5.1 Sound Card for iMac?

[richardsim7]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of buying an iMac (don't worry, I don't need convincing)
However I would like to have 5.1 sound to accompany my Logitech Z-5500's

I saw this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/117714/

However it looks like the product is no longer avaliable on the market, does anyone know of a better/similar thing I could get??

-Rich-

 

[cherry su]

Couldn't you use the SPDIF jack on the iMac to connect with the Logitechs? I'm not an audio pro

 

[OldSkoolNJ]

I am using the Griffin Firewave. It works quite well! It is exactly what you are looking for. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave

Kevin

 

[flopticalcube]

What's the problem? Your 5500 has an optical input and your iMac will have an optical output. Nothing else is needed (save for the right cable).

 

[cherry su]

What's the problem? Your 5500 has an optical input and your iMac will have an optical output. Nothing else is needed (save for the right cable).

Wow, I cannot believe I was right (my post was purely a guess) So the OP definitely has a solution

 

[richardsim7]

Seriously?! :|

I had no idea the iMac had 5.1 built in, awesome!!

So if I got an optical cable and stuck one of these on the end:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-Adapter-ODT-Socket-Converter/dp/B00006J4GA

it would work?? Cool

However, I would be using the optical input of the Z-5500's for my PS3, is there some way I can get it from the optical jack to a digital coaxial??

-Rich-

 

[Cave Man]

Seriously? I had no idea the iMac had 5.1 built in, awesome!!

It doesn't. It has digital optical out to your amp/receiver. It simply passes through whatever your media has encoded. If it's stereo, then you get stereo. If it's Dolby Digital, than that's what it sends out. Same for DTS, DPLII, etc. If you had content that was 7.1 or 9.1, it could pass that out, too. That's the beauty of digital optical (or coaxial) - it's agnostic.

 

[richardsim7]

Sorry, I got my words mixed up, I know full well it doesn't have 5.1 IN the mac itself, but the fact it has optical out has made me very happy
As far as I'm aware the Z-5500's have digital decoding.

It looks like TosLink to Coaxial could be a bit of a mission, so I might end up getting a little 3 way switch for optical cables to switch from the iMac to the PS3

-Rich-

 

[Leon Kowalski]

It looks like TosLink to Coaxial could be a bit of a mission, so I might end up getting a little 3 way switch for optical cables to switch from the iMac to the PS3

M-Audio makes a nice bi-directional coax-to-toslink box, about $50 at Amazon:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/CO2-main.html

Switches, splitters, and one-directional toslink/coax converters are cheap:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/s...Toslink+/+Fiber+Optic+Adapter&keyword=toslink

LK