Hey guys.... Right now I've got Logitech Z-560's hooked up to a M-Audio Revolution 7.1 and I'm not itching to change that, but I'm curious about my options if I wanted to. Would it be possible for me to scrap the logitechs, buy an amp, buy bookshelf speakers, and hook those up to my soundcard? If so, could I also keep the logitech powered sub in the setup? The soundcard is kind of overkill for what I want, but I was interested in the sound quality more than the surround capabilities. If that bookshelf/amp setup is possible how the heck would I connect all of it? Any help or links would be much appreciated!
Yes, I am doing that now. I have a 5.1 Sony reciever and have it connected to the Digital out of my Audigy 2 but for some reason I don't get rear speaker surround. I have tried everything. They work but seem to work like front speakers in the back. Not real happy with it and just purchased the Logit z-680 and will sell my reciver and all. It sounded great but wasn't true 5.1. I hope that helps
The bookshelf/amp combo is definitely possible, as I have 2 friends who have pulled it off. I don't know how though, but the sound is so much more powerful, as well as the bass (it shakes his house, so be careful in that respect).
OK, so I know it's definitely possible now, but I don't know how to do it! Would I be hooking the amp up through the digital out on the soundcard or would I completely need to jimmy-rig something to make it work?
im not with the whole digtal revelution, all i have is a 3 1/2mm stereo jack to rca seperate lead, availible from any electronic shop for a couple of quid just plug that into the speaker out and pick an input on ur amp a decent set of floor standers will kick the s**t outta set of comp speaker (imho) hope this helps also the sub shud be wireble (sp?) into the amp, if the amp has a sub channel, mine doesnt as im running stereo (from the dark ages) but i know a lot do have this
That's exactly what I was looking for! I knew there had to be some kind of adapter plug for the situation, but I had no freakin' idea what it would be. Is there a reason you're against the digital?
if your amp has digital input you can get a straight converter from the mini jack on your sound card to rca, then you just need a video cable to run digital. OR you can get the mini jack to L/R rca cable and run to an analog channel on your reciever. I am running a Onkyo tx-8511 with a pair of Sony SS-MB350H bookshelf speakers (cheap, but amazing sound reproduction) and a pair of vintage fisher floor speakers and it is well worth it over my computer speakers... I barely use them anymore.
Marius, that answers another question I had, but what I'm interested in is having bookshelf speakers that are just powered with an amp and no receiver in the setup. Do you agree that's possible?
im not against digital , it's just that i cant afford an amp with a digtal input, otherwise i would be using the optical out on my nforce.
If you dont already have the amp, it would almost certainly be cheaper to buy a receiver. I mean if you are just looking to play back music and watch occasional movies a stereo receiver is a much better option, for one they cost a lot less, and 2 they can produce much cleaner full range sound than most HT receivers under $500.
That's a pretty good point. Next question: If I connect a surround receiver to my surround sound card which one takes care of surround decoding(right word?)?
The decoding can then be handled either by the PC or by the reciever, depending on the configuration. A sound card outputs normal analog line level signal, just like a stand-alone CD-Player or whatever. You just need to connect the sound card's analog outs to the reciever's/amp's analog ins and it'll work. Digital outputs are stereo only. They can also be used to pass through pre encoded ac3/dts/whatever streams to the reciever.
FFA, I have a Sony Reciever hooked to my Audigy 2 Plat through Digital wire. That is all I am using and from what I think I understand from your point is it will only be STEREO and that explains why I am not getting 5.1 Surround but I am lost on what to do, where to plug it in, what to plug in etc..... ANy step by step from here would be many thanks....
i think i understand what your saying Marius get a receiver that can hadle an optical in and put that inbetween my comp and my amp. would be cool, cept my amp is 10 years old and only supports stereo, so im better of buying a decent a/v amp/reciever from www.richersounds.co.uk, imho the best place in the uk to get hi-fi and home theatre gear. of course im still open to other places this is just the place that seems to be best for price/service
svcrawf72, If your receiver has 5.1 analog inputs (separate inputs for all the channels, most often in the form of RCA connectors, sometimes labelled as "external decoder input") you need to connect the Audigy's analog outs to them (using three cables, with stereo mini-jacks on one side and two RCA plugs on the other). Most receivers have such inputs, not all though.
ffa, So what would happen if I got a 5.1 receiver and hooked it up (digitally) to my M-audio Revo 7.1? I would be able to power up to 6 channels with the receiver, but what if I wanted the additional two that my Revo is capable of? Would I have to power them some other way? And if I hooked all of that up would I be getting the sound quality of the receiver, the sound quality of the soundcard, or something mixed and in between? Thanks for all the replies.
The only situation in which you could utilize all 6 channels of your receiver using digital connection is when passing through pre-encoded multi-channel contents, like ac3 (when watching a DVD movie for example). Some recent games also allow this. In other words, when using digital connection you'll get only STEREO in most games etc. You have to use ANALOG connection to the receiver. You cannot utilize 8 channels of audio (7.1) with a 6 channel (5.1) receiver. You'd have to connect an additional stereo amplifier and a pair of speakers (or get a 7.1 receiver). Personally, I think 7.1 is overkill. For me, the reason to get a Revo (or better a Prodigy 7.1) is because of the quality, not the number, of analog outputs. When using analog connection, the Revo's DAC and the receiver's power output stages have an impact on the final quality. When using digital connection, the receiver's DAC and power output stages determine the quality.
allright guys... just breezed through this and want to explain what my setup is like. For my Sherwood 500W reciever, I have a digital coax in, some RCA ins, and a 6-channel analog in. This 6-channel analog in allows me to play games in 5.1... all I do is get a stereo minijack to RCA (L/R) cable for the front L/R, rear L/R, and Center/Sub. This allows the sound card to decode EAX HD for games, and just let the reciever amplify the sound going to the speakers. Then for DVD's, I have the Digital Out pass through the digital signal and connect it to my reciever through mono minijack to RCA plugged into the coax in. This lets me watch movies in DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1. The problem is when you only use the digital in, it plays music and games in stereo, and only plays movies encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS in true surround sound. With the 6-Channel Analog in, you get surround sound in games. Hope this helps out! I'll try to find pics somewhere on the net to explain this better.
