Anyone using nVidia High Definition Audio from the GPU for 7.1 surround sound in DCS?

[GeneralDynamics]

Hi everyone,

I have been using 7.1 channel discrete analog audio from a dedicated sound card and AV receiver with DCS for many years now. I love 7.1 surround sound because it adds another layer of immersion for me. Unfortunately, good quality discrete 7.1 sound cards are getting harder and harder to find, with the higher end sound cards now opting to only provide 5.1 channel discrete audio, and then convert that to 7.1 virtual surround sound using software. Most of the sound cards available now are getting long in the tooth and many came out 5 years ago or longer and do not have Windows 11 specific drivers. It seems the PC multi-channel audio ship has sailed, and it's sad. 

I'm currently on my second HT Omega eClaro 7.1 card that came out in 2007 - the first one died, and now the second one is beginning to drop out intermittently as well. I pulled the trigger on a Creative SoundBlaster X4 the other day, a 7.1 channel external USB unit that came out in 2021. When I tested it with DCS, it just could not handle the wall of sound the sim produces over 7.1. Every time I started flying the FA-18C, for instance, the sound would play for a few seconds before the card became overwhelmed with gaps in the sound before cutting out entirely, and this was with the volume set to only 25%. It did, however, do a decent job with stereo music, but still did not sound as clean as the eClaro. I returned it regardless.

I think I'm done messing with sound cards and onboard  audio. There just aren't any good solutions left that I've been able to find. I'm looking to go an entirely different route now by using the nVidia High Definition Digital Audio from my RTX 5090 over HDMI to produce 7.1 surround sound and let my receiver do the decoding.

This is going to require a new 7.1 receiver that will accept input from eARC from my LG C1 TV. Let me explain... in order for G-Sync to work properly, my GPU needs a direct connection to the TV because G-Sync requires 2-way communication between the TV and GPU. Then from the TV, I would run another HDMI cable from the eARC out on the TV to an input on the receiver for sound only. G-Sync won't work going from the GPU to the receiver and then out to the TV the way it's traditionally done.

So, before I pull the trigger on all this, was wondering if anyone else is using this method for 7.1 audio from DCS, and if there were any hidden gotchas doing it this way?

Thanks!