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    3. PlexHT_v1.0.13 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    4. XBMC_v12.3 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    5. XBMC_v13.0 - Yes/DD D/DTS (Enable Passthrough), Yes/LPCM
    6. VLC_v2.1.4 - Yes/DD D/DTS (HDMI (Encoded Output)
    7. MPlayerX_v1.0.22.1 - Yes/DD D/DTS (Preferences/Audio/Pass through AC3=Yes/DTS=Yes)
    8. iTunes/QuickTime/DVDPlayer - Yes/DD (AC3), No DTS
  2. Optical 5.1 (48k Hz/2ch-16bit integer)
    1. Plex_v0.9.3.4 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    2. PlexHT_v1.0.7 - No (Video problem - pause/play)
    3. PlexHT_v1.0.13 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    4. XBMC_v12.3 - No (Video problem - 0.5x)
    5. XBMC_v13.0 - Yes/DD D/DTS (Enable Passthrough) Yes/DD PL II/LPCM (DD/DTS)
    6. VLC_v2.1.4 - Yes/DD PL II/LPCM (DD/DTS)
    7. MPlayerX_v1.0.22.1 - Yes/DD D/DTS (Preferences/Audio/Pass through AC3=Yes/DTS=Yes)
    8. iTunes/QuickTime/DVDPlayer - No (885 yes)
  3. Analog 5.1
    1. Plex_v0.9.3.4 - No/2 channel
    2. PlexHT_v1.0.7 - No/2 channel
    3. PlexHT_v1.0.13 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    4. XBMC_v12.3 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    5. XBMC_v13.0 - No/6 channel (Video problem - 2x)
    6. VLC_v2.1.4 - Yes/DD D/DTS
    7. MPlayerX_v1.0.22.1 - No/2 channel
    8. iTunes/QuickTime/DVDPlayer - No/2 channel
  4. USB 5.1
    1. Optical 5.1 (48k Hz/Encoded Digital Audio) - as above
    2. Analog 5.1 (48k Hz/6ch-16bit integer) - as above
Configurations (audio only)
  1. HDMI 5.1
    1. OS X/Player > HDMI > Receiver > Speakers
    2. OS X/Player > HDMI > Sound Bar
    3. OS X/Player > HDMI > TV > Receiver > Speakers
    4. OS X/Player > HDMI > TV > Sound Bar
    5. OS X/Player > HDMI > TV
  2. Optical 5.1
    1. OS X/Player > Optical > Receiver > Speakers
    2. OS X/Player > Optical > Sound Bar
  3. Analog 5.1
    1. OS X/Player > Speakers
  4. USB 5.1
    1. OS X/Player > USB > Optical > Receiver > Speakers
    2. OS X/Player > USB > Optical > Sound Bar
    3. OS X/Player > USB > Speakers
Audio MIDI Setup/Create Aggregate Device
  1. Analog_5.1_Surround (applies to 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, 4.1 and 5.1)
    1. See tonymacx86 - How to enable 5.1-channel analogue audio in OS X
    2. Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup
      1. Format: 48000 Hz/2ch-24bit integer, verify the following devices
        • Built-in Output
        • Built-in Line Output
        • Built-in Line Output
      2. Audio Devices/+/Create Aggregate Device
      3. Select - see see Screenshot 1.
        • Built-in Output
        • Built-in Line Output
        • Built-in Line Output
      4. Verify Selections
        • Stream 1 checked
        • Stream 2 checked
        • Stream 3 checked
      5. Select/Configure Speakers - see Screenshot 2.
        • Multichannel
        • 5.1 Surround
      6. Verify Speakers
        • Select/Left Front
        • Verify Left Front/Sound
        • Repeat for each speaker
      7. Apply
      8. Done
      9. Rename Aggregate Device
        • Analog_5.1_Surround
Audio MIDI Setup/USB2Optical/Format
  1. USB2Optical_5.1_Surround
    1. Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup
      1. Audio Devices/USB digital audio - see see Screenshot 3.
      2. Format: 48000 Hz Encoded Digital Audio
      3. Done
Audio MIDI Setup/USB2Analog/Configure Speakers
  1. USB2Analog_5.1_Surround
    1. Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup
      1. Audio Devices/USB analog audio- see see Screenshot 4.
      2. Format: 48000 Hz/6ch-16bit integer
      3. Select/Configure Speakers
        • Multichannel
        • 5.1 Surround
      4. Verify Speakers - see see Screenshot 5.
        • Select/Left Front
        • Verify Left Front/Sound
        • Repeat for each speaker
      5. Apply
      6. Done
Notes
  1. HDMI includes
    1. HDMI audio
    2. DP audio
    3. DP2HDMI audio
    4. DVI audio
      • Nvidia 4xx and newer
      • Intel HD4600/HD5000+/HD6000+/HD5x0+/HD6x0+
  2. Realtek ALC AppleHDA.kext
    1. onboard audio codec support
      • ALC885
      • ALC887
      • ALC888
      • ALC889
      • ALC892
      • ALC898
      • ALC1150
      • ALC1220
    2. HDMIDP/DVI audio codec support
    • AMD* HD 5xxx, HD 6xxx, HD 7xxx, R7/R9 2xx, R7/R9 3xx
      • * OS X/macOS default drivers
    • Intel HD3000, HD 4000, HD4600+, HD5000+, HD6000+, HD5x0
    • Nvidia GT/S/X 4xx, 5xx, 6xx, 7xx, 9xx
      • * Nvidia Web drivers
  3. Onboard audio is not available with an unsupported codec
Problem Resolution (limited support)
  1. AppleHDA: AppleHDA Realtek Audio/Post #1/IX. Problem Reporting
  2. HDMI audio: AppleHDA HDMI Audio/Post #1/IX. Problem Reporting
  3. USB - Start a new thread with device, specs and problem description
    1. Install not working
      • USB device incompatible with OS X
      • Incorrect setup, verify Audio MIDI Setup/Format
    2. Stopped working/poor sound quality
      • Incorrect setup, verify Audio MIDI Setup/Format
      • Restart
More Information
  1. Alexander Thomas: Setting up surround sound in OS X with a multi-channel sound card
Screenshots
1. Audio MIDI Setup/Audio Devices/+/Create Aggregate Device/Format
View attachment 93822
2. Audio MIDI Setup/Audio Devices/+/Create Aggregate Device/Configure Speakers
View attachment 93823
3. Audio MIDI Setup/Audio Devices/USB2Optical/Format
View attachment 93824
4. Audio MIDI Setup/Audio Devices/USB2Analog/Format
View attachment 93825
5. Audio MIDI Setup/Audio Devices/USB2Analog/Configure Speakers
View attachment 93826
Great thread.. thank you for doing it. I have what appears to be a unique issue. I use USB audio Codec (Texas instruments is what my windows machines sees it as) from professional/digital audio equipment. My High Sierra build sees it fine and the output audio through it is perfect. However, input doesn't work. Just high pitched screetching and nothing else. Any ideas what I can try to get this going? Thank you!
 
USB problem, contact manufacturer.
Thanks for the response. It's not a USB problem. It works perfectly on my four windows machines. Again, output = perfect.. input.. not so much. The same USB cable and port are used for in and out. If you think of anything I can try.. lemme know.

Thanks again!
 
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