teatime Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 What options do I have for surround sound on the iMac? I currently have 5.1 system. Do I need to get an external USB sound card? Or is their an optical out option? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chest12 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 I have a 5.1 Surrond Sound system. To start off with i bought loads of USB 5.1 Sound Cards, but they didn't work. So after some googling i found the Griffin FireWave http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave/. This is an amazing product and i am proud to recommend it. The installation of the software and the device is simple. There is one downfall to this product this is that it is quite expensive.http://forum.insanelymac.com/style_emoticons/default/thumbsdown_anim.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossie Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 I bought a Zalman 5.1 usb sound card. Works amazingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chest12 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 I bought a Zalman 5.1 usb sound card. Works amazingly. How did you manage to get the zalman to work becuase i tried several different ways but with no success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossie Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 plugged it in, changed default output to the zalman, went into sudio midi setup, set it to 6 channels, changed speaker arrangement to my 5.1 setup. The mac os dvd player can't output 5.1 to my speakers, but VLC and Quicktime can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chest12 Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 plugged it in, changed default output to the zalman, went into sudio midi setup, set it to 6 channels, changed speaker arrangement to my 5.1 setup.The mac os dvd player can't output 5.1 to my speakers, but VLC and Quicktime can. Thanks for that but the rear speakers don't come out with any sound when playing music un like my Griffin Firewave. The firewave has pro Logic 2 support compared to the Zalman which hasn't. So i still stand by me choice of the Firewave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teatime Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 Thanks for the advice guys I shall get shopping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macprodan Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 should the iMac / MacBook / MacBook Pro not have surround sound considering they have hd audio chips in them, combined with the optical output and the right amp and software i.e dvd player it should work. !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK.Xscape Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 just buy an airport express. thats what i would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossie Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 The rear speakers only start working with surround sound content. So with 2 channel audio, only my left and right speakers work. But with movies etc in quicktime and VLC all my speakers work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Heckles Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Mirroring stereo is useless and changes how the ears hear the sound. People that turn that on also are the same kinds of people that artificially increase the bass. You only want to have sound coming out of them if it's meant to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyJelleo Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I have a 5.1 Surrond Sound system. To start off with i bought loads of USB 5.1 Sound Cards, but they didn't work. So after some googling i found the Griffin FireWave http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave/. This is an amazing product and i am proud to recommend it. The installation of the software and the device is simple. There is one downfall to this product this is that it is quite expensive.http://forum.insanelymac.com/style_emoticons/default/thumbsdown_anim.gif It's $39.99 us . How is that expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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