Hardware :: Any Device To Attach 5.1 Surround Sound
Dec 27, 2010
I have been searching the internet high and low over the last couple of days to try and find some sort of device to attach my new 5.1 surround sound to my MBP 13". The speakers have front, rear and center/subwoofer inputs, which are 3.5mm jacks. At the moment all i can get is the subwoofer and 2 other speakers working at once. I understand that some of the content of my laptop wont be in 5.1 surround sound, but I'd still like that to be played through all of the speakers not just 2. So basically here's a list of the features I really want:
*Firewire or USB connection
*Output to my speakers
*Possibly an audio input for a guitar (not very important)
*The ability to play stereo in all of my speakers
Do I need to change/download anything on my mac to be able to output 5.1 in for example a DVD that I am playing etc?
I'm pretty new here, though I posted over a year ago here with a few questions as a beginning switcher. My switch completed in Christmas of 2005 with a late '05 Power Mac G5 Dual-Core 2.3GHz with 1GB RAM and 250GB HDD. I decided to get another monitor and it is a Sony 19" LCD one. I also didn't get any speakers since I used headphones a lot at the time. I recently decided to start using speakers. So temporarily, I am using the Altec Lansing BX1120 2.0 Stereo speakers from Walmart for only $15. They sound great but I would like 5.1 surround sound to watch my DVDs (and to soon upgrade to BluRay & SACD/DVD-A; but that's for another thread later on). Before I go on, I would like to ask questions and provide facts with what my 'puter has. My specific products I'm looking for is at the bottom of this message.
I currently have 1 PC (Windows7) and 1 MBP (Snow Leopard) in the house, the PC has 2 additional HDDs attached with movies and music on them and they are in NTFS format. I can view the contents on my PC via my wireless G network on my Macbook through sharing etc. Now my problem is that I'm getting rid of the PC (hopefully for an iMac in the future) but right now what sort of device would I need to build/buy to attach the 2 NTFS HDDs to the network so my MBP can still access the media on them?
is possible to enable 5.1 surround sound in OS X. I just bought the Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speaker System and I have a mini-toss link optical audio cable plugged in. The optical connection is working fine but whenever i play ANY audio (iTunes, system sounds, youtube, or games) its always in Stero.. never 5.1. I understand most of that stuff isn't setup for 5.1 but the thing I am really wanting 5.1 for, World of Warcraft and the few other games I play in OS X
I have a macbook pro 2.4 ghz intel core 2 duo and recently just got the logitech x540 5.1 surround sound speaker system..So far, I have to set it into "matrix mode" and use only the green cord in the headphone jack to get the speakers to work properly.. but I would like to be able to fully use the 5.1 sound system.What is the best way to do this? I've did some googling and found that some people suggested an external sound card, like the Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 sound card which plugs in via USBI also saw that some people suggested using an optical converter.
With an influx of Dolby Digital enhanced HD content making its way to the iTunes store, and subsequently Apple TV, Apple is reportedly working on an update to QuickTime that will improve support for 5.1 channel audio. People familiar with the matter say the Cupertino-based electronics maker tapped its vast developer community on Tuesday to begin testing versions of QuickTime 7.6 for Windows, as well as both Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
The pre-releases, which reportedly carried build number A26, ranged in size from about 20MB to over 60MB, but were consistent in that they delivered the same series of enhancements requiring evaluation. In particular, those familiar with the software say Apple has requested that developers test the release extensively with multi-channel encoded audio tracks that feed unique content to each surround sound channel. Developers were also asked to put some weight on MPEG-1 playback and conversions, as well as encoding and playback of audio tracks in the AAC and Apple Lossless formats.
QuickTime 7.6 is one of only a handful of remaining updates planned for Apple's existing QuickTime architecture before the company turns the majority of its focus to QuickTime X -- a complete overhaul to the media software with optimized support for modern audio and video formats that should result in extremely efficient playback.[URL]
I have an old speaker setup from an old pc...Cambridge Soundworks 4.1 Surround Sound System. I was wondering if it can be used for my laptop. I've heard you cannot plug in 4.1 and hear front and rear..you only recieve 2.1 is this true? theres two audio inputs on the back of this sub..front and rear...and theres another jack..a digital din port...which I dont know much about...does anyone know if both can be used..if which is better..and if I can really have true 4.1?
I have my Mac Pro hooked up to my Amplifier, an Onkyo 805 via DVI>HDMI and an optical cable.Now i thought that this would be giving me 5.1 sound (which i think it does when playing DVDs) but with Quicktime files with 5.1 it seems that only 2 channels of audio are playing. I've tried the bitstream trick (Perian + Change the Plist file) and this seems to work fine for AC3 audio but not AAC,
I have looked through the threads here ENDLESSLY!!!! And I, unfortunately, still seem to be at a loss on what to do.
As of right now, I have a headphone output going to the Red and White RCA analog to my surround sound input just like the ones here The headphone male end is going into the very far left headphone jack of my iMac. I have a 5.1 surround sound system and I know that this isn't being used to it's full potential.
I am not fully sure on what to do with the Audio in / optical audio in port... If I connect a fiber optic cable to that into my digital input on my surround sound, is that all I need? (this?) No RCA plugins or anything....?
Also, I have read endlessly on the FireWave and I am not really sure what the point of that is...? I don't know how it comes into play with hooking up my surround sound system to my iMac.
I'm thinking of getting some new external speakers to work with my powerbook. I saw this sound card that said 5.1 on the box and then I presumed that you need, like a graphics card you need to have a dedicated sound card to do 5.1. So, do you need a dedicated sound card for 5.1? If so, does a Powerbook g4 have this card?
Recently posted a thread but was thinking could anyone really really simply tell me in numbered steps how to get surround sound for my iMac, and what i'd need to buy. I have a home cinema system with all the speakers which go through RCA connectors (phono) into the system.
So I'm running bootcamp on my Mid-2010 Mac Pro and I can't get Dolby Surround Sound to run from the Realtek HD Audio Manager. Is there a way to produce true Dolby 5.1? I understand this may be more bootcamp related than to the actual hardware itself but I figured this is the best place to start troubleshooting this.
Info: Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), Mid-2010 Quad Core
Just bought my 1st MAC and it's inspiring. Am slowly getting to know my way around it. The problem that I have is I also have a Sony Blu-ray home cinema system which has a WIFI connection to enable it to connect to the internet. Can I stream music from my macbook pro to this system, and if so how. I've tried but seem to fail at every attempt.
I know that there's a headphone output jack and an audio input jack on the iMac. Is there anyway to hook up my 5.1 Logitech speakers to the iMac? What kind of adapter would I need or is it even possible?
I have a creative 5.1 speaker setup and just recently found my old sound blaster external card from my PC from years ago. I went on the creative website to try and download drivers for it and their weren't any (surprise, surprise). So I've been trying to figure out how to use my speaker setup so I can watch movies from iTunes in 5.1 surround sound. When I plug in the card through USB the sound tab in the system preferences reads it as the SB Live! card (which it is).
Then when I go to the Audio MIDI Setup, it also reads the card and the speakers I have connected to it. When I go the configure speakers tab, it shows them and all when I click on them to test them, it shoots out noise through each speaker. But when I go back to iTunes and enable surround sound in a movie, nothing happens. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Is there any software I can download so I can use my speakers?
I did a search and found a lot of threads, but didn't find the answer to my question. If I hook up my powerbook to my receiver via the auxilary input, will I be able to get true surround sound? It'd be hooked up in the headphone jack. If this doesn't work, is the Firewave the best thing to get?
I've got some old Altec Lansing surround sound speakers (4 + subwoofer) that I'd like to connect to my MBP, but I can't figure out what sort of adapter I'd need.
At the back of the subwoofer there's an empty port called "Diag," and two 3.5mm (it looks like) audio cords coming out of an "Input" port. I'm only used to dealing with singe 3.5mm cords.
I just purchased (ships the 11th) a new iMac i7. I have been using Dells for years to game with and Macs to work with, and have decided I am not tolerating PC nonsense anymore and moving to my Mac full-time (yay for Bootcamp).
I have some old Dell 5.1 speakers that I am retiring, but I am a bit flummoxed on a good set of 5.1 speakers that will work with my Mac. (I do not want to use the Firewave or an external sound card
The Logitech Z-5500 look like they will do the trick with a Toslink To Optical Mini Adapter.
However, that is pricey for speakers. Do any of you know of some decent 5.1 Surround Sound speakers for the single mini port on the Mac?
I have a black macbook now that I'm using to stream to my ps3 so I can watch on my LED HDTV. I was thinking of getting a mac mini, external hard drive, and running Plex on it to make it a dedicated htpc. But I was also contemplating on maybe just using my macbook with plex for now and purchase this
Sony BRAVIA DAV-HDX589W 5.1-Channel Theater System [URL]. MacBook is going to run me about 700 with the external hard drive and the home theater path will run me about 400 and I'll most likely get an external for my MacBook since I am running out of space.
I am trying to connect some logitech x-540 speakers to my i7 15" MacBook Pro and get the full surround sound not stereo. What adapters would I need? If possible please add links for the adapters?
I have a macbook pro and an external usb soundcard Sound Blaster Recon3d which is made to work with macs. I have it hooked up via the optical out and still cannot use surround sound. I attempt to change settings in the audio midi options, though it is not possible, and only works on dvd's. On games I attempt to enable hardware acceleration and this also does not function.
I have a Sasmung LCD HDTV that is connected to my Macbook Pro via HDMI (MiniDisplay Port). The TV is connected to a Sony receiver that is capable of surround sound (reads AC3).The video and sound is working. However, I have an AC3 encoded video file, that doesn't pick up on the receiver. It just says "Stereo PCM" but it's not surround sound. Is there any way to fix this? What information would you need from me about this?
I'm trying to connect an XLogic speaker system to an IMac desktop. There are only RCA Plugs on the speakers and the 3.5mm plug on the Mac. Can anyone suggest what cable or junction I will need to achieve my goal of connection.
The English dialogues in sound surround 4.0 of a DVD are completely muffled when playing on my MacBookPro. The rest of the same soundtrack is fine (music, etc.). The dialogues in other languages on the same DVD work fine (they are in 2.0 sound surround). My other DVDs are working fine on the same MacBookPro.The problem occurs only with one particular DVD, with the English dialogues. The same DVD plays fine on other computers and DVD equipment. What is the explanation or what could be wrong when playing it on my MacBookPro? I have tried disabling the Dolby dynamic range compression in iDVD Preferences > Disc Setup - but this made no difference at all.
Info: MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009), Mac OS X (10.6)
This started happening randomly earlier tonight, and I haven't managed to find a fix just yet.I was encoding a video file for quite awhile (I don't think that parts important, but I thought I'd include it anyway) and then I tried to play a youtube video. I noticed there was no sound, so I tried to up the volume using the Volume Up key on the keyboard. The volume visualisation appeared on the screen like normal (albeit a bit laggy), but the sound still didn't change, neither did I get the usual 'click' noise you get when you change the volume.I went looking into the sound options in the system prefs. only to find that the Output Sound device was headphones. For a test I plugged in some headphones to see what happened and, low and behold, the Output Sound device changed to the Internal Sound and my speakers were working again, but only with the headphones plugged in.
