Adapting 6 CH direct/coaxial possible??

manisinghb · 28 Sep 2010 at 21:23

Hey guys I'm attempting something which may be weird but wondering the possibilities. I have a Logitech surround speaker system and I have the Optical cable attached to my PS3. Is there any way I can attach my laptop to the speaker system via 6 channel direct or coaxial? I have a 3.5mm jack on my laptop... Any suggestions?

cmndr_andi · 28 Sep 2010 at 22:24

I think I was in a similar (possibly the same) situation. I have the logitech z5500 speakers and a Dell Inspiron 9400 with basic onboard audio with a 3.5mm stereo audio out.

What I ended up doing was buying the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 USB sound card. Its not exactly cheap - but it works great and I can now watch all HD videos with proper surround sound.

Alternatively, if you have the logiech z5500 (from memory, not many other logitech PC speakers support optical) you could just try inputting the stereo 3.5mm into the system and try the different modes on the speakers (eg stereo x2 or the dolby modes).

manisinghb · 30 Sep 2010 at 16:55

That sounds good but I think I might keep that as my last resort see if I can find anything cheaper?? Thanks for the input though CMNDR ANDI

Any other opinions/advice for something cheaper?

manisinghb · 30 Sep 2010 at 16:56

cmndr_andi said:
Alternatively, if you have the logiech z5500 (from memory, not many other logitech PC speakers support optical) you could just try inputting the stereo 3.5mm into the system and try the different modes on the speakers (eg stereo x2 or the dolby modes).

BTW I do have the Logitech Z5500 and I put in a 3.5mm to 3.5mm and a 3.5mm to audio cable and phono but nothing works.

Marsman · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:09

manisinghb said:
BTW I do have the Logitech Z5500 and I put in a 3.5mm to 3.5mm and a 3.5mm to audio cable and phono but nothing works.

You connected the 3.5mm audio on your laptop, to the 3.5mm audio in on the Z5500's, and nothing happened? Not sure where phono comes into it, as the phono connections are on the sub, which are for the satellite speakers.

Edit: Ah, unless you mean the coaxial RCA connector. In that case, it wont work, as that's digital. 3.5mm out on the laptop will be analogue.

manisinghb · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:14

Marsman said:
You connected the 3.5mm audio on your laptop, to the 3.5mm audio in on the Z5500's, and nothing happened? Not sure where phono comes into it, as the phono connections are on the sub, which are for the satellite speakers.

Edit: Ah, unless you mean the coaxial RCA connector. In that case, it wont work, as that's digital. 3.5mm out on the laptop will be analogue.

yes sorry I meant the RCA =P

Nope nothing happened though, I will give it another try later on tonight though. So let me just get this straight... 3.5mm in my laptop (headphone socket on the laptop I Assume as that's all I got and a microphone one) and a 3.5mm cable to the speakers but where exactly in the speakers shall I put it?

Marsman · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:17

Trust do a USB 5.1 sound card SC-5500P. £30. Uses analogue connection though, not digital coaxial.

Marsman · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:19

manisinghb said:
where exactly in the speakers shall I put it?

Green socket on the control box. That will be stereo to the speakers, and Pro Logic will be applied to upmix that stereo to 5.1.

The Trust USB device will give direct 5.1. All depends whether you want direct 5.1, or don't mind stereo being upmixed to 5.1.

manisinghb · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:41

Marsman said:
Green socket on the control box. That will be stereo to the speakers, and Pro Logic will be applied to upmix that stereo to 5.1.

The Trust USB device will give direct 5.1. All depends whether you want direct 5.1, or don't mind stereo being upmixed to 5.1.

Ok will try that tonight, but I don't get the Pro Logic bit (Excuse me if I am being naive). Is that a program I need to get or something totally different..?

Marsman · 30 Sep 2010 at 19:02

No, the Z5500's have Dolby Pro Logic II built in. It's used to upmix stereo to 5.1. As laptops only have stereo out, that needs to be upmixed to 5.1 to get the sound from all speakers. You might need to select it with the control pod.

manisinghb · 30 Sep 2010 at 19:19

Marsman said:
No, the Z5500's have Dolby Pro Logic II built in. It's used to upmix stereo to 5.1. As laptops only have stereo out, that needs to be upmixed to 5.1 to get the sound from all speakers. You might need to select it with the control pod.

again sorry for being naive but how do I select it on the speaker control pod? Do you mean the 'input' options as in stereox2, stereo, dolby etc?

Marsman · 30 Sep 2010 at 21:30

I'd guess so, never used the Z5500's, so I'm unsure of the options etc. Is there some option to cycle through the audio modes, Dolby, DTS etc?

manisinghb · 30 Sep 2010 at 21:47

Marsman said:
I'd guess so, never used the Z5500's, so I'm unsure of the options etc. Is there some option to cycle through the audio modes, Dolby, DTS etc?

I tried it and it worked! Yup there's an 'input' button that allows you to cycle through the modes and yippee Pro Logic II Music option comes up

cheers!

Marsman · 30 Sep 2010 at 21:54

Glad you got a result.