I am using the onboard sound chip Realtek for my 5.1 creative speakers. The problem is that when I am going in the control panel, sound options to check the sound, every speaker is giving sound. But when I am using an application like winamp, wmp, or ie for that matter, sound is only coming as 2.1. I am using Windows 7.
See this- Multiple Speaker Output - Winamp Forums
If the sound source is 2.1, then sound will come from only 2 speakers(like most of the songs).
Have you tried playing any 5.1 sound source movie? If yes, does still sound come from only 2 speakers?
Selecting this option fixed it...
Control Panel > Sound > Playback tab > Speakers > Properties > Enhancements tab
and checkmark "Speaker Fill
