USB/Firewire Surround for 10.5.1 and bootcamp

[xstorm101]

Hello,
I would like to ask you guys what good USB or Firewire sound cards do you recommend that have 5.1 surround and that are :
1) Compatible with Leopard 10.5.1
2) (not so importat but still) compatible with Bootcamp (windows)

So far what I have come up with but I have little compatibility data about are :
- M-audio Sonica Theatre 7.1 USB
- Hercules Muse Pocket LT
- Zalman RSSC
- Griffin Firewave (apparently doesn't work on windows)

Many thanks in advance for helping me with this surround dilema !

 

[darthmullet]

I almost bought the griffin wirewave a while back but settled on something else: the Miglia Tech HarmonyAudio . It is firewire, supports 8 channels output (via 4 stereo miniplugs), has headphone output with volume control, as well as two mono inputs (or one stereo input). It works perfectly in Mac OS X and they have drivers for Windows XP (not sure about vista) as well. It is bus powered and has 96 kHz/24 bits sound quality.

Basically it will work with any setup you want up to 8 channels. I use it with my 5.1 speaker system, but it is just as easy to set it up for 7.1.

I think it is a better piece of equipment than any of those you listed. I picked one up from amazon for $65, they are down to $50 now.

I know this reads kind of like an advertisement, but this is just my experience.

(On a side note, I had to contact customer support because the device was causing a strange frequency distortion problem; turns out you just need to change the sample rate in Audio/MIDI settings to match what your audio source is... my point is their customer service is not bad)

 

[saltyzoo]

Why not just use the mini toslink output already built in?

 

[darthmullet]

Why not just use the mini toslink output already built in?

That is the best solution, considering you have the proper audio hardware.
I would have loved to but my speaker setup doesn't have digital input.