Audio port broken, looking for help with USB sound options

[gfortier]

Hi everybody,

I've got the old Macbook model, circa 2006. My audio port's been broken for awhile now, and I recently got a 5.1 surround sound system. I've been playing music through my iPod, of course not getting the full surround effect, but would love to be able to hook the Macbook up to this system, be it in full surround or not.

I've gotten the runaround from people at Radioshack, Best Buy, and was even led to buy this silly part which has done me no good:

http://www.amazon.com/USB-Auxiliary-Audio-Input-Jack/dp/B002ZNXX7C

Is there any way I can hook up my speaker system to the laptop via USB? and if so, can you walk me through it with which product(s) I need as I'm really just exhausted over this issue.

 

[anim8or]

Griffin iMic... That's all u need.

Read up on it and u will see it meets your needs.

 

[gfortier]

that looks perfect. My only hesitation is why nobody has mentioned that yet haha

everyone i've talked to has recommended everything from combining different adapters to telling me the part I need simply does not exist. The whole time I'm i've been in disbelief that it's not nearly as simple as i would have expected it to be.

This makes sense actually, because one friend told me the part I need is the griffin firewave which the company no longer makes.

So, to state this simply,

I can connect my speakers with into the griffin iMic, and then the iMic into the macbook via USB, thus producing sound?! that would be brilliant

lastly, any chance I can get true surround sound with this, or is that pushing my luck?

thanks so much for this

 

[anim8or]

In my long time of using macs I have only found a few informed people that work in computer or electronic stores, I won't even get started on what I overheard a sales assistant say the apple tv could do to potential customer!!!, so I'm not all that surprised that you haven't been shown this device.

I have 2. One is constantly used to connect my harmon kardon soundsticks to my mac pro, as it's an external sound card via USB it reduces audio interference that can come from the audio jacks. The other I used to connect my turntable to my laptop so I could listen to vinyl without an amp.

Both uses have produced fantastic sound quality for years.

I highly recommend it.

As for full surround, I'm not 100% sure... Try googling it I'm sure somebody has asked about it somewhere on the web??

 

[gfortier]

Someone on a techreport forum just suggested this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1&cm_re=usb_sound_card-_-29-126-101-_-Product

how does this compare to the Griffin iMic?

Would either one allow me to have true surround sound?

I plead ignorance, not because I'm not willing to do the research (as I've spent a ton of time on this issue already), but because I simply realize I, along the Radioshack guys, the Best Buy guys, do not know anything.