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Do I need a surround sound PCI card for these speakers?

post #1 of 8
10/1/07 at 1:28pm
Thread Starter 
Hi there; I was going to buy the Logitech X-530; but have read some mixed reviews... apparently you need THREE headphones sockets? I have a Dell M1330 which has two but...

Also some reviews have mentioned I should buy a PCI surround card? Do laptops, such as my M1330 XPS; have surround sound inbuilt...?

Just looking for some general help on the matter; will be very grateful for any help.

Thanks

--edit-- sorry just read what I wrote- what I mean is; will these speakers give me surround sound or not; they don't say 'surround sound' in the title; also my main concern is the whole three headphone socket thing...?
And will that PCI sound card give any advantage or better sound quality?
Thanks for any help
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post #2 of 8
10/1/07 at 1:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ferco View Post
Hi there; I was going to buy the Logitech X-530; but have read some mixed reviews... apparently you need THREE headphones sockets? I have a Dell M1330 which has two but... Also some reviews have mentioned I should buy a PCI surround card? Do laptops, such as my M1330 XPS; have surround sound inbuilt...? Just looking for some general help on the matter; will be very grateful for any help. Thanks
some notebooks can output a digital signal to surround systems: if yours has that ability, one of your audio-out ports should be labelled SPDIF. If you don't have SPDIF on your notebook, then you can't output a 5.1 surround signal that the speakers could use. To do that, you'd need to get an extra sound card. In addition to using digital signal, the speakers also take a direct analog signal, and you've got that. However, since, as you noted, your computer has 2 analog sound outputs and the speakers have three connections, you will only be able to output sound to 3 or 4 of the speakers at a time (each plug corresponds to a channel- center, L/R front, & L/R rear) unless you got a sounds card, which would most likely be able to output either digitally in 5.1 surround, or analog to each specific speaker. and in regard to sound quality of a sound card, yes it will probably give you better sound quality than what's in your notebook, but I don't know how much better, as I don't know what kind of sound quality your notebook has.
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post #3 of 8
10/1/07 at 5:52pm
1. Yes they are Surround Sound.
2. Yes you need a soundcard capable of providing 3 connection like an X-FI expresscard to get the full features from the speakers but you will need an optional upgrade kit that usually doesn't ship with the card if you go the route of Creative Labs. There are also several USB 5.1 systems out there that might be worth looking at.
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post #4 of 8
10/9/07 at 4:32pm
Is there a way to take optical out and convert it to 5.1 for PC speakers?
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post #5 of 8
10/9/07 at 6:27pm
Assuming you mean an optical out transmitting an AC3 encoded signal, yes. However at that point the easiest and cheapest way to do so is to use a surround system receiver in my experience.

Seablade
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post #6 of 8
10/9/07 at 7:46pm
Alright that is what I was afraid of hearing. I like the Logictec 5.1 Speakers and do not need a receiver I was just looking to get powered speakers. Any ideas on how that would be possible?
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post #7 of 8
10/9/07 at 8:53pm
Truthfully, not any easy way. You would need a decoder and D/A for AC3 to 5.1 Analog. And to be honest the cheapest way to do both of those will probably be in a cheap or used home theater receiver.

Seablade
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post #8 of 8
10/9/07 at 9:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by seablade View Post
Truthfully, not any easy way. You would need a decoder and D/A for AC3 to 5.1 Analog. And to be honest the cheapest way to do both of those will probably be in a cheap or used home theater receiver. Seablade
Damn this is going to cost more then I want it to. Because If I buy a Receiver I am going to have to get kick ass speakers to go with it.
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