subwoofer woes

[corosus]

hi all,
my roommate just bought a cheap 5.1 system. When we use the test program everything works as it should. but when playing sound it's limited to stereo an d thus to the two stereo speakers. My logitech 640's solve this problem with a "matrix" button on the center speaker(it copies the input from both stereo speakers to the center speaker and the subwoofer, but his set of speakers have no similar function. is there anny way to remedy this with software (a winamp plugin or something similar)

i have looked around a bit but since i have a thesis due i don't really have the time to spend a day looking for a solution

i'm sorry for posting this but he got lost trying to make an account

[corosus]

i went to check and the hardware is ok, everything works so..

[Hi Ho]

What kind of sound are you playing when it is in stereo? Music?Games? I know some players only put out stereo sound. Real Player for example. Try playing music through Windows Media Player. It puts out 4 channel sound. Also, check the Windows sound settings and make sure it is set to 5.1 speakers. I have Z-640's and you don't even have to press the matrix button to make the sub work with stereo. How "cheap" were these speakers? I'd say $60 for the Z-640's is cheap. You couldn't get him to spend just a little more?

[corosus]

we tryed winamp5 but i would'nt know where i have to set it up to have 4 speaker suport

a he got his speakers in the supermarket for 30$ so they are pretty cheap and i probably wont get him to buy a 640. thanks for the tips i'll try tem as soon as posible but that might be a while (i'ts vacation now everybody's goiing home for a couple of weeks and i doubt my rommmate is still here