No sound output from REW, center channel only

[pwrstick]

Newbie here using REW for the first time, having trouble measuring my center channel speaker.

On a Macbook Air M2, I'm using an Anker USB-C to HDMI dongle to connect to my Denon AVR-X3700h which is running a 5.1.4 speaker configuration (though I'm just testing 5.1 right now). I've configured my AVR in the MIDI setup tool on the Mac, and all speakers are outputting as expected when I hit the test sound, including my center channel. As shown here:

Oddly, from within REW I can take measurements of every speaker except my center channel. When I go to measure the center channel, it creates no sound for measurement. Here is the measurement configuration screen:

Any help on outputting sound to the center channel for measurement is appreciated!

 

[John Mulcahy]

You may need to adjust the channel mapping in REW's soundcard preferences if you haven't already done that, from your Audio Midi Setup screenshot the C is on channel 4 (usually sub) and the sub is on channel 3 (usually C).

 

[pwrstick]

That was totally it! I'm documenting what I did below in case anyone else runs into this. I set the output channel mapping to match what was in the Midi settings as you pointed out. Thank you for your help.

 

[Sixof1]

I am new to REW and am struggling to get any sound out of my system to enable measurement. I have only a centre channel (i.e mono) along with 2 subwoofers at the moment as my other speakers are under repair. My digital controller is a Meridian 568.2MM coupled with a Meridian HD-621 HDMI audio interface. The 568 is configured as a certain input from the laptop. The HDMI cable is connected from my laptop to the 621 as output and is read as such in Windows 10. Input to the laptop is a Dayton UMM-6. I have followed all REW guidelines and have either Java or ASIO to choose from. Neither produces sound when the 568 volume controls are used. In Preferences, channel mapping is set to Centre.

I am obviously doing something fundamentally wrong and would appreciate any constructive advice to get me started on analysing my room to improve speaker and sub integration. I already have the subs and speaker time aligned using the REW SPL meter.

 

[John Mulcahy]

How have you set the "Linear PCM" property in the 621? REW's HDMI signals are linear PCM, so it would need to be 6-channel or 8-channel depending on whether your system is 5.1 or 7.1.

When you say "In Preferences, channel mapping is set to Centre." what do you mean?

 

[Sixof1]

Self explanatory screenshots follow: Input H3 (the laptop) automatically connects to the 568 when source is selected. No settings have changed since my initial query was raised. Cheers.

 

[Sixof1]

My problem has not changed - I would appreciate a response from the REW experts, if possible.

 

[John Mulcahy]

Difficult to know what to suggest. You could try selecting other output channels to see if somehow the channel mapping is wrong.

 

[Sixof1]

This is embarrassing - I've just discovered that the Preferences panel cannot be reduced in size on my laptop to show the "Next" button, so I could not proceed to the next screen. There is no help available in Windows 10 to reduce the scale to expose this button, nor is there a means within your APP. Perhaps when this is rectified I may be able to find out why I cannot raise the volume level, within REW.

 

[John Mulcahy]

People miss that even when the button is visible, the design has been changed in the 5.20.14 early access build to do away with the buttons. WASAPI exclusive drivers generally bypass Windows audio processing, including volume controls.

 

[Sixof1]

I have downloaded 5.20.14, but I still cannot find volume controls for output - where are they?

 

[John Mulcahy]

 

[Sixof1]

Thanks for the obvious answer, but I still cannot change the volume level - please see the screenshot including the Levels. As you know I only have 1 centre speaker with 2 subs, and output is set to "C". No sound is heard but the sweep has measured the muted input; why is the Output level -96dB and seemingly cannot be changed? Cheers.

 

[John Mulcahy]

The meter only shows a meaningful level while a signal is playing. Try using the signal generator to play a tone.

 

[Sixof1]

Still no sound; looks like it is time to abandon REW and look elsewhere for a solution. Thanks for your patience with my stupidity.

 

[Sixof1]

Thanks for the advice - I could not get sounds via digital input, so reverted to analogue and now can begin REW again. Cheers. I would love to know why digital does not work on my equipment however.

 

[Sixof1]

I've finally achieved sound through HDMI output - it involved an upgrade of my laptop HDD and CMOS battery replacement; and a swap of my HDMI cable. Now the work just starts.