question about 5.1 surround

Im having trouble figuring out how to set up my surround sound on my m17x R1
as you may already know it has 3 3.5mm jacks. one for front speakers/back speakers etc.
This makes everything confusing to me. if i want surround sound do i just connect a bunch of pc speakers to my computer? and does the 3.5mm cable give the same sound quality as say a toshlink cable or hdmi cable?

edit: also the center 3.5mm port on the m17x is for the subwoofer and the center speaker. How do i connect both with one cable?

 

really you need a 5.1 speaker system which comes with the 3 color coded cables that will have the sub and center through the one cable
i have the logitech x-540 works really well and fairly cheap

 

the microphone port in the M17x R2 is a dual purpose port, Check the user manual for the specific arrangement.

no.. HDMI is pure digital, 3.5mm is DAC. Will you be able to tell the difference? Probably not. The IDT HD audio is nice, but its not *that* nice.

 

kenny27 thanks for the reply. for some reason the 3 ports just confused the heck outta me haha.
are there more surround systems out there with these connections? i want something with more watts.

 

Is it possible to get sub out of the 3.5mm jack at the same time as using HDMI. I have a 5.1 system connected to TV optically that gets the audio from the HDMI signal going into the TV but I also have a Buttkicker ( http://www.thebuttkicker.com/) attached to a 1 kW amp that needs an analogue signal.

 

Since my HDMI connections on my Pioneer audio/video receiver are taken by PS3, HD-DVD & XBox 360, I have 3 sets of 3.5mm to RCA composite cables (like these) connected from the computer to the multichannel analog inputs on the back of the Pioneer. It works great for listening to Dolby Digital 5.1 on DVDs or digital video files (I do not have side surround speakers installed in my home theater to test out 7.1 yet).

Here is a link to a Microsoft page that describes various ways to connect a pc to a home theater system.

As to specific speakers transmitting via analog when the HDMI is connected, I have not tried it. Check what properties & configuration options are still available in the sound section of the control panel while the HDMI cable is connected.

 

My surround sound amp only has optical or digital coax connectors. The only way I can get 5.1 into it from the M17x is HDMI to to TV, optical from the TV to the Surround sound amp. To feed the Buttkicker shakers 1Kw amp I need an anaolgue sub signal. I cannot work out how to get this from the M17x at the same time as HDMI audio. Does anybody know if it is possible to configure this? Cheers Taz - I've looked but I can't make sense of it - confused.

 

i have another question. If i just hook up my m17x via hdmi to my tv and have my surround sound already configured on my tv would i be getting the same sound quality through the hdmi as i would be getting if straight connected my computer to the surround sound via the 3x3.5mm ports?