A 5.1 surround system sound contains five speakers of the same size for a front, centre, and surround. Whenever someone buys a 5.1 system, they cannot wait to connect it to their audio devices and feel the sound produced by the speakers. The system is a good one and can be used by the family when listening to music, watching movies and can also be connected to gaming consoles to produce sound, enhancing someone’s gaming experience. A problem that could arise is that some speakers might fail to produce sound. If you have ever experienced a situation where Only 2 Speakers Working in 5.1 System, read through this article to know the possible causes and solutions to this problem.
Only 2 Speakers Working in 5.1 System
Let us dig into Only 2 Speakers Working 5 1 System. When you come home, let us say you come from work and realize that only two speakers of the 5 in a 5.1 surround system are working, you might panic that your system has problems. There is no need to panic. You should look for all the causes of the hitch and try to fix it. Let us look at some of the possible causes and fixes. Causes of this problem include problems with the source, loose cable connections, faulty audio output channels, incompatibility problems, incorrect mode settings, and problems with the source materials. To fix the problem, you will need to fix all these possible reasons and check if all your speakers will produce sound again. Let us look at the causes of this problem and then the solutions to these causes.
Problems with the source
Some of the problems associated with your speakers could be the source. Problems with the source might include malfunctioning devices that you have connected to your speakers. An example can be a DVD that is not playing any disk you put on it, and that can be confusing because you might not know at a glance that the problem is the DVD not playing the disk inside it.
HOW TO SOLVE: The solution to this problem can be very easy when you do not know the faulty device. You will need to do a manual check by connecting the speakers to another audio player device. Disconnect the speakers from the DVD player and connect them to your laptop. If they work, then the problem could be the DVD. Fix the faulty DVD player or change the connection cables you are using to continue enjoying your experience with the 5.1 surround speakers.
Loose cable connections
Loose cable connections will lead to all electronic devices not working. When you have loose or malfunctioning cables connecting your speakers to the audio player device, your speakers will have no sound.
HOW TO SOLVE: To fix this problem, check all the cables connecting the speakers. Ensure that they are all plugged to their respective ports tightly and correctly. You should also remove all those you think are old enough and might be malfunctioning and replace them with new cables that are functioning and in good working condition. If you do this with the cables, be sure to restore the sound on your speakers.
Faulty audio output channels
Speakers are plugged to the audio devices via ports on the devices known as the audio output channels. These ports sometimes might experience problems, and not hearing sound on some speakers does not mean the problem lies within the individual speaker the issue could be these connection ports. Faulty audio output ports might lead to reduced sound quality and volume or no sound at all.
HOW TO SOLVE: You should start by double-checking the ports. Change the speaker that is not working and connect it to another port you are sure is working (a port connected to a working speaker). If the speaker works, the problem is the port, and if it fails to produce sound, the problem lies within the speaker. When you know where the problem is, you can take the audio device to a technician for the audio channel to be replaced. If the problem is the speaker, you can replace it with a new one or take it to a technician for fixing. When you have your speaker or audio device fixed, you can continue enjoying the experience in peace.
Problems with the source materials you are using
Different source materials will have different surround setups. These source materials include games, songs, TV shows, and movies, they all come with different surround configurations, for example, if you are watching a movie that is only compatible with 2.1 you cannot access its sound on 5.1.
SOLUTION: If a source material is configured for a 2.1 sound you cannot access the sound on 5.1 therefore, you will need to change your receiver settings from 2.1 to 5.1 and your speakers can access the sound and you will be able to continue enjoying the experience of your system.
The streaming channel you are using at the moment could be incompatible with 5.1 sound system speakers
Some of the shows or movies you are watching might not support 5.1 sound especially if you are watching it in a native language. The problem caused by channels that do not support 5.1 sound can only be solved by making sure that whatever you are streaming is compatible with 5.1 sound. When you are watching a movie for example and it is 5.1 sound compatible you will have sound on your speakers.
Incompatibility problems
Some devices cannot support 5.1 sound, such that they are unable to decode 5.1 signals in a form that is either Dolby or Dolby plus. These devices only support stereo sound settings. What does this mean, it means that the device is incompatible and cannot play any sound on the 5.1 surround speakers.
SOLUTION: Make sure that all the devices you will be using with these 5.1 speakers can decode 5.1 signals in a Dolby or Dolby plus form, making sure that the speakers produce sound.
Outdated streaming channels
When you fail to stream your favourite channels with 5.1, then the problem could be as simple as outdated streaming channels. Out dated channels or apps might miss out on some features that make them unable to stream with 5.1 speakers. Updated apps will have all these 5.1 features, there will be no problems with sound on your speakers.
HOW TO SOLVE: Uninstall and install the latest versions of the streaming apps that you are using. When the streaming apps are up to date, be sure there will be no problems streaming your favourite shows or movies on 5.1 surround speakers.
Incorrect mode
Your speakers could not be producing sound because they are in an incorrect mode. For example, if you have connected your speakers to an audio player device but the Bluetooth mode is on and is connected to a device like your mobile phone. Because there will be nothing playing on your phone the speakers will be silent but they cannot play in another mode.
HOW TO SOLVE: Make sure you change your speakers to the correct mode before you start using them. Turn off any other modes and just remain with the mode you want to use. For instance, turn off all the other modes and turn on Bluetooth if you want to connect the speakers and play sound via a Bluetooth device.
Speakers could be on low volume
When speakers are set to be on the low volume you might think that they are at fault and they are not producing sound because you can barely hear sound on the speakers.
SOLUTION: Adjust the volume of your speakers to get to hear the sound on your 5.1 speakers.
Problems with windows 10
When you have connected your speakers to a computer, they might fail to produce sound due to problems with windows 10. Many problems may be related to issues with windows 10 but here is how to correct your computer’s sound settings and run a sound test, which are the main issues associated with problems related to issues with windows 10.
Correct your computer’s sound settings
If you have no sound on your speakers and you have set them up correctly, then the problem could be the configuration of your sound settings. To configure your sound settings, follow the steps below.
Start by right-clicking on the speaker icon on your screen then press on “sounds”.
- Press on “playback”, then find your speakers (5.1 speakers) and proceed to set them as the default sound output device.
- Proceed to click on the speaker again and press on configure.
- A drop-down appears, select the “5.1 surround” then “audio channels” will appear, and tap on next.
- Hit on next and finish the configuration process and your sound systems will be configured.
Conduct a sound test
After you have finished the process of configuring the sound settings you need to perform a sound test on your sound quality to make sure that all the speakers are working. To perform this test, you will use a wizard that is inbuilt into your windows. To perform the test, follow the steps below.
Start by tapping on the speaker icon on your screen.
- After you have selected sound, tap on the “playback” button then right-click on “5.1 speakers”.
- Press on the test to see if all your speakers are functional.
- After confirmation, make sure you stop the wizard from running.
You can also change the windows version and see how the speakers will behave.
Conclusion
When only two speakers of the five-in-5.1 surround systems are working there could be very many causes for this problem. Some of the major causes include loose cable connections, source materials problems, incompatibility problems, incorrect mode, and problems with windows 10 in case the speakers are connected to a computer. To fix these problems you should first identify the problem and then try manually fixing it by connecting devices that are in better working condition. If you cannot solve the problem, you can take the faulty devices to a technician for fixing. Here you learned the cause and solution if only 2 speakers working in 5.1 system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can incompatible devices work with 5.1 surround speakers?
NO! 5.1 speakers only work with devices that can support 5.1 sound quality.
My apps were supporting 5.1 speakers and now they do not.
To fix the problem, update the apps to the latest version.
My cables are not working on the 5.1 speakers. What is the solution?
Make sure you do not have loose cable connections, and you can try replacing them with new ones.
