5.1 on laptop and MBP

[GJ02]

Hi all

Im looking to get some half decent speakers for my laptop and MBP
is it possible to get 5.1 speakers working on either of the 2 ?
I remember on my gaming rig with the 5.1 i had on that i had 3 cables that plugged into the soundcard, how would it work with a laptop of MBP ?

Any help and advice would be very much appreciated

Cheers

 

[Marsman]

MBP at a guess is Macbook Pro? If so, then it might depend on which model you have. On the newer model the headphone out also doubles for SPDIF digital output. That's one way to get 5.1. Other way would be by using HDMI to an AV receiver.

Even using the digital SPDIF out from the headphone socket, you will still need a speaker system with optical input. These are very uncommon on 5.1 PC speakers now, so you'd probably need a home theatre system. All in one DVD/BD based 5.1 systems are cheap, but not that good really, and have very limited connectivity. Far better to spend the extra and get an AV receiver and 5.1 speaker package. You'd be looking at spending £200-£300 minimum though.

For laptop, same applies really, although likely to have just HDMI output.