MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro 5,1 to Old 5.1 Speakers

[cosmichobo]

G'day,

About 2 decades ago I purchased a set of XMS brand "Diamond Series" 5.1 speakers for around $150 - ie cheap. They are still working well providing sound for my MacPro5,1, but only stereo sound via the headphone jack. The speakers only have 1 input option - 6 x RCA sockets.

Stereo has been fine... but, having just dug out the other 3 speakers and a few dozen feet of speaker cable, I'm now curious about setting them up properly as 5.1, particularly as I have been watching a bit of Netflix and Plex on my MacPro, so would be nice to have surround sound.

Thinking about it today, I wondered if there was anything to split the MacPro's optical out to 6 RCA's, and found this on eBay:

5.1 CH Digital Audio Decoder Coaxial to AC3 DTS Amplifier Analog Converter - | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 5.1 CH Digital Audio Decoder Coaxial to AC3 DTS Amplifier Analog Converter - at the best online prices at eBay!

www.ebay.com.au

For just a few bucks it looks like this would do the job?!

Does anyone use something similar?

For a comparison, I just googled the price of new 5.1 speakers with optical in, and they aren't cheap, so an adapter seems like a good option.

Cheers

cosmic

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

A 2nd AVR with optical input port is about $200.

 

[cosmichobo]

Yes, not wanting to spend $200!

I recently sold my old Samsung 5.1 DVD Home Theatre system (with optical input) - could have used that instead of the XMS... but the Samsung had huge floor standing speakers - not practical for my office; the Diamond ones are fairly small speakers.