Hello
sLOVEnc90
Game is not providing channeled output on 5.1 sound setups. (Eg. No sounds on any speaker, or no Music only, or No voice only).
Issue seems to be with the configuration utility not being able to detect the correct Hardware Audio (enumeration). Try to update your 5.1 Channel software/driver.
Another step that I can suggest is to rename the My Documents\Bioware\Mass Effect\Config\BIOEngine.ini file, and then run the Binaries\masseffect.exe directly. Once in the game, enable the Hardware Audio in the Options>Settings>Sounds menu.
Hope this will help...Cheers!