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looking for speaker/sound card/5.1 support help

post #1 of 6
6/20/07 at 1:23am
Thread Starter 
First off I just want to say that I am not only new to the boards but I'm not super tech/computer savy so please excuse me if I ask some stupid questions or whatnot.

Anyway so heres my situation. I have a HP Pavillion dv6000 and I am looking for buying some new speakers for it. I've been looking around and research and I'm pretty set on getting some a 5.1 system. But then I'm going to have to get a sound card of some kind for my laptop to support 5.1 right? So from what I've read and seen, it looks as though I have three options?:

1. http://www.creative.com/products/pro...&product=10769
2. http://www.creative.com/products/pro...5&product=9103
3. http://www.creative.com/products/pro...&product=16642

So I think the first one requires a PCMCIA slot, the second uses USB, and the last one goes in an Express Card slot. As far as I know I'm pretty sure my Pavillion does not have a PCMCIA slot so thats out. And so that leaves options 2 and 3. Is the last option (the express card one) the best option for me to get if I want my laptop to be able to support a 5.1 system?

And on a sidenote, whats the difference between the PCMCIA and the Express Card sound cares besides they are inserted in different slots. I read that the PCMCIA is kind outdated? Is that true? Because the x-Fi is fairly new right? So that would make sense.

Anyway any help is appreciated. Thanks.
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post #2 of 6
6/21/07 at 6:02am
about the express card. Currently useless. The docking module is not available in U.S. yet and does not ship with card.

In addition there is reported crack and pop problems and my input doesnt work. However current forum discussion suggests those problems may be xps 1510 related, and another forum post below specifically dell duel core related.
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post #3 of 6
6/21/07 at 10:47am
I wouldn't fuss w/ a 5.1 speaker set on a notebook. Just buy a set of nice headphones, they'll cost about $150-200 new or $100-150 used, way easier than a 5.1 set, they sound better IMO, if you want speakers to play music for say a party or for multiple listeners then just get a nice 2.1 set like the Klispch 2.1's
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post #4 of 6
6/22/07 at 1:11am
Thread Starter 
So the express card one will not support 5.1 without the docking station? So that leaves me the option of the external USB sound card?

And yah I know I could just get a nice 2.1 speaker set like the Klipsch or something but I really would like a 5.1 system...and I'm not really big on using headphones.
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post #5 of 6
8/27/07 at 7:26pm
Audigy 2 NX, the 2nd link you posted, works great with my notebook via USB and Logitech Z-5500 speakers in a 5.1 setup.
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post #6 of 6
8/29/07 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wHiTewiNteR View Post
First off I just want to say that I am not only new to the boards but I'm not super tech/computer savy so please excuse me if I ask some stupid questions or whatnot.

Anyway so heres my situation. I have a HP Pavillion dv6000 and I am looking for buying some new speakers for it. I've been looking around and research and I'm pretty set on getting some a 5.1 system. But then I'm going to have to get a sound card of some kind for my laptop to support 5.1 right?

not necessarily. I did a quick Google search for the specifications of your computer and from what I saw, it looks like your computer has 2 audio-out ports, one of which also functions as an SPDIF (Sony Philips Digital Interface) port. If your notebook has SPDIF, you don't need to get a sound card. Instead, you need a special cable that can transmit the SPDIF digital signal. There are 2 kinds of digital cords, but your notebook most likely uses an optical digital signal (that's the kind mine uses). Making that assumption, you need what's called a toslink cable with an optical minjack adapter. They can be somewhat hard to find locally, but here's one you can buy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Arista-18-5106...402106&sr=8-12

To get digital output from your computer which will allow for 5.1 surround, attach the minijack to one end of the cord and then plug it into the SPDIF port on your computer and plug in the other end to the optical input plug on your speaker system. That's it! No additional sound card required!
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