Optical Plug in for M17x

Hey Guys -

Can the sound card in the M17x be upgraded so I can use a optical cable?

I have a logitech Z-5500 souround speakers, and wanted to know how can upgrade the nouse quality coming out of them... Right now i am using 6 channel direct...

Most likely this is a stupid question since there is no hole for the "would be new" optical calbe plug-in... i thinkg the M17 has one. not sure though

would i even notice a difference betwenn 6 channel diect calbes and an optical calbe?

isnt the only way you can fully benefit from souround sound is from an optical cable?

EDIT: The sound and sound card from the M17x is great. dont get me wrong. its great. but since i have the Z5500, might as well ask

 

You'll need an external sound card like the Soundblaster X-Fi to use the optical.

The M17x has three audio outs for 5.1 audio (one for fronts, one for center/sub, and one for rears). Can you use those? And yes, this would be 5.1 audio. Each 3.5mm jack can handle up to two speakers each. There are 3 audio outs, therefore 5.1 surround (the .1 being the sub).


The M17 does have optical audio out and supports 7.1 speaker systems (thats 6 speakers plus sub). M17x does not.

 

thanks marvie

yeah right now im using 6 channel direct right now... what you described.

But do you think it would be beneficial for me to use optical audio option? or in other words, would I get better audio quality with optical over the 6 channel direct?

thanks

 

M17x does have HDMI to carry digital audio so the (aged)optical port isn't needed.

 

In terms of simply surround sound, the short answer is No with your speaker setup. Optical out just lets you use one cable for 6 outputs, and uses PCM Stream to do it. Analog Audio out with 3 x 3.5mm jacks will give you the same sound quality. The only difference is how Realtek processes sound and how Creative processes sound. So if you're happy with the Realtek in your lappy, there's really no reason to change it.

For Informational Purposes, I have a Soundblaster X-Fi Notebook ExpressCard for my M17. I listen to audio through headsets as I have roomies and I'm usually up late. I've used both onboard sound and Soundblaster sound. The differences I've noticed is that the Soundblaster sound is more "surrounding" in the headset on the X-Fi card rather then standard headset stereo which I get from the onboard Realtek audio. Being as I use the same headset for both, the Creative X-Fi is simply using software to attempt a fuller sound quality then the Realtek does out of the same speakers/headset. Hope that makes some sense.

@Mandrake, while that's true, the Z-5500 speakers don't have HDMI connections either. HDMI is a digital audio + digital video format typically found on HD Televisions. One plug carries audio and video digitally.

 

thanks guys

Should i then just use, the IDT HD sound thing (in control panel) that comes with the M17x, or should i download creative media player... im confused...

Last set of speakers i got came with creative media player and all the other stuff... im playing music using windows media player, and this IDT thing is confusing me... (is this IDT thing same thing as the creative... is there better software to play this music..

if im not making sense, please tell me, since i will try to think about this some more... im confused

its just that when i hook this (z-5500) up to my hd tv and watch some blu ray video/dvd's the sound is out there and very very good, compared to listening to my mp3's

EDIT:IDT must be the brand of the sound card in the M17x... my desktop had a creative sound blaster... its making some more sense now...

 

The Creative Media Player is used when you are using a Creative sound card, which, if you're using onboard sound (Realtek) then you are not. The IDT HD sound thing you're referring to is the Realtek version of what the Creative media player would be.

 

oh alright it just that when i hook up the z-5500 speakers to my hd tv and watch some dvds the sound quality is very very good compared to listening to mp3' on my computer...

bit rates are 196, maybe i should try in the 380, do you know how I can change this bit rate thing (example:196 kbps)

 

The bit rate is dependent on how the music was encoded and written. So you get whatever bit rate the person who encoded the music chose to encode it at, it can't be changed unless you re-encoded it yourself.

And you're comparing two different formats here, its like apples and oranges. DVD's are not encoded the same as MP3, they use the AC-3 (Dolby Digital) format or DTS format for encoding audio. Take a look here and here if you're REALLY Interested in it.

 

Does the m17x have one of those 3.5mm ports that also is an optical port with the adapter? That would solve all his problems. I know these are becoming more common on laptops.

One of these:


The clear plastic protector on the end would be removed for use.

 

No, it uses 3 Audio out 3.5mm analog jacks for 5.1 Audio out. What you show IS on the m15x, however.

 

I see, my HP dv9260nr had it as well, although I prefer a real toslink port like my whitebook has

That does kinda suck...I would expect a digital output on a system of this caliber, aside from hdmi. As you can not hook this up to a receiver now (unless via hdmi)

That being said....I STILL WANT ONE!

 

lol. thanks for the lesson in hdmi.

 

Marvie -

What is your opinion on this creative express card sound card... theres mixed reviews...

sound blaster X-Fi extreme audio notebook

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=873&product=16642&listby=

I wanted to ask since i am deciding to upgrade in sound cards... since many believe creative is one of the best...

realtek is just not doing it for me... I used to have a creative sound card, and the music was just richer, and crisper, and envelopes you in the sound... although I used a desktop (PCI slot ones) sound blaster...

Am I going to get the quality of music quality in "ANY" notebook creative sound blaster cards?

thanks

 

I have had the X-Fi Xtreme Audi Notebook since i got my Dell XPS M1710 and i have it in my m17x now. It does the job but its not perfect there are driver glitches that creative seems to lazy to fix with both Vista and Windows 7. Sometimes when attaching the speaker dongle the system will require a reboot before it works. Also a Windows 7 glitch i have been having that i hope gets fixed is it gets stuck on the last tone and keeps playing a continuous sound until i disable/enable in the sound control panel. Keep in mind Windows 7 drivers are still immature and that issue may still be fixed even before it becomes officially available. If your a gamer though it has EAX which is great and it also has the ability to run through notebook speakers for when not at home.

 

thanks for the input...

Do you know about this one product.

sound blaster digital music sx (not sure if it has Xtreme Fidelity- or whatever this is)
Or
X-Fi xtreme audio (express card)

Which one has better sound quality for playing Mp3,wav,flac, etc...

I used to have a sound blaster augidy (for destops), and it was fantastic (and this was around 5 years ago or more)... Do any of the above beat this sound card

 

@mandrake

HDMI doesn't replace SPDIF, period.