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    Does the macbook pro support 5.1 speaker systems?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by dmitrip, Jul 27, 2009.

  1. dmitrip

    dmitrip Notebook Guru

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    hey guys, I was looking at buying the Logitech z5500 speakers which are 5.1 surround sound and I was planning to use them with my soon to arrive 15 inch macbook pro. My only concern is whether the macbook pro actually supports 5.1 or do i need to buy some kind of an external sound card? in which case I will look for different speakers.

    Thank you very much.
     
    dmitrip, Jul 27, 2009
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  2. Budding

    Budding Notebook Virtuoso

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    Macbooks have Intel HD Audio cards, which support up to 8 channels at 96kHz. If you want to run your audio at higher than 96kHz however, you will need a USB speaker system or an external soundcard.
     
    Budding, Jul 27, 2009
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  3. dmitrip

    dmitrip Notebook Guru

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    dmitrip, Jul 27, 2009
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  4. Budding

    Budding Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yes it would be, although to maximise audio quality I would recommend you to get an external sound card.
     
    Budding, Jul 27, 2009
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  5. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    The Logitech z5500s support optical in right?
    MacBook pros have a dual link auto-sensing stereo jack that supports optical out(Digital SPDIF) and standard analog, which means it does support 5.1 with the z5500s. No external audio card required.

    All you need is a toslink cable that converts the standard optical connector to the male 2.5mm jack :

    [​IMG]
     
    D3X, Jul 28, 2009
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  6. marcosdjcm

    marcosdjcm Notebook Guru

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    im glad you asked this question as i was wondering the same thing!

    So do all 5.1 systems have optical interfaces?
     
    marcosdjcm, Jul 29, 2009
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  7. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    No, your Sound system must support optical-in for this to work, which means you will need a premium sound system.
     
    D3X, Jul 29, 2009
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  8. marcosdjcm

    marcosdjcm Notebook Guru

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    Oh ok, thanks, so how do cheap 5.1 systems interface with the source?
     
    marcosdjcm, Jul 29, 2009
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  9. crazycanuk

    crazycanuk Notebook Virtuoso

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    cheaper 5.1 systems interface with a sound card through 3 headphone ports, one for center channel, one for front stereo channels and one for rear stereo channels
     
    crazycanuk, Jul 29, 2009
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  10. J12

    J12 Notebook Evangelist

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    I would stick with optical since the sound quality does not depend on the sound card. Correct me if i'm wrong.
     
    J12, Jul 29, 2009
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  11. crazycanuk

    crazycanuk Notebook Virtuoso

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    Sound quality and CPU usage are dependant on the sound card, you can hear quite a difference between soundcards especially on a high end stereo system.
     
    crazycanuk, Jul 29, 2009
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  12. marcosdjcm

    marcosdjcm Notebook Guru

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    Hmm, gonna have to see the price range of optical 5.1 systems, might be out of my range, but would hook up nicely to the PS3...hmm
     
    marcosdjcm, Jul 29, 2009
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  13. CanadianDude

    CanadianDude Notebook Deity

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    Logitech Z5500. I connect via optical and the sounds is BOOMING
     
    CanadianDude, Jul 29, 2009
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  14. lixuelai

    lixuelai Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    When using optical if the output is bit-perfect then the sound card makes no difference.
     
    lixuelai, Jul 30, 2009
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