i run 7.1 thru 7.1 avr receiver. i didnt run it thru hdmi or optical but it does work in surround if you want to run more wires. i just ran the four 3.5mm to rca wires to run each channel. im using an older onkyo that came out a year or two before hdmi switching came on more than their receivers that had a comma in the price so i cant tell you about running it that way. but my motherboard does 7.1 if you configure the front panel inputs to do two channels and your mic. iracing only does 5.1 iirc so i just ran it in right mode on the receiver to pad it out to 7.1. it wasnt any dolby presets it was neural iirc or whatever your brand calls it. so even if you dont get it running as simply as a single wire job like hdmi or optical, you can still get it done with a little more mess.