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Looking for some decent desktop speakers.

If I understand the new Mini correctly (and, please, do check...!), the DVI output will carry audio to the display. And I know for a fact that an HDMI output from an Xbox 360 will carry audio to the display.

That display will have audio 'outs' of one sort or another, I would expect (phono, or at least a headphone jack), so you'd be able to connect the speakers via one of its inputs to your display and get the sound from the appropriate source.


One question - what's the HDMI splitter for? Just connect the Mini and the 360 to different inputs... am I missing something?!
 
Sadly, I found out that DVI, no matter what only carries audio.

So I purchased a splitter so I can just switch between the connections easily.

Will the Creative speakers work with this setup? To the monitor that is.
 
Will the Samsung XL2370-1 be able to receive sound via HDMI? And then send that sound out with the Creative Inspire T12 speakers?
 
Hello -
I just researched your situation thoroughly. It's amazing - the Samsung website and manual don't have enough detail on this monitor to understand what's going on, but luckily newegg had a high resolution image of the back of the monitor so I can see what's up.

The Samsung XL2370-1 has one DVI input and one HDMI input.
It has two outputs for audio, one analog and one digital.
DVI cannot carry audio, but HDMI can. This means that the audio outputs for your monitor only pertain to the HDMI input.

The simplest way to set this up, in my opinion, would be to plug in the XBOX with HDMI and the Mac Mini with DVI (using an HDMI-DVI cable, MiniDisplayport-DVI cable, or any appropriate adapter and a DVI cable).

Then, either:
1 - get two minijack audio cables for the xbox and mac mini and get a stereo minijack splitter, and plug both minijack audio cables into the splitter, and then plug the splitter into speakers of your choice. or
2 - get a set of speakers that have two inputs, and run a minijack audio cable out of the Mac Mini to one input on the speakers, and run a minijack audio cable out of the monitor into another input on the speakers.

I personally would recommend AudioEngine speakers - they're made by a real speaker manufacturer, not a computer accessory maker:
http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-2

Also, I should note that your monitor is very limited. It may serve your needs/budget well, but a monitor with TWO HDMI inputs AND audio out, or at least an audio input IN CONJUCTION WITH a DVI input, would be better. A monitor like that would do audio and video switching for you, and you wouldn't need to get an audio splitter or speakers that accept two inputs, because your monitor will switch audio to whatever input you've selected and send the correct signal to the speakers.
A monitor with two HDMI inputs would allow you to plug your XBOX and MacMini in with one HDMI cable each (video+audio in one cable), and then run one audio cable from the monitor to the speakers.


hope this helps!
 
LeeTom said:
Hello -
I just researched your situation thoroughly. It's amazing - the Samsung website and manual don't have enough detail on this monitor to understand what's going on, but luckily newegg had a high resolution image of the back of the monitor so I can see what's up.

The Samsung XL2370-1 has one DVI input and one HDMI input.
It has two outputs for audio, one analog and one digital.
DVI cannot carry audio, but HDMI can. This means that the audio outputs for your monitor only pertain to the HDMI input.

The simplest way to set this up, in my opinion, would be to plug in the XBOX with HDMI and the Mac Mini with DVI (using an HDMI-DVI cable, MiniDisplayport-DVI cable, or any appropriate adapter and a DVI cable).

Then, either:
1 - get two minijack audio cables for the xbox and mac mini and get a stereo minijack splitter, and plug both minijack audio cables into the splitter, and then plug the splitter into speakers of your choice. or
2 - get a set of speakers that have two inputs, and run a minijack audio cable out of the Mac Mini to one input on the speakers, and run a minijack audio cable out of the monitor into another input on the speakers.

I personally would recommend AudioEngine speakers - they're made by a real speaker manufacturer, not a computer accessory maker:
http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-2

Also, I should note that your monitor is very limited. It may serve your needs/budget well, but a monitor with TWO HDMI inputs AND audio out, or at least an audio input IN CONJUCTION WITH a DVI input, would be better. A monitor like that would do audio and video switching for you, and you wouldn't need to get an audio splitter or speakers that accept two inputs, because your monitor will switch audio to whatever input you've selected and send the correct signal to the speakers.
A monitor with two HDMI inputs would allow you to plug your XBOX and MacMini in with one HDMI cable each (video+audio in one cable), and then run one audio cable from the monitor to the speakers.


hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for thorough response. Would I be able to plug in my speakers directly to my monitor and just swap HDMI between the mini and the Xbox? Will the audio work that way?
 
If you're saying that you would use this monitor, and would plug both the XBOX and Mac Mini in via HDMI and just manually change the cable to switch the source, then yes - you could plug one set of speakers into the monitor and they would play the audio from whatever HDMI source is plugged in.

You could also get an HDMI switcher, but for the cost and clutter of one of those, a different monitor would probably be the way to go.
 
What monitor do you recommend, I want a sexy design with amazing clarity. This Samsung had 5,000,000 pixel ratio so I was head over heels for it.
So, what do you recommend?

Thank you very much for your efforts. :]
 
I think I'm just going to go with the Samsung XL2370 with the Creative Lab T12 speakers.

An HDMI switcher will do fine for me :]

THank you so much for the information you provided me with.
 
I just got a pair of Creative T20's delivered yesterday and they sound excellent. Very good soundstage and the bass/treble controls are nice to have there. Bass isn't too much. Would definitely recommend these. Found them on Amazon and Newegg for $66.99 and got BestBuy to price match as I had some gift cards. They are a little bit larger than I would like, but for the sound, I'll be keeping these.
 
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