Connecting 5.1 Speakers to Laptop

I've decided that I need to make a switch to a laptop. The only thing that's twisting me up is surround sound. What is the most straightforward (don't care about costs) way to connect 5.1 surround sound speakers (ex. Logitech 5500) to a laptop?

I have been using a sound blaster x-fi xtreme music soundcard on my desktop, what are my options for keeping the same kind of sound quality on a laptop?

 

i used to use a soundblaster audigy notebook edition card with my old dell laptop and the z5500s.

sounded great.

 

There are numerous 5.1 USB surround sound cards available, one of the most popular ones probably being the Creative X-Fi. I don't know about it's quality, though. I use an old Turtle Beach Audio Advantage SRM myself, but that's no longer in production.

 

Well, it would help if you could tell us what laptop you have (or are thinking of buying).

The Logitech Z-5500 speaker set accepts either 5.1 analog surround sound inputs, or digital coax/optical inputs. So you will need to find a way to output in one of those three formats.

Many laptops have the capability of outputting 5.1 analog through connectors built in to the laptop. I don't know what laptop you are considering, but my Dell XPS M1330 and my Alienware M11x both have this capability.

Otherwise, you will need to get some kind of add-on sound card. They come in PCMCIA, ExpressCard, or USB formats. Again, what you get will depend on what connections your laptop supports.

 

The Creative X-Fi 5.1 USB sound card is real good...its what Im using now hooked up through my Logitech Z-680's and it sounds great!

Other than that, if you have the connectivity...does your laptop have a HDMI output that might be able to do surround sound audio?

I do find it odd that laptops dont come with audio outputs...my Asus W90 has 5.1 built into the laptop (actual 5 speakers and sub) and its TRUE 5.1 as in the surround sound and center channels are actually there but yet the laptop has no analog 5.1 outputs...just HDMI...its like ?

 

Either the new Toshiba Portege 700 or the sony vaio z.

 

That's because it's a media laptop! But that is the best and simplest way to make the connection--via the HDMI output. If you have a receiver with HDMI, just plug it in.

 

Those are nice choices. I'm a huge fan of small, thin, highly portable laptops myself.

If you're considering those laptops, I would go with the USB-based Creative X-Fi for $50. It has the distinct advantage of being usable with any computer, even desktop PC's that may not have ExpressCard slots. It also connects and disconnects with a single USB cable. So you can leave it hooked up to your speakers, and simply connect or disconnect your entire speaker setup with a single USB cable when you need to take your laptop on the road.

 

My G51VX outputs optical audio through its headphone output as well (if I plug in headphones, it's stereo, but if I plug in an optical cable from my laptop to my receiver, I can get 5.1 through my speakers). HDMI is of course another option, but the receiver doesn't support it.