P4I875P DRAGON 2 PE Sound Issues w/ ATI AIW 9600 PRO

External Since: Nov 11, 2003 Posts: 1

I recently got an ATI AIW 9600 PRO for my P4I875P DRAGON 2 PE
mainboard.

The problem is that the volume gain, only when recording, is about
"half" normal.

At first, I noticed some issues with the onboard Cmedia CMI 8738 sound
chip. Whenever I try to use TV in Demand or FM Radio in Demand (like
PVR) or even just try to record something, there is a very noticeable
high frequency hiss and the volume gain seems to be about half of what
it should be. I read on a newsgroup that the Cmedia CHM 8738 chip was
causing the hiss, so I purchased an SB Live sound card. After
installing the SB Live sound card and disabling the onboard sound, I
noticed that the hissing went away, so I'm not the only one having the
"hiss" problem.

However, I still have the problem of the volume gain being about half
what it should be during the conditions I mentioned above when using
the ATI AIW 9600 PRO, any recording or PVR-like functions. I've
noticed that recording with any other software works fine, the problem
seeming to just be isolated to the ATI Multimedia Center software. I
have the newest ATI drivers and software, and have spoken with their
technical support in Canada with no avail thusfar. ATI said "That's
Weird".

When installing the ATI Multimedia Center software, there is a page
where you select which sound card input the ATI AIW 9600 PRO is
connected to. If I select "Line-In", like I should, I then hear the
sound working, but with the volume at about half what it should be.
Through experimenting during installing the ATI Multimedia Center
software, I've found that if I select "Line-In", then "Auxilliary In",
then back to "Line-In", the sound level often suddenly fixes itself,
at normal gain levels. If I complete the installation, I can then
record just fine, sounding great, at the proper volume level, no
problems. However, when I re-start the software, the sound level is
back to the "half" volume level problem scenario.

I have found that this issue has absolutely nothing to do with
Playback Control or Recording Control volume levels in XP. If I
don't intend to do any recording, I can change the Playback from Wave
to Line-In, and the volume level is much louder (like it should be).
The AIW card is not sharing an IRQ. The SB live sound card is not
sharing an IRQ. I have newest SB Live drivers. The onboard Cmedia
chip also has same problem. I am using the drivers and BIOS that my
SOYO Mobo came with. There are newer BIOS for the SOYO Mobo, but
there are not described to fix any problems related to this. My
brother has an identical ATI AIW 9600 PRO card in his machine
(different Mobo), and the volume levels are fine on his system. I
even put his ATI AIW 9600 PRO in my machine, but still noticed that my
machine has the low volume gain when recording but his does not, so
the ATI AIW 9600 PRO card that I have should be fine. If I record
something through the ATI AIW card, then play it back through his
computer, the sound level is about half what it would be if he records
it for himself. Since both onboard sound and SB Live have same
problem, the SB Live card should also be fine.

I'm thinking a driver problem somewhere, BIOS related, or Mobo
hardware issue. Since the sound "is" working, I figure that people
(not using onboard sound) may never even notice the problem (if I'm
not the only one). I haven't contacted SOYO yet. I will say that
other than sound, this SOYO motherboard is great and I have been
impressed.

Anyone out there having this issue with an ATI AIW card? Thks,
-Jeremiah

External Since: Nov 11, 2003 Posts: 2

Jeremiah,

I have the same MB and ATI AIW 9000 Pro and I have exactly the same problem.
I have multiple devices that I want to connect to the line input and I was
considering buying a mixer. This would allow me to balance the audio level
but I still would love to see a fix.

Let's see if anyone else has an answer before we go to Soyo. I love this
MoBo otherwise.

Jeff

"Jeremiah" <david.robertson.DeleteThis@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:83ce8751.0311111039.67b801c8@posting.google.com...
> I recently got an ATI AIW 9600 PRO for my P4I875P DRAGON 2 PE
> mainboard.
>
> The problem is that the volume gain, only when recording, is about
> "half" normal.
>
> At first, I noticed some issues with the onboard Cmedia CMI 8738 sound
> chip. Whenever I try to use TV in Demand or FM Radio in Demand (like
> PVR) or even just try to record something, there is a very noticeable
> high frequency hiss and the volume gain seems to be about half of what
> it should be. I read on a newsgroup that the Cmedia CHM 8738 chip was
> causing the hiss, so I purchased an SB Live sound card. After
> installing the SB Live sound card and disabling the onboard sound, I
> noticed that the hissing went away, so I'm not the only one having the
> "hiss" problem.
>
> However, I still have the problem of the volume gain being about half
> what it should be during the conditions I mentioned above when using
> the ATI AIW 9600 PRO, any recording or PVR-like functions. I've
> noticed that recording with any other software works fine, the problem
> seeming to just be isolated to the ATI Multimedia Center software. I
> have the newest ATI drivers and software, and have spoken with their
> technical support in Canada with no avail thusfar. ATI said "That's
> Weird".
>
> When installing the ATI Multimedia Center software, there is a page
> where you select which sound card input the ATI AIW 9600 PRO is
> connected to. If I select "Line-In", like I should, I then hear the
> sound working, but with the volume at about half what it should be.
> Through experimenting during installing the ATI Multimedia Center
> software, I've found that if I select "Line-In", then "Auxilliary In",
> then back to "Line-In", the sound level often suddenly fixes itself,
> at normal gain levels. If I complete the installation, I can then
> record just fine, sounding great, at the proper volume level, no
> problems. However, when I re-start the software, the sound level is
> back to the "half" volume level problem scenario.
>
> I have found that this issue has absolutely nothing to do with
> Playback Control or Recording Control volume levels in XP. If I
> don't intend to do any recording, I can change the Playback from Wave
> to Line-In, and the volume level is much louder (like it should be).
> The AIW card is not sharing an IRQ. The SB live sound card is not
> sharing an IRQ. I have newest SB Live drivers. The onboard Cmedia
> chip also has same problem. I am using the drivers and BIOS that my
> SOYO Mobo came with. There are newer BIOS for the SOYO Mobo, but
> there are not described to fix any problems related to this. My
> brother has an identical ATI AIW 9600 PRO card in his machine
> (different Mobo), and the volume levels are fine on his system. I
> even put his ATI AIW 9600 PRO in my machine, but still noticed that my
> machine has the low volume gain when recording but his does not, so
> the ATI AIW 9600 PRO card that I have should be fine. If I record
> something through the ATI AIW card, then play it back through his
> computer, the sound level is about half what it would be if he records
> it for himself. Since both onboard sound and SB Live have same
> problem, the SB Live card should also be fine.
>
> I'm thinking a driver problem somewhere, BIOS related, or Mobo
> hardware issue. Since the sound "is" working, I figure that people
> (not using onboard sound) may never even notice the problem (if I'm
> not the only one). I haven't contacted SOYO yet. I will say that
> other than sound, this SOYO motherboard is great and I have been
> impressed.
>
> Anyone out there having this issue with an ATI AIW card? Thks,
> -Jeremiah