Need Help to Connect M11X to Optical Audio

Hi,
Has anyone connected their M11X to an optical audio cable? I know the computer has a 5.1 card, but it has no SPDIF out. So I'm wondering how else to do it. HDMI? USB? DVI? What hardware is needed? Can a wireless sound bridge do this?

Thanks!

 

google "usb to optical adapter"... or "3.5mm to optical adapter" and click "shopping results" to buy one

 

I don't think you can get 5.1 digital out of the 3.5mm plug. And I have tried shopping and I can't figure out what I'm seeing. Nothing actually says "this will take 5.1 from your sound card and put it through toslink"

 

I have this for optical

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Surround 5.1 Pro 24BIT External USB2.0 Sound Card With Remote

The sound is better then audigy 2 to me

 

I was afraid that was going to be the only solution. I was hoping there was some splitter for the HDMI or something.

Who on gods green earth builds a laptop with a surround card and no way to connect it to half of the surround systems out there? I've got a 5 year old HP desktop and my wife has a several year old macbook that can both do this. Yet this $1,245 Dell cannot. Idiots!

 

They can't put all input output on such a small laptop really. I would have like optical builded in too but there already the HDMI and the Jack 1/8 can't blame them imo. Other alienware laptop do have optical IIRC. Apple gimp there hardware for marketing purpose. I don't think Alienware did'nt put optical on purpose...

in other hand. The soundblaster external card sound is crystal clear and everything work as intented to me.

 

You can get 5.1 from the headphone jacks. Go into the sound manager then select 5.1, it will then convert the mic jack into another sound output. Then using a analog 5.1 surround (logitec x530 is what I use) you connect all 3 plugs and then run the test in the system to find out where each speaker is.

 

Use this.


ZALMAN 5.1Ch External USB Sound Card ZM-RSSC +USB Cable | eBay




You will need a 3.5mm optical cable.
like this
Amazon.com: 3ft High Quality Digital Fiber Optic Audio Toslink to 3.5mm Optical Cable - 5...: Electronics

 

I got the impression that would provide analog line outs. Is that the case? If so, then I'd rather use an external sound card to get the digital output stream. I want to use the surround decoder in my Marantz surround receiver, since I paid lots of money for it; all it needs is the bits to decode. It can take coaxial digital or fiber optic.

I think I saw that the M17x had the mini toslink output but I didn't want a gigantic laptop. I certainly didn't expect them to put every conceivable output on the machine but it would have been nice if they at least offered an adapter that would plug into one of the other digital outputs and was all designed to work nicely with the machine. I'd buy that for an extra $20 or something.

I guess it will be moot soon. I expect all future surround receivers to take HDMI inputs.

Thanks. Someone in another forum also suggested this:

Amazon.com: StarTech.com HDMI2DVI HDMI to DVI-D Video Converter with Audio: Electronics

It takes HDMI and splits it to DVI + Digital Audio.

But get this: it costs $128 and an entire external sound card is only $62 on Amazon. It's no wonder I could not find it on Google, because I was not shopping for "HDMI to DVI".

 

I'm big into home theater setups and have just one question to ask.

Why not just run a HDMI cable from your M11x to your receiver and let the receiver decode everything for you?

 

Errr... every current Apple Macbook Pro has the standard 3.5/TOSLINK combo port. Just need a cheap adaptor to make it work as a normal S/PDIF over TOSLINK.

Amazon.com: Recoton Fiber Optic Toslink to 3.5mm Mini Adapter: Electronics

afaik, a few older, "premium," ASUS laptops also used to have this (my old n10e had it). I don't remember if my old m11xR2 (sold a long time ago) has this.