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    Best way to get 5.1 speakers working on a laptop?

    Discussion in 'Accessories' started by Tominokar, Sep 2, 2008.

  1. Tominokar

    Tominokar Newbie

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    I should soon be getting a Dell Studio 15, which I'm pretty sure doesn't have the ports for a 5.1 set-up. I also want to be able to play music through all 5 satellites, is there a way to do this without Creatives 'stereo surround'? I'm looking for the most cost-effective method, sound quality is good but I'm not prepared to pay £50+ for a sound card that offers just a little improvement :eek:
     
    Tominokar, Sep 2, 2008
    #1
  2. X2P

    X2P COOLING | NBR Super Mod

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    Soundblaster X-Fi express card slot external sound card.
     
    X2P, Sep 2, 2008
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  3. Tominokar

    Tominokar Newbie

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    Well there we have a £50 sound card + the £15 5.1 adaptor. I'm looking for a solution that won't rock the bank so much, and I've looked at the creative products and it doesn't seem possible with them.

    Would a simple 5.1 adaptor with some freeware software work?
     
    Tominokar, Sep 2, 2008
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  4. purplegreendave

    purplegreendave Has a notebook.

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    HDMI to amp perhaps...
    That'd be more than £65, however you can build upon it piece by piece, better speakers in a few months, then a HDTV - that way you have a mega media station (Using your laptop as a DVD player - you could also put a tuner in the express card slot)
     
    purplegreendave, Sep 2, 2008
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  5. pillowshot

    pillowshot Notebook Consultant

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    Surely buying 2 splitters and setting them up as follows would be the cheapest solution:


    Audio Output -- <
    -----------------<

    < = Splitter

    Ignore the dashes.

    Would give 3 ports for a 5.1 setup. The only problem I see is this isn't native 5.1 as it's simply splitting a stereo output. It should however play your music through all speakers though.
     
    pillowshot, Sep 2, 2008
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  6. wackydude1234

    wackydude1234 Notebook Evangelist

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    i have an adapter than does the 3 plugs from the 5.1 to Red and white and then i have a Red and white lead to 3.5mm jack, works fine.

    [​IMG]
     
    wackydude1234, Sep 2, 2008
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  7. Tominokar

    Tominokar Newbie

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    Ah yes I guess that would work, thanks. And the centre speaker just combines R and L?
     
    Tominokar, Sep 2, 2008
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  8. Tominokar

    Tominokar Newbie

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    Where did you get that adaptor? Can't find one anywhere...
     
    Tominokar, Sep 2, 2008
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  9. wackydude1234

    wackydude1234 Notebook Evangelist

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    wackydude1234, Sep 3, 2008
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  10. Tominokar

    Tominokar Newbie

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    Tominokar, Sep 3, 2008
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  11. sinbad

    sinbad Notebook Enthusiast

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    But to get 5.1 or 7.1 sound you need an extra adapter.

    Also u could just get the logitech x540 speaker set they sound amazing for the price and can output a 2.1 source on all speakers, imitating 5.1 sound.
     
    sinbad, Sep 3, 2008
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  12. wackydude1234

    wackydude1234 Notebook Evangelist

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    ah so am i xD amazon.com ships to england btw xD however other than that i can't find any (online) shops that sell them. as i said mine came with my X-530
     
    wackydude1234, Sep 3, 2008
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  13. Tominokar

    Tominokar Newbie

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    No kidding, those are the exact speakers I have arriving today! So can this be done even if there's no centre and rear ports on the laptop?

    Guess it may be coming with my X540 then :D
     
    Tominokar, Sep 4, 2008
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  14. wackydude1234

    wackydude1234 Notebook Evangelist

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    Well if it doesn't you can always just buy 3 double headphone plugs and plug them all into one.
     
    wackydude1234, Sep 4, 2008
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  15. Tominokar

    Tominokar Newbie

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    Works perfect on my MP3 player, so see no reason why it won't on my laptop :D Plus on my PC the speaker Matrix sounds so much better than CMSS Stereo Surround. Awesome speakers :cool:
     
    Tominokar, Sep 4, 2008
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