I have the ASUS P800 Motherboard and windows xp.
This MB has the sound built in but I have found no way to reduce the bass
output.

I can adjust Balance, Mic input and many other things, but the bass and
treble adjustments were greyed out.

How can I adjust this bass on my Cambridge speakers with the separate bass
reflex speaker?

In article <3MednbL_37EnBz7cRVn-vQ@comcast.com>, "Ritter197"
<Ritter197@Comcast.net> wrote:

> I have the ASUS P800 Motherboard and windows xp.
> This MB has the sound built in but I have found no way to reduce the bass
> output.
>
> I can adjust Balance, Mic input and many other things, but the bass and
> treble adjustments were greyed out.
>
> How can I adjust this bass on my Cambridge speakers with the separate bass
> reflex speaker?

In the AC97 standard, Bass and Treble are options. In the few
device datasheets I've looked at, Bass and Treble are not implemented.
And that is why the Bass and Treble controls are typically greyed
out. Bass and Treble could be implemented with DSP (digital signal
processing) or they could be implemented with analog circuits - the
former adds a fair number of logic gates to the chip, and makes the
silicon die larger. The latter might mean adding pins to the chip,
and AC97 chips have a fixed defined set of pins, so making bigger
chips is not much of an option for the chip makers.

You'll have better luck with a separate sound card, but again beware
of cheaper products, and read the documentation/reviews carefully, to
make sure they have the controls you are after. I try to get pictures
of the control panels now (from review articles on the Internet, as
the company making the product usually don't give pictures), to prove
the product has the features I want.

It is funny, how a simple feature like this requires so much
care when you are shopping, but that is the nature of computing -
some complicated functions are provided, that you'll never use,
and some simple things go missing, no matter how much you pay.

There are several ways a function like this can be provided:

1) Place the function in the AC97 CODEC, as described above. Use
DSP or old fashioned analog filter circuits.
2) Place the function in the Southbridge. The Nforce2 MCP-T
on the A7N8X Deluxe boards, has DSP functions in it, and I
believe there is a graphics equalizer function in the mixer.
3) Place the function in the audio software path. That requires
digital signal processing (DSP) software, which modifies the
spectrum of the signals as the user desires. The P5xxx boards
that have a Cmedia CODEC on them, have a graphics equalizer that
uses CPU cycles (as near as I can tell, as there doesn't appear
to be a DSP in either the Southbridge or in the CODEC chip
itself).

When it comes to DVD playback, there is an additional issue.
If the DVD provides ordinary audio signals, these can go through
the analog path and receive whatever processing the hardware and
software offer. For example, if you had a board with Azalia audio
and the Cmedia CODEC, you could use the graphics equalizer to
change the bass and treble on the DVD playback. The signals could
come out in analog format in that case.

When the DVD disk has AC3 encoded digital audio information, you
need a Dolby Labs license to touch the stream of information. That
is why, I think without exception, AC3 streams are passed
transparently through the hardware path and out the SPDIF connector.
Knowing that, any computer speaker maker should have audio shaping
controls on the speakers themselves, as otherwise the user has no
way of adjusting things.

Both the Nforce2 MCP-T on the A7N8X Deluxe and the Cmedia software
for their Azalia CODEC, have a Dolby license to encode AC3. That
means, when a 5.1 digital stream is available, the MCP-T uses
its hardware, and the Cmedia CODEC uses its driver software, to
convert 5.1 digital, into the two channel compressed AC3 format
that travels out the SPDIF connector. If either of those solutions
have spectral shaping in front of the encoder, then a user can
equalize signals as desired. In the Cmedia case, one user has
already noticed, that the Cmedia software adds a 1.5 second delay
to the audio path, which in many situations is a disaster.

Really, for all of the complexity, I think an all analog audio
solution will make you happier than a digital solution. There
is more room for manipulation of the signal streams, without
anyone having to pay licensing fees. If the stupid SPDIF
connector had six channels on it, none of this would be
necessary. I guess nobody sees any benefit in creating a
digital audio standard, to bypass the licensing issues.
(USB2 would probably be fast enough for this, but you really
want the constant bit rate provided by SPDIF like devices, to
keep a steady flow of data available to the speakers. USB has
a bit too much software in the path for my liking.)

To summarize:
1) AC97, simple bass and treble optional and seldom done.
2) DVD playback via analog path, can be changed in flight
by whatever functions are in hardware or software.
3) DVD playback via AC3 digital option, goes straight out
the SPDIF connector.
4) Motherboards where the audio hardware or software has
a Dolby digital license for decoding/encoding AC3,
could potentially do more - but exactly what, I don't
know. Perhaps an audio or DVD newsgroup has more info
on such complex issues. Motherboard manuals have little
to offer on such subjects. Keeping audio/video sync is
hard to do in such a situation.

HTH,
Paul

In article <3MednbL_37EnBz7cRVn-vQ@comcast.com>, "Ritter197"
<Ritter197@Comcast.net> wrote:

> I have the ASUS P800 Motherboard and windows xp.
> This MB has the sound built in but I have found no way to reduce the bass
> output.
>
> I can adjust Balance, Mic input and many other things, but the bass and
> treble adjustments were greyed out.
>
> How can I adjust this bass on my Cambridge speakers with the separate bass
> reflex speaker?

In the AC97 standard, Bass and Treble are options. In the few
device datasheets I've looked at, Bass and Treble are not implemented.
And that is why the Bass and Treble controls are typically greyed
out. Bass and Treble could be implemented with DSP (digital signal
processing) or they could be implemented with analog circuits - the
former adds a fair number of logic gates to the chip, and makes the
silicon die larger. The latter might mean adding pins to the chip,
and AC97 chips have a fixed defined set of pins, so making bigger
chips is not much of an option for the chip makers.

You'll have better luck with a separate sound card, but again beware
of cheaper products, and read the documentation/reviews carefully, to
make sure they have the controls you are after. I try to get pictures
of the control panels now (from review articles on the Internet, as
the company making the product usually don't give pictures), to prove
the product has the features I want.

It is funny, how a simple feature like this requires so much
care when you are shopping, but that is the nature of computing -
some complicated functions are provided, that you'll never use,
and some simple things go missing, no matter how much you pay.

There are several ways a function like this can be provided:

1) Place the function in the AC97 CODEC, as described above. Use
DSP or old fashioned analog filter circuits.
2) Place the function in the Southbridge. The Nforce2 MCP-T
on the A7N8X Deluxe boards, has DSP functions in it, and I
believe there is a graphics equalizer function in the mixer.
3) Place the function in the audio software path. That requires
digital signal processing (DSP) software, which modifies the
spectrum of the signals as the user desires. The P5xxx boards
that have a Cmedia CODEC on them, have a graphics equalizer that
uses CPU cycles (as near as I can tell, as there doesn't appear
to be a DSP in either the Southbridge or in the CODEC chip
itself).

When it comes to DVD playback, there is an additional issue.
If the DVD provides ordinary audio signals, these can go through
the analog path and receive whatever processing the hardware and
software offer. For example, if you had a board with Azalia audio
and the Cmedia CODEC, you could use the graphics equalizer to
change the bass and treble on the DVD playback. The signals could
come out in analog format in that case.

When the DVD disk has AC3 encoded digital audio information, you
need a Dolby Labs license to touch the stream of information. That
is why, I think without exception, AC3 streams are passed
transparently through the hardware path and out the SPDIF connector.
Knowing that, any computer speaker maker should have audio shaping
controls on the speakers themselves, as otherwise the user has no
way of adjusting things.

Both the Nforce2 MCP-T on the A7N8X Deluxe and the Cmedia software
for their Azalia CODEC, have a Dolby license to encode AC3. That
means, when a 5.1 digital stream is available, the MCP-T uses
its hardware, and the Cmedia CODEC uses its driver software, to
convert 5.1 digital, into the two channel compressed AC3 format
that travels out the SPDIF connector. If either of those solutions
have spectral shaping in front of the encoder, then a user can
equalize signals as desired. In the Cmedia case, one user has
already noticed, that the Cmedia software adds a 1.5 second delay
to the audio path, which in many situations is a disaster.

Really, for all of the complexity, I think an all analog audio
solution will make you happier than a digital solution. There
is more room for manipulation of the signal streams, without
anyone having to pay licensing fees. If the stupid SPDIF
connector had six channels on it, none of this would be
necessary. I guess nobody sees any benefit in creating a
digital audio standard, to bypass the licensing issues.
(USB2 would probably be fast enough for this, but you really
want the constant bit rate provided by SPDIF like devices, to
keep a steady flow of data available to the speakers. USB has
a bit too much software in the path for my liking.)

To summarize:
1) AC97, simple bass and treble optional and seldom done.
2) DVD playback via analog path, can be changed in flight
by whatever functions are in hardware or software.
3) DVD playback via AC3 digital option, goes straight out
the SPDIF connector.
4) Motherboards where the audio hardware or software has
a Dolby digital license for decoding/encoding AC3,
could potentially do more - but exactly what, I don't
know. Perhaps an audio or DVD newsgroup has more info
on such complex issues. Motherboard manuals have little
to offer on such subjects. Keeping audio/video sync is
hard to do in such a situation.

HTH,
Paul

you could download DSP software for the bass and treble controls


--
Thank You,

Keith R. Lewis
Computers Everywhere!
http://www.computerseverywhere.net
"Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message
news:nospam-2311042227280001@192.168.1.177...
> In article <3MednbL_37EnBz7cRVn-vQ@comcast.com>, "Ritter197"
> <Ritter197@Comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> I have the ASUS P800 Motherboard and windows xp.
>> This MB has the sound built in but I have found no way to reduce the bass
>> output.
>>
>> I can adjust Balance, Mic input and many other things, but the bass and
>> treble adjustments were greyed out.
>>
>> How can I adjust this bass on my Cambridge speakers with the separate
>> bass
>> reflex speaker?
>
> In the AC97 standard, Bass and Treble are options. In the few
> device datasheets I've looked at, Bass and Treble are not implemented.
> And that is why the Bass and Treble controls are typically greyed
> out. Bass and Treble could be implemented with DSP (digital signal
> processing) or they could be implemented with analog circuits - the
> former adds a fair number of logic gates to the chip, and makes the
> silicon die larger. The latter might mean adding pins to the chip,
> and AC97 chips have a fixed defined set of pins, so making bigger
> chips is not much of an option for the chip makers.
>
> You'll have better luck with a separate sound card, but again beware
> of cheaper products, and read the documentation/reviews carefully, to
> make sure they have the controls you are after. I try to get pictures
> of the control panels now (from review articles on the Internet, as
> the company making the product usually don't give pictures), to prove
> the product has the features I want.
>
> It is funny, how a simple feature like this requires so much
> care when you are shopping, but that is the nature of computing -
> some complicated functions are provided, that you'll never use,
> and some simple things go missing, no matter how much you pay.
>
> There are several ways a function like this can be provided:
>
> 1) Place the function in the AC97 CODEC, as described above. Use
> DSP or old fashioned analog filter circuits.
> 2) Place the function in the Southbridge. The Nforce2 MCP-T
> on the A7N8X Deluxe boards, has DSP functions in it, and I
> believe there is a graphics equalizer function in the mixer.
> 3) Place the function in the audio software path. That requires
> digital signal processing (DSP) software, which modifies the
> spectrum of the signals as the user desires. The P5xxx boards
> that have a Cmedia CODEC on them, have a graphics equalizer that
> uses CPU cycles (as near as I can tell, as there doesn't appear
> to be a DSP in either the Southbridge or in the CODEC chip
> itself).
>
> When it comes to DVD playback, there is an additional issue.
> If the DVD provides ordinary audio signals, these can go through
> the analog path and receive whatever processing the hardware and
> software offer. For example, if you had a board with Azalia audio
> and the Cmedia CODEC, you could use the graphics equalizer to
> change the bass and treble on the DVD playback. The signals could
> come out in analog format in that case.
>
> When the DVD disk has AC3 encoded digital audio information, you
> need a Dolby Labs license to touch the stream of information. That
> is why, I think without exception, AC3 streams are passed
> transparently through the hardware path and out the SPDIF connector.
> Knowing that, any computer speaker maker should have audio shaping
> controls on the speakers themselves, as otherwise the user has no
> way of adjusting things.
>
> Both the Nforce2 MCP-T on the A7N8X Deluxe and the Cmedia software
> for their Azalia CODEC, have a Dolby license to encode AC3. That
> means, when a 5.1 digital stream is available, the MCP-T uses
> its hardware, and the Cmedia CODEC uses its driver software, to
> convert 5.1 digital, into the two channel compressed AC3 format
> that travels out the SPDIF connector. If either of those solutions
> have spectral shaping in front of the encoder, then a user can
> equalize signals as desired. In the Cmedia case, one user has
> already noticed, that the Cmedia software adds a 1.5 second delay
> to the audio path, which in many situations is a disaster.
>
> Really, for all of the complexity, I think an all analog audio
> solution will make you happier than a digital solution. There
> is more room for manipulation of the signal streams, without
> anyone having to pay licensing fees. If the stupid SPDIF
> connector had six channels on it, none of this would be
> necessary. I guess nobody sees any benefit in creating a
> digital audio standard, to bypass the licensing issues.
> (USB2 would probably be fast enough for this, but you really
> want the constant bit rate provided by SPDIF like devices, to
> keep a steady flow of data available to the speakers. USB has
> a bit too much software in the path for my liking.)
>
> To summarize:
> 1) AC97, simple bass and treble optional and seldom done.
> 2) DVD playback via analog path, can be changed in flight
> by whatever functions are in hardware or software.
> 3) DVD playback via AC3 digital option, goes straight out
> the SPDIF connector.
> 4) Motherboards where the audio hardware or software has
> a Dolby digital license for decoding/encoding AC3,
> could potentially do more - but exactly what, I don't
> know. Perhaps an audio or DVD newsgroup has more info
> on such complex issues. Motherboard manuals have little
> to offer on such subjects. Keeping audio/video sync is
> hard to do in such a situation.
>
> HTH,
> Paul

you could download DSP software for the bass and treble controls


--
Thank You,

Keith R. Lewis
Computers Everywhere!
http://www.computerseverywhere.net
"Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message
news:nospam-2311042227280001@192.168.1.177...
> In article <3MednbL_37EnBz7cRVn-vQ@comcast.com>, "Ritter197"
> <Ritter197@Comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> I have the ASUS P800 Motherboard and windows xp.
>> This MB has the sound built in but I have found no way to reduce the bass
>> output.
>>
>> I can adjust Balance, Mic input and many other things, but the bass and
>> treble adjustments were greyed out.
>>
>> How can I adjust this bass on my Cambridge speakers with the separate
>> bass
>> reflex speaker?
>
> In the AC97 standard, Bass and Treble are options. In the few
> device datasheets I've looked at, Bass and Treble are not implemented.
> And that is why the Bass and Treble controls are typically greyed
> out. Bass and Treble could be implemented with DSP (digital signal
> processing) or they could be implemented with analog circuits - the
> former adds a fair number of logic gates to the chip, and makes the
> silicon die larger. The latter might mean adding pins to the chip,
> and AC97 chips have a fixed defined set of pins, so making bigger
> chips is not much of an option for the chip makers.
>
> You'll have better luck with a separate sound card, but again beware
> of cheaper products, and read the documentation/reviews carefully, to
> make sure they have the controls you are after. I try to get pictures
> of the control panels now (from review articles on the Internet, as
> the company making the product usually don't give pictures), to prove
> the product has the features I want.
>
> It is funny, how a simple feature like this requires so much
> care when you are shopping, but that is the nature of computing -
> some complicated functions are provided, that you'll never use,
> and some simple things go missing, no matter how much you pay.
>
> There are several ways a function like this can be provided:
>
> 1) Place the function in the AC97 CODEC, as described above. Use
> DSP or old fashioned analog filter circuits.
> 2) Place the function in the Southbridge. The Nforce2 MCP-T
> on the A7N8X Deluxe boards, has DSP functions in it, and I
> believe there is a graphics equalizer function in the mixer.
> 3) Place the function in the audio software path. That requires
> digital signal processing (DSP) software, which modifies the
> spectrum of the signals as the user desires. The P5xxx boards
> that have a Cmedia CODEC on them, have a graphics equalizer that
> uses CPU cycles (as near as I can tell, as there doesn't appear
> to be a DSP in either the Southbridge or in the CODEC chip
> itself).
>
> When it comes to DVD playback, there is an additional issue.
> If the DVD provides ordinary audio signals, these can go through
> the analog path and receive whatever processing the hardware and
> software offer. For example, if you had a board with Azalia audio
> and the Cmedia CODEC, you could use the graphics equalizer to
> change the bass and treble on the DVD playback. The signals could
> come out in analog format in that case.
>
> When the DVD disk has AC3 encoded digital audio information, you
> need a Dolby Labs license to touch the stream of information. That
> is why, I think without exception, AC3 streams are passed
> transparently through the hardware path and out the SPDIF connector.
> Knowing that, any computer speaker maker should have audio shaping
> controls on the speakers themselves, as otherwise the user has no
> way of adjusting things.
>
> Both the Nforce2 MCP-T on the A7N8X Deluxe and the Cmedia software
> for their Azalia CODEC, have a Dolby license to encode AC3. That
> means, when a 5.1 digital stream is available, the MCP-T uses
> its hardware, and the Cmedia CODEC uses its driver software, to
> convert 5.1 digital, into the two channel compressed AC3 format
> that travels out the SPDIF connector. If either of those solutions
> have spectral shaping in front of the encoder, then a user can
> equalize signals as desired. In the Cmedia case, one user has
> already noticed, that the Cmedia software adds a 1.5 second delay
> to the audio path, which in many situations is a disaster.
>
> Really, for all of the complexity, I think an all analog audio
> solution will make you happier than a digital solution. There
> is more room for manipulation of the signal streams, without
> anyone having to pay licensing fees. If the stupid SPDIF
> connector had six channels on it, none of this would be
> necessary. I guess nobody sees any benefit in creating a
> digital audio standard, to bypass the licensing issues.
> (USB2 would probably be fast enough for this, but you really
> want the constant bit rate provided by SPDIF like devices, to
> keep a steady flow of data available to the speakers. USB has
> a bit too much software in the path for my liking.)
>
> To summarize:
> 1) AC97, simple bass and treble optional and seldom done.
> 2) DVD playback via analog path, can be changed in flight
> by whatever functions are in hardware or software.
> 3) DVD playback via AC3 digital option, goes straight out
> the SPDIF connector.
> 4) Motherboards where the audio hardware or software has
> a Dolby digital license for decoding/encoding AC3,
> could potentially do more - but exactly what, I don't
> know. Perhaps an audio or DVD newsgroup has more info
> on such complex issues. Motherboard manuals have little
> to offer on such subjects. Keeping audio/video sync is
> hard to do in such a situation.
>
> HTH,
> Paul