How can I make a macbook utilize 5.1 sorround speakers?

[gothamm]

my cousin just gave me these decent logitech x-530 speakers.

http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-speakers/logitech-x-530/4505-3179_7-31079671.html?tag=sub

its got the three 3.5mm jack looking plugs (green, yellow, and black)


is there any way I can make my macbook drive these babies?

[MadDog31]

I currently have this same situation, I have a thread going in a different forum...here's the link, albeit no real solutions are offered as of yet. :-\

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=442756

[Abstract]

No idea. I don't have a good speaker setup at all, nor do I really care that much.

However, my friend had my MacBook set up to a 5.1 Logitech system. His speaker system came with a receiver of some sort that handled everything. The speakers were all plugged into this receiver, and the MacBook's digital audio output was plugged into the receiver's digital input. However, from the CNET review, it appears that your system may not have a digital input, so you may be out of luck. I don't know if you need digital input to get 5.1 surround, so maybe someone else can chime in.

Does that help at all?

[thenetstud]

I was in the same boat as you guys when I got my MacBook.

I have a set of Logitech Z5300's from before I switched to a Mac. I ended up buying this:

http://images.americas.creative.com/images/products/large/10770.png

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=244&subcategory=249&product=10702

It works great for me as I watch a lot of movies and TV shows with the MacBook. I didn't need any drivers as it recognizes it in the sound preferences and in the Audio Midi Setup.

[Cave Man]

I was in the same boat as you guys when I got my MacBook.

I have a set of Logitech Z5300's from before I switched to a Mac. I ended up buying this:

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=244&subcategory=249&product=10702

It works great for me as I watch a lot of movies and TV shows with the MacBook. I didn't need any drivers as it recognizes it in the sound preferences and in the Audio Midi Setup.

How does this thing work? Do you send audio out the USB port of your Mac?

[thenetstud]

Yes it connects via USB to the MacBook. Then the speakers connect to the external card.

[Cave Man]

Yes it connects via USB to the MacBook. Then the speakers connect to the external card.

And this provides 5.1 surround sound from DVDs and Quicktime movies?

[thenetstud]

That is correct.

[nickster9224]

Griffin Firewave.

[gothamm]

The main speaker of the system has a headphone jack. can i just use an aux cable that goes from the mac's headphone jack to the speaker's headphone jack? will this make all five speakers work?

[Cave Man]

The main speaker of the system has a headphone jack. can i just use an aux cable that goes from the mac's headphone jack to the speaker's headphone jack? will this make all five speakers work?

You may (or may not) get sound to all 6 speakers (you did title it 5.1 audio), but it won't be 5.1. The Mac's dual-output audio port is digital only to a device that can handle optical data. A conventional patch cord will give you two-channels of analog information, which can be up to Dolby Pro Logic II (5-channel).

[gothamm]

You may (or may not) get sound to all 6 speakers (you did title it 5.1 audio), but it won't be 5.1. The Mac's dual-output audio port is digital only to a device that can handle optical data. A conventional patch cord will give you two-channels of analog information, which can be up to Dolby Pro Logic II (5-channel).

how do i know whether my device can handle optical data? Judging from the review link i posted, it doesn't look like my x-530 does.

If i were to buy a surround system which does support digital optical data, would the aux solution work?

[Cave Man]

how do i know whether my device can handle optical data? Judging from the review link i posted, it doesn't look like my x-530 does.

If i were to buy a surround system which does support digital optical data, would the aux solution work?

Unless it specifically states that it has an SPDIF optical (and not coaxial) input, it won't take it. Many receivers on the market have these. My favorite value units are from Onkyo. For example, their HT-SR600 can be had for as little as $240 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/484719-REG/Onkyo_HT_SR600B_HT_SR600_5_1_Channel_Home_Theater.html), sans shipping. All you need is a TOSLINK cable with a mini plug on one end for the Mac. Plugs right into the receiver and will decode Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 from your DVDs using DVD Player app, Quicktime movies encoded with DD, or streams from the TV tuners, such as Elgato's Eye TV Hybrid.

[jer446]

what i do, even though it is not 5.1, is i got 2 3.5 mm splitters. I connected the two, and put alll the cables into that. I get 5 channel "stereo" out of it. Still sounds good though.

[gothamm]

what i do, even though it is not 5.1, is i got 2 3.5 mm splitters. I connected the two, and put alll the cables into that. I get 5 channel "stereo" out of it. Still sounds good though.

sweet, i took your advice and actually found a headphone splitter that splits three ways. $7. cheap solution :D


but i want surround sound for my lappie. How come no body has mentioned how the headphone jack has digital audio out, and can be hooked up to a surround sound system via a toslink cable?

[MadDog31]

I believe somebody has mentioned that the headphone jack is a digital out, but I may be mistaken.

Anyways, I am resorting to the fact I may need a damn receiver to get 5.1...my only wish is that receivers weren't damn enormous. I'm surprised there isn't a PC-type solution to this matter since not everyone wants to buy a new speaker system just to harness this power. I have a great set of 5.1 Klipsch ProMedia speakers and don't want to lose 500 watts of power just to gain a digital connection.

With my monitor also being able to act as a 1080p HDTV with a digital tuner, I could utilize a receiver that way...but...

Receiver it is? UGH...there's just something about going through USB that doesn't do it for me, don't ask me why.

[Cave Man]

How come no body has mentioned how the headphone jack has digital audio out, and can be hooked up to a surround sound system via a toslink cable?

I did. See posts 11 and 13.

[gothamm]

I did. See posts 11 and 13.

you sure did. Thanks a lot for your help mate. I think i am going to get the logitech z-5500. Any thoughts on those? how do they compare to the bose companion series? why am i asking you this? lol, maybe you have the answer

[Cave Man]

They ought to work, but it might be worth an email to them to double-check. Remember, your Toslink cable will need a miniplug adapter on one end for the Mac. It has this input listed from the spec page:

Digital optical for DVD or CD players, PlayStation®2, Xbox®**

But I don't see what the '**' means. Kind of makes me nervous...

[MadDog31]

I sent an e-mail to Griffin regarding their FireWave and why it's not yet listed for 10.5 Leopard. I'll cut to the chase:

The Griffin FireWave is not being claimed as compatible due to some additional testing we would like to do. There is a known issue where some users lose their settings after waking the computer from sleep mode, but this is corrected by unplugged and replugging the FireWave back in. Other than that, most users experience normal use with FireWave in Leopard as long as they repair disk permissions first. To repair disk permissions, go to Applications->Utilities->Disk Utility. Then select your Hard Drive and click Repair Disk Permissions. Restart your computer.

I just sent an e-mail in return to see if it's just the sleep function that does this, or if it also does it coming back from shut down. I will keep this thread posted for what it's worth...

Ian

[jjholly]

sweet, i took your advice and actually found a headphone splitter that splits three ways. $7. cheap solution :D


but i want surround sound for my lappie. How come no body has mentioned how the headphone jack has digital audio out, and can be hooked up to a surround sound system via a toslink cable?

I have a set of creative 5.1's and use a couple of headphone splitters. Sounds the same as when i use them with a pci sound card apart from the sound coming out from each speaker is the same.

[MSD401]

I am currently running a pair of logictech 5.1 speakers off my MBP with this cheap usb 5.1 sound card that I had with an old windows comp.... Not exactly a $10,000 home theater but it does the job and sounds about as well as these speakers can.....

here is an amazon link... but the are out of stock... im sure some googling will turn up something...

http://www.amazon.com/Starlogic-Channel-Audio-Theater-11000967/dp/B000092TSV

[gothamm]

They ought to work, but it might be worth an email to them to double-check. Remember, your Toslink cable will need a miniplug adapter on one end for the Mac. It has this input listed from the spec page:

Digital optical for DVD or CD players, PlayStation®2, Xbox®**

But I don't see what the '**' means. Kind of makes me nervous...

I googled and found people hooking up the z-5500's to their mb/mbp's

[gothamm]

I sent an e-mail to Griffin regarding their FireWave and why it's not yet listed for 10.5 Leopard. I'll cut to the chase:



I just sent an e-mail in return to see if it's just the sleep function that does this, or if it also does it coming back from shut down. I will keep this thread posted for what it's worth...

Ian

good info. please keep us up to date.

[gothamm]

I have a set of creative 5.1's and use a couple of headphone splitters. Sounds the same as when i use them with a pci sound card apart from the sound coming out from each speaker is the same.


thats weird. are you listening to stuff which utilizes dolby digital?

[MadDog31]

Just to keep the thread up-to-date...I asked Griffin about the sleep issue w/ the FireWave and I got a promising response:

This happens when the computer is put to sleep only, and it doesn't happen with all users, just some. We have not yet been able to figure out why. As for the disk permissions, this is not something that needs to be done regularly. In fact, if this is a new computer, you may not need to do it at all. Repairing disk permissions is something you do when you feel like a software and the Mac's operating system and working together properly. You may want to do it once every month or two, but not at every start up. I hope you enjoy your new Mac! If there is anything else I can do, let me know.

Very nice people, the rep's name is Whit. I had asked about disk permissions out of curiosity and got a great answer. Much appreciated!

Ian

[jjholly]

thats weird. are you listening to stuff which utilizes dolby digital?

I cant remember if its left right and center or front back and center, i think the first but the sound coming out of the MB is split 3 ways and the speakers think its receiving left right and center but they are actually all the same.

[gothamm]

Just to keep the thread up-to-date...I asked Griffin about the sleep issue w/ the FireWave and I got a promising response:



Very nice people, the rep's name is Whit. I had asked about disk permissions out of curiosity and got a great answer. Much appreciated!

Ian

that is great news. really.


Are you planning on buying the firewave with your newfound assurance?

[MadDog31]

that is great news. really.


Are you planning on buying the firewave with your newfound assurance?

I'm thinking about it...it was something I was gonna look into initially so I think I may again. For now I'll just do the wire-from-headphone-jack method while I research a bit, but I think I'm leaning towards this. $99 is easier to stomach (cheaper on Amazon I think) than a $250 receiver that's capable of reading TOSlink.

What about you gothamm? I was wondering where you were leaning or if you found anything new in your research.

[gothamm]

I'm thinking about it...it was something I was gonna look into initially so I think I may again. For now I'll just do the wire-from-headphone-jack method while I research a bit, but I think I'm leaning towards this. $99 is easier to stomach (cheaper on Amazon I think) than a $250 receiver that's capable of reading TOSlink.

What about you gothamm? I was wondering where you were leaning or if you found anything new in your research.

well, I realized that with the logitech z-5500, you get an awesome 5.1 surround sound system with a digital optical port. So all you would need is a toslink cable. There is also the altec lansing fx5051 and the bose companion 5 which connect via usb (though the companion five is a 2.1 system it uses virtual surround sound).

but the z-5500's are very heavy on base from what i understand, which i don't like. I am in the market for ultra-clarity and from the speakers which i have heard, the bose companion 5's seem to be the clearest, albeit the ridiculous price.


But then again, the firewave is on sale at amazon for $55. ah, decisions.

[bondiblueos9]

I can confirm that the Creative Sound Blaster Live 24-bit External USB works with surround sound (e.g. if you have a 5.1 DVD). The StarLogic USB sound device also works. You don't need to install any software for either.

However, I would like to get another StarLogic device, but I can't find them anywhere. If anyone knows where I can buy one, please let me know.