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New member Username: David2005Post Number: 1 Registered: Oct-07 | Hi, I am a student in New Zealand. I have just bought an amp and some speakers. When I bought the amp, it was pretty much on a whim and I have since realised that everything is a lot more complex than I originally though. * The speakers are 2 old Technics 3-way speakers that are rated at 100w. I also have other smaller speakers floating around. * The amp is a Sony A/V control centre. 70w per channel, and 20w in surround (which is Dolby Pro Logic). * I have a HP Entertainment laptop with a headphone jack and a SPDIF jack (and S-video out). If I need to, I'll probably buy a TV but if I can help it I don't want to but a DVD player. I realise now that Dolby Pro Logic isn't 'surround' as such but I think my computer can decode Dolby Digital (play it out the SPDIF? I don't know). Is there a way I can connect My computer to the amp and have it play the surround sounds discretely through the speakers or what is the best surround experience I can get from this setup? Looking forward to a reply. David |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 1841 Registered: Feb-04 | David, the easiest way to solve your problem is to buy a digital receiver that supports Dolby Digital. Failing that, you could use your old analog Pro Logic receiver with a feed from the computer's headphone jack. With a simple adaptor such as this you feed the stereo signal into the Sony. The receiver will output analog matrixed Pro Logic surround sound to the speakers. Of course it will not be discreet multi-channel audio, but it won't be too bad---as long as you can tame the center channel sufficiently. |
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New member Username: David2005Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-07 | OK, thanks for that John. What's the story with the SPDIF jack, can I use it? |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 1842 Registered: Feb-04 | "What's the story with the SPDIF jack, can I use it?" The "D" in SPDIF is "Digital", and with an analog(ue) control center, you cannot use that output without a suitable digital®analog converter. That is what a Dolby Digital compatible receiver does very economically compared to a stand-alone DD®6 channel analog converter, which are not common. |