mba to logitech speakers?

[mddell]

Any way of connecting the new Macbook Air to Logitech z5500 speakers?

On the logitech control panel it has input for coaxial, optical and green/black/orange speakers connecters (im guessing thats analogue)

Do i really need to get the 13 inch mbp instead?

Thanks Marc

 

[PaulWog]

Any way of connecting the new Macbook Air to Logitech z5500 speakers?

On the logitech control panel it has input for coaxial, optical and green/black/orange speakers connecters (im guessing thats analogue)

Do i really need to get the 13 inch mbp instead?

Thanks Marc

I don't know what inputs/outputs the Macbook Pro has on it to be honest. Simply look up the specs of the Pro and see what plugs it has... and if it has the ones you need for your z5500 speakers, then it will work with them.

The Macbook Air has a 3.5mm jack which will obviously work for 2-channel speakers (or in your case, the .1 I think is mixed in by a built-in controller on the z5500 speakers, so you'd just need a 3.5mm jack for the front two speakers and the subwoofer). The centre speaker and rear two speakers would be your issue.

If the z5500 speakers support USB for their sound, then you might be able to have a workaround. Also check out the Thunderbolt adapter options... possibly there's some sort of adapter for your needs (doubtful but possible).

I honestly wouldn't recommend you base your purchase purely based on whether the z5500 speakers will or will not fully function with a specific laptop. It doesn't quite make sense to me at least.

 

[mddell]

i have a usb guitar and need the speakers to hear the effects Guitar Rig/amplitube put out.

They are a top quality speaker the Logitech's....which is why i would like them to work with either laptop i'll be buying

 

[PaulWog]

i have a usb guitar and need the speakers to hear the effects Guitar Rig/amplitube put out.

They are a top quality speaker the Logitech's....which is why i would like them to work with either laptop i'll be buying

Guess I'm a bit of an audiophile. I used to think Logitech and Bose speakers, and other such basic speakers, were super high quality and nice. Once you get into it, and you demo some nicer speakers (certain Swan speakers, and lots of other brands that require receivers... Energy, some Klipsch speakers, Kef, etc, etc...) you might realize there is a huge difference.

If you've got money, get a receiver, use Thunderbolt-to-HDMI, and get a high quality 2.1 setup. However, that's going to be expensive!!!

To directly answer your question/scenario... the Macbook Air won't be able to output 5.1 sound unless if you have a plug that can plug into the Thunderbolt or USB port, and adapt to whatever is used on the z5500. So I guess you could look at the Pro... though I don't know what extra plugs it would have that would remedy this issue. You may simply need a desktop.

I think there may be external sound cards you can buy that have all the plugs you need. In fact, I'm pretty sure there are. They connect via USB. The one thing I do not know is if these sound cards function on a Mac, or if they're Windows-only. You could google up "USB sound card" and try to find that out. Or possibly someone else knows. If you can get one that will function on a Mac, then you could use an Air for certain.

 

[keantan]

I would check if the MBA has digital out (the pro's do through the headphone port) if that's the case you might be able to just use an optical - toslink cable or something?

 

[yongren]

I've been using a USB-to-audio adapter for a while, not for any technical reason, but just because it's one less cable to worry about plugging in when I take my laptop back to my desk. (I have it connected to a USB dock with HDD, printer, etc.)

The one I use is the Griffin iMic, and it works great for my needs.