Surround sound systems

hey guys, ive got a acer 6935g with spdif out and hdmi in and out with 5.1 surround sound supported . Was wondering if there anyone could show me some surround sound systems compatible as its gotten a bit confusing to me. ive heard with spdif it needs a reciever of some sort but would jus like to see come cheap complete systems that would get me true surround sound.

Thanks in advance

 

Im interested in this topic as well. If anyone has information on the topic I would appreciate it.

 

Well, even if you could find a 5.1 speaker set with S/PDIF in, you'd only get stereo sound. The surround sound is carried as Dolby Digital usually, so you'd need a Dolby Digital processor to decode the stream into the discrete channels. The cheapest and easiest way to do this is with a surround sound receiver. Alternatively, you could get a USB sound card like the SoundBlaster SB1090, which has the 5.1 output to support any PC speaker system. If you're on a limited budget, a good pair of stereo speakers will provide a much more enjoyable experience than a mediocre surround system.

 

for my specific system is states these as the sound properties

Optimized 2nd Generation Dolby Home Theater® audio enhancement, featuring Dolby® Digital, Dolby® Digital Live, Dolby® Pro Logic® IIx, Dolby® Headphone, Dolby® Natural Bass and Dolby® Sound Space Expander technologies
Two built-in stereo speakers and one Acer Tuba CineBass booster supporting low-frequency effects
True5.1-channel surround sound output

Im hoping that true 5.1 channel surround sound ouput means i dont need a dolby decoder :s (wishful thinking? lol)

 

It says dobly digital, so you don't need an external dolby decoder no.

 

thats a relief, does that apply for both the hdmi and spif outputs of my laptop or just the hdmi?

Either way do you know any decent surround sound systems compatable (good price to performance ratio £40-200)??

 

Indeed true. Merge it with your sound system if you have one, it will sound much better. I run mine through 2 amps powering 3 sets of speakers (overkill maybe ) but a decent second hand amp and speakers can be found on ebay or elsewhere and will give better sound and will less likely become junk to throw away in a few years time.

 

thanks for the replys. just seems hard finding a system with hdmi input. there are alot of systems with optical inputs which i assume would be compatible with my laptops spdif output ? the logitech z5500 seems a decent buy but its inputs are a bit unclear to me