mit006 Posted May 6, 2005 Share Posted May 6, 2005 Hey, I'm pretty new to the audio scene. I just picked up a set of Logitech X530 5.1 surround sound speakers. I've heard good things about them, especially for their price range.... and i got an even better deal on them getting them for about $38 + tax Canadian. (Staples has a 150% price match policy) :devil: anyway... these speakers are designed to connect to a pc soundcard with three "minijack" i believe connectors (the types you use to connect headphones to a cd player)... one's green for the front speakers + sub, one's black for rears + sub, and one's orange for centre + sub. (as per the manual and my testing them out)... now i was wondering how i'd go about hooking these up to my dvd player or my TV... if that's possible at all. :unsure: and whether it's possible to get 5.1 surround sound out of them attached to a standalone dvd player or tv. as far as i can tell all there is are the rca stereo jacks (red-white) so i figure even if i did some crazy set-up with splitters and minijack to rca connectors (if those exist) i'd only get 2/4 channel sound eh? :no: does anyone have any suggestions on how i can hook these up? i don't really want to have a pc sitting next to my tv... so that's not really the solution i'm seeking. oh and curious... those square connectors on the dvd player... optical something or other... is there anyway to connect to that? anyway... sorry i'm a big noob. :blush: any help you can provide would be most appreciated... thanks in advance! :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted May 6, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 6, 2005 Unless the speakers (most likely on the sub or controller) have surround sound inputs, you would have to disconnect them from the computer and find a DVD player with analog surround outputs on it (kind of rare these days). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doli Posted May 6, 2005 Share Posted May 6, 2005 not worth it, but there is a Decoder by Creative, the DDTS-100, that will take the RCA stereo inputers and output them to the Logitech's 3 minijacks, but you will get Dolby Pro Logic 5.1, not Dolby Digital. The Decoder should work with your DVD player and produce Dolby Digital 5.1 via coaxial or optical. Its also good for your {xbox,PS2,gamecube}, but the price of the decoder is around $150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 7, 2005 Author Share Posted May 7, 2005 bangbang, i'm not sure what you're refering to in terms of surround sound inputs... all the speakers have are the three minijack connectors. and I don't plan on connecting them to my PC at all... i'd like to hook them up to my tv/dvd player. dolimite, I just looked up that DDTS-1000 you were referring to. best price i could find was $159 at pccanada.com... that said... that's a little more than i'm looking to spend... although that seems like the perfect device... it's so expensive. my speakers cost $140, paying $160 for the decoder... which doesn't even act as an amp or anything and from the reviews i've seen... isn't the greatest design... seems kind of dumb. quite the dilemma. do you know of any other company's or products similar to that? is there any other way I could hook them up? thanks to both of you for your suggestions. any other advice would be much appreciated as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted May 7, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 7, 2005 If you want to hook it up to your DVD, you would have to get one with analog 5.1 outputs so that you can hook up each speaker individually. From there you would have to get a mini jack to rca y adapter. The front channels share one mini jack, rear share another, and center and bass share the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 7, 2005 Author Share Posted May 7, 2005 i guess i'll double check with the manuals of the two dvd players i have... to see what they have in terms of outputs. :unsure: sounds like a lot of connectors... how much should i expect each of those connectors to cost me? :whistle: if there are any other suggestions, please post as well. thanks. this is really driving me up a wall. this seems like something more people than JUST me would want to do... so there has to be a good way of going about achieving this... without spending hundreds on a crappy 'home theater in a box'. :x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted May 7, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 7, 2005 http://www.gerade.de/prodfoto/den1400back.jpg look at the right of that image. That's what analog surround outputs look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 7, 2005 Author Share Posted May 7, 2005 hmmm... thanks for the pic. neither of my dvd players has those. that sucks. any other ideas/suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 I found this "game console adapter" on the logitech website. Logitech Game Console Adapter here's a picture: although it's only a stereo solution (as opposed to the 5.1 surround sound) it's cheap and should hopefully do the trick. only problem is it's out of stock and i don't see them restocking in the foreseeable future. ended up finding it on e-bay. so hopefully it'll do the trick. thanks for all of your help. if you guys have any other affordable solutions for how i might be able to get 5.1 surround sound, be sure to post and let me. thanks again! ciao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted May 9, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 9, 2005 It's only stereo. He wouldn't need that particular adapter for simply running a stereo connection to his speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 10, 2005 Author Share Posted May 10, 2005 would or wouldn't? that connection would give only stereo sound (ie rear-left/right will play the same as the front left/right)... as opposed to 5.1 where the rear and front play different because it's positional... this connector does not give 5.1 surround... just stereo (left vs right is different sound) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 11, 2005 Author Share Posted May 11, 2005 being sold on ebay for pretty cheap. Logitech 5.1 Surround Sound Game Console Adapter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 14, 2005 Author Share Posted May 14, 2005 being sold on ebay for pretty cheap.Logitech 5.1 Surround Sound Game Console Adapter 585905021[/snapback] bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted May 14, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 14, 2005 that's not going to give you surround sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 15, 2005 Author Share Posted May 15, 2005 that's not going to give you surround sound. 585918956[/snapback] why not? it'll do the same thing as buying a bunch of Y splitters and female minijacks... why wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted May 15, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 15, 2005 because it's only taking stereo input? You can't get surround sound from a stereo source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 16, 2005 Author Share Posted May 16, 2005 :huh: read my posts again! :blink: i never said it was going to give surround... i quite frankly stated... that this would only give you STEREO SOUND!!!... stereo source... so the best you can achieve is stereo output. but it's not just giving you "random sound" or the SAME sound in each speaker... the sound from the entire system will still be split into left and right (which is known as stereo sound... to the best of my understanding)... and NOT surround sound (which is not only left and right... but split also into front and rear halves... resulting in four directions of sound... as opposed to just two). :pinch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted May 16, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 16, 2005 that's honestly a waste and will only alter the true natures of the sounds. do whatever you want though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 17, 2005 Author Share Posted May 17, 2005 well right now $150 for the Creative DDTS 1000 seems like a bigger waste. so i guess i'll have to make do for now. thanks anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daijoubu Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 You'll need: 2x RCA male to 3.5mm stereo female Y cable (or 3.5mm stereo male + female/female adaptor) 3.5mm male to 2x 3.5mm female Y splitter/adaptor 5$ at most... The last yellow jack is for LFE/center, I wouldn't try to connect this one as: 1) Destroy stereo image if you mix both channels to the center 2) LFE (not bass) input needs to be low-passed You'll still get bass, don't worry :) Shop around, I'm sure you can find a DVD player with a built-in decoder and 5.1 outputs for around 50$CAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit006 Posted May 18, 2005 Author Share Posted May 18, 2005 interesting suggestion. alright well i'll see if i can find one of those funky dvd players... i'd like to be able to use those speakers for my tv as well... but i guess running my tv through my dvd player isn't exactly going to work well. alright thanks though. i'll consider the options, and see if i can get those connectors at some little asian electronics shop. thanks bangbang and daijoubu! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daijoubu Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 FutureShop/BestBuy have a DivX capable DVD player for 70$ (-5$ with this coupon [exp: 28/05]) Have 5.1 analog output, component, optical/coax digital, composite, s-video :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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