Adding 5.1 surround to my studio without buying a home theater system

[@ronfrancois]

So glad you got that Yamaha centre speaker at the end. The centre speaker is crucial for the clarity of dialogue.

[@MarcoPolux]

So this is where the cool Balladeer Studio KZbin Series began. 👍

[@juanfranciscosegovia-artef7607]

Hi, Leo. I didn’t understand if you actually needed the decoder for using your audio interface or if you can just use a 6 output channels interface instead with your DAW. By the way, this is the best video I found about this issue. Thank you!

[@cowtanked]

Thank you! this video was amazing. Someone who knows what they are talking about and straight giving the info that is needed while still being entertaining. like the videos too, will be buying one of these and setting it up to level up my music listening experience. Subscribed :)

[@em0jr]

Thanks for sharing! There really isn't a lot of example solutions for a home based 5.1 music studio set-up on YT. I actually want to add another layer by using a monitor controller so I can mute/solo the channels.

[@Leo.Brodie]

Thanks! I'm using Cubase/Nuendo, running the six channels as separate inputs and outputs on my audio interface. Cubase has a built-in plugin that allows muting/soloing the indivual channels.

[@noimdirtydag9510]

Use a power distribution with switching?!

[@Rymzoofficial]

Hello Sir, this video inspired me to get that device but I'm having issues with connecting it to my studio with a Fastrack pro audio interface, please is there any suggestions i can get from you? how do i get it to work my surround speakers with either my Fastrack pro or direct to my tv? must i buy a receiver or amplifier to get it to work?

[@andynonimuss6298]

Wish you had shown a complete picture of the cable connections of the HD Rush box to your audio interface. From the little HD box did you use RCA to XLR cables into the audio interface?

[@balladeerstudio]

For each pair of channels, I used a stereo cable with a pair of RCA jacks on one end and a 1/4" plug on the other end. The 1/4" jacks plug directly into the combination XLR ‑ 1/4‑inch inputs on the UR824. Glad you found the rest of the explanation useful.

[@BruceWalkerPhotography]

Thanks for this little walk-through. Very useful tips here! I bought one of those $50 no-name 5.1 decoders back in 2020 from Amazon and I was unable to get clean sound out of it. I used the fiber link from my projector to the fiber input on the decoder and I got bizarre high frequency aliasing and buzzing out of all the RCA outs. I couldn't hear any surround effects either, despite playing a few different modern DVDs through my Blu-Ray. I assumed that these 5.1 gadgets are probably all junk based on that lousy result, but it sounds like maybe I simply received a broken one. (My next experiment I'm about to try is to switch in a low cost 5.2 AV receiver. Sadly it assumes passive speakers so I have to sideline my active monitors while I test this.)

[@Leo.Brodie]

Good luck! I hope it works better.

[@BruceWalkerPhotography]

@Infinite Shoeblack thanks for the suggestions. Yeah, what decoding -- if any -- my projector is doing is an unknown to me because the documentation is sketchy on that. I picked up an entry level Denon AVR and that's working well for me, though of course it's a heck of a lot bulkier and pricier. But the Denon can also do reasonable pseudo-surround with stereo music and two-channel sources (like KZbin) so it fits into my living room use better than the little 5.1 decoder would have done.

[@JJCover73]

Hi, thanks for the video, you've encouraged me to create a 5.1 setup. I see that you have a Steinberg interface, I'd like to know if the ur44c interface could work for this purpose. The specifications say that it has 2 main outputs (L,R) and 4 line outputs(1L,1R,2L,2R), in total there would be 6 outputs, but I'm not sure if I can configure it in Cubase since I haven't seen information about it anywhere. I hope you can answer my question. Thanks.

[@balladeerstudio]

You'll need 6 input channels to bring the 5.1 output into your DAW. The UR44 only has four inputs, as you noted, so that won't work. I'm not sure if there are any 6-channel interfaces. The best bet is an 8-channel interface.

[@JJCover73]

@@balladeerstudio but there is no possibility of adding the 2 main outputs (L,R) to the 4 line outputs (1L,1R,2L,2R) so that they add up to 6 in total?

[@Leo.Brodie]

@@JJCover73 You need six INPUTS.

[@pablix809]

Organic, thanks a lot

[@MarcoVialeBakmaind]

I bought an "audio rush" decoder like yours in the video. Mine has an annoying floor noise, something like white noise. I use it to watch Netflix in 5.1 in my studio. The audio comes out of the TV's multichannel SPDIF. I did not understand if it is the TV that has the background noise or if it is the decoder. Does yours make no noise?

[@voa.aquino]

I think the noise can't come from TV, as the SPDIF is digital. It becomes analog after the conversion (on the decoder).

[@jitesh5779]

Thankyou Sir for making this video, i was thinking about my studio monitors JBL lsr305 use as 5.1 surround system so i search videos on KZbin regarding this to find out is that possible to do & i found your video.

[@rahliE777]

GREAT video! I’m new to audio/studio setups and am trying to do something similar myself.. My junk desktop speakers took a dump on me, I’m currently upgrading my game room/Pc gaming setup/daughters mini dance studio so I wanted to upgrade the whole audio setup.. I purchased 2 Kali LP6v2 monitors, and I want to add 2 desktop speakers and a subwoofer and it’s crazy to me that after searching for so long I’m just now finding a video with a setup similar to what I want to do.. Question- what audio interface are you using? I’ve been searching for something that has several outputs but not as many inputs (I’m not a musician, I just want a nice system for listening to music using powered speakers so I don’t need anymore than 1 input for maybe a mic for chatting), it’s always “reversed” from what I’ve seen as the bigger they get, the more inputs they’re are but still only a few outputs and nothing for a sub

[@Leo.Brodie]

At the time I was a Steinberg UR824 interface with 8 outputs.

[@kamal3272]

Superb

[@JAFOpty]

hi! is that interface able to decode all major formats (ie DD, True HD, DTS, DTS MA)? thanks

[@balladeerstudio]

I don't think so. Here's the information: www.amazon.com/dp/B07X94PF4D?psc=1

[@Skyflairl2p]

Thank you robin williams

[@navalagarwal01]

Hi, can I use this box to convert my old stereo amplifier into 5.1 surround? Will it work if I connect my stereo amplifier's line out to the aux (headphone) line in on this box, and connect my 5.1 passive speakers to this box?

[@balladeerstudio]

The decoder produces six line level outputs. You either need six powered speakers, or six amplifier channels with passive speakers, or a combination. There is no headphone line on the decoder. You could use a stereo amplifier with two passive speakers for two of the six channels, but you still need the other four.

[@chinnamangu]

I have beringer audio interface with 2 sound output left and right, Will it converts 2 to 5.1 if i get the sound decoder

[@Leo.Brodie]

No, the decoder decodes the signal to 5.1. You can send those six channels directly to speakers, but if you want to bring them into a computer you need at least six input channels on your interface.

[@conflictortiz8906]

Wish you showed us how you connected it to your interface

[@balladeerstudio]

I had three stereo pair cables with RCAs on one end and 1/4" plugs on the other. The six RCAs went into the decoder, the 1/4" jacks went into six inputs on my audio interface.

[@artesanomusic1281]

Good day teacher, I follow your tutorials, they are interesting, I ask you a question, what model is the interface that connects to your computer, must it have an optical output for the 7.1.4 sound to work? thank you

[@balladeerstudio]

The only requirement for 5.1 is that you have at least six channels of output. It can be from any combination of devices. I happen to use an 8-in/8-out interface that uses optical to connect another device that adds 8 more inputs and 8 more outputs. That's because I'm doing Atmos in 7.1.4.

[@anthonyraker2980]

Can you briefly explain how or what you use to get the height channels working on a pc

[@mbuyukkaya]

Is it true, ? This devices decode DTS natively, but for Dolby only virtual.

[@balladeerstudio]

Sorry, I don't know.

[@muffemod]

DAC baby!

[@bhavinjoshi5771]

Nice 👍

[@Gohitnaidu]

Sir What software you used to mix 5.1 tracks? Please reply me sir.

[@balladeerstudio]

I'm using Nuendo. Nuendo supports mixing in 5.1, 7.1 or other formats. I'm mixing in Atmos.

[@Gohitnaidu]

@@balladeerstudio Thank you For reply sir 🙏 & ❤

[@canzarpli2724]

@@balladeerstudiodoes this solution add any lag to audio interface?

[@kaybhee6]

sound quality.... dont even talk about it,,,huh