I have a 5.1 Logitech PC system, how can I hook up to mac?

[DrDomVonDoom]

I got a 5.1 PC surround sound system about a year and a half ago for my birthday, this was before I got my first Mac. My PC was dying and thats when I made the switch, so I have this 5.1 system sitting in its box, and I am wondering if theres anyway I can hook it up to my Mac. It seems like the biggest limitation to the iMac and all there is, is a headphone out jack. Is there some kind of unit I can plug it into then plug that to my mac? Thanks.

-Dom

 

[alust2013]

there are some converters for those systems, you can google around for a direct usb converter, or if it has optical input, use that.

 

[mike457]

I have a Logitech 5.1 system too. The headphone out on the iMac doubles as an optical out, so you can plug in there using the appropriate connector to get full surround sound. You may also want to install Perian if you haven't already.

 

[DrDomVonDoom]

The problem is the 5.1 doesn't have optical.

Its got these

 

[DrDomVonDoom]

Its a Model g51 fyi.

 

[88 King]

The problem is you speaker system is passive (it cannot decode audio by itself). You can plug a 3.5mm jack cable from the imac to the speaker but you will only get sound from right and left speakers.

To get around this, you will need to connect a digital audio decoder (DAC) to the imac via optical or usb and then connect the speaker to the DAC. The problem is there are not many DAC that is designed to output to PC speakers.

I was in the same situation couple of years ago, and end up buying a 5.1 home surround sound system instead and sold my 5.1 PC speakers.

You need something like this, its not cheap. You can pickup good 5.1 home surround sound system for $500 refurb. Plus it will be far more versatile as it can accept inputs from optical, hdmi ect.

http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/icon2/index.php