Upgradig to 4.1 /5.1 sound - unsure though :S

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Hi all, im sick of having only 2 speaker stereo output and have recently found myself looking at 4.1/5.1 speaker sets.

However i was wondering will i need to get one of those hugey mega *****, digital box thingies (im not too up on sound systems :D), in order to allow me to use such a system on my Sblaster PCI 512 ??

The cards i had in mind are the:

Videologic ZXR-500 5.1 channel speaker system

and

Creative Labs FourPointSurround FPS1600

I red that the ZXR-500 could use the PC/DVD etc instead of a digital box thingie - however i am deeply confused:confused: , please helep :D

Cheers

--Jakk:t


**Specs**
Abit KT7a RAID
1.33ghz Tbird
Gf2 mx400 64mb
SBlaster PCI 512
Creative 12XDVD
Philips 24X12X40 CDRW

[dave-harper]

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sb512/
then line out ( rear ) connector
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sb512/specs.asp
of course the tech support blows because they have NO manual you can download
:rolleyes:

[Bigjakkstaffa]

I've got the manual - just has sweet buger all about anything in it thats all :)


Well that screen tells me it dont do 5.1 :(, although 4.1 is supported - however i still dont know wether i'll need a digital box, although the card does have two line outs if thats any help??

--Jakk :t

[[gg]Daedalus]

The "digital box" you speak of is, I assume, a receiver. You don't need one. You do, however, need some sort of amplification. There are really 2 options here, for example:

1:My set-up: SBAudigy=>5.1 channel Altec Lansing PC speaker set Model ? (made for PC).... about $200

2:My Dad's setup:SBAudigy=>5.1 channel Kenwood 600w reciever
w/6 speaker set, made for home theater.....about $300

Prices, however do range, as do pros and cons.

Surround sound PC speaker sets range from $50 to $500 USD. They are easy to configure, take up minimal space, and are made for PCs.
Receivers and their speakers range from $200 to $4000+. They take up more room, but have more options, like AM/FM, multiple inputs, multiple speaker set outputs.

Hope I have helped.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Thanks,

dont think i can afford that on my measley part time wages - **** eh, might just ge some pretty powerful stereo speaks instead :)

--Jakk :t

[TARP2]

Logitech sells a 4.1 sys., 560 I think is the designation. Subwoofer + 4 sattelites for $135 U.S.:cool:

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Still a bit hefty on the wallet that setup over this side of the pond im afraid tarp, as a cheap solution to my problems, well £15 cheap :D, i was wondering if 2.1 sound is compatible with my card as is, or again would i need to splash out for anew soundcard and the digital box??

--Jakk :t

[wolfnadrid]

Yes your soundcard can do 2.1 and 4.1 sound (Out 1 is front Out 2 is rear). There are some decent sounding 4 speaker + sub packages you can get at most computer stores that aren't hard on the wallet (under $70 US) though its better to spend a little bit to get something that will last more than months and doesn't sound like a tin can.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

LOL, rightyoh - thanks for that information..im gonna start having a look around for speakers after i get round to killing off the rest of the "wishlist".

Cheers

--Jakk :t