I am having trouble getting the "Digital Optical Output" to work on my "Creative Omni Surround 5.1 USB sound card". While the device is recognized, the optical port is showing in the list and the sound equilizer is working, but output not make any sound.
System Details:
OS: Zorin OS [V18 Core]
Sound Card: Creative Omni Surround 5.1 (USB)
Connection: USB to PC, Optical (S/PDIF) to Sony 5.1 sound bar
What I have tried so far:
Checked sound settings for different output profiles.
Attempted to configure via PipeWire, but without success.
Tested the hardware on another system even in the same PC with windows. (it works there, so the cable and card are functional). The optical output is getting activated only through the creative lab software. Unfortunately the software is not available for linux
Could anyone guide me on how to properly route the audio to the S/PDIF / Optical output? Are there specific ALSA or PipeWire configuration changes needed for this specific Creative card? Is there any alternative software for Creative labs?
I am planning to buy the pro version if the sound card is getting worked.
Did You tried it with Pulse Audio volume control? It is for set up Audio Input and Output. You can install it with the Terminal Command sudo apt install pavucontrol
When installed, open it and check the Output Tab and the Configuration Tab. You should also check if it maybe is set to muted.
Hi, Thank you for the reply. I did it and configured by pulse audio conrol. Everything showing fine virtually. while playing the music, the indicators showing as per the volume. But physically there is no any sounds from the speaker.
Also I need to share on thing. Even in windows, it is not possible to activate digital audio without using the dedicated creative lab software.
This could mean that it only works with this dedicated Software then ... In Pulse Audio on the Configuration Tab: What Options do You have in the Dropdown Menu? Can You make a Picture of it and post it here please?
This might have something to do with the fact, your motherboard doesn't support USB Digital Surround sound. Typically, an easy fix for this, is to get an external USB audio DAC. I personally have one, but mines for stereo only.
I would recommend this, as its supposed to support Linux.
