PCI Sound Card in Mac Pro?

[nanofrog]

Thanks for the reply. It's looking like the receiver may be the way to go then. What brands should I look for? Approximately how much should I be expecting to pay?

Budget is up to you, as are the details of it's features you need/want.

Offhand, you might want to take a look at these. (Decent, range of models offered. Wide quality range, and in no particular order).

Yamaha
Harman Kardon
NAD
Pioneer
Rotel

Others might offer you other manufacturers or specific models. This is really only meant to get you started.

Good luck.

 

[Ploki]

yamaha perhaps..
you can get a solid one for 200-400 euros.
dont expect too much though

if you want to ask me, if you wish to listen to music, get an old stereo amp (end of 70's) with low THD and a good pair of 3 or 4way stereo speakers.
you can keep the 5.1 system and connect it to an external DVD player or something to use it for movies
old amps are nice, i just scored a used JVC JA-S22 which has the capability to drive 4 speakers from a stereo sig at once got it for 50 euroes

 

[nanofrog]

yamaha perhaps..
you can get a solid one for 200-400 euros.
dont expect too much though

if you want to ask me, if you wish to listen to music, get an old stereo amp (end of 70's) with low THD and a good pair of 3 or 4way stereo speakers.
old amps are nice, i just scored a used JVC JA-S22 which has the capability to drive 4 speakers from a stereo sig at once got it for 50 euroes

There's a lot of really good 2 channel gear that can still be found 2nd hand.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure if the OP would switch gears to this route. (mentioned previously, at least indirectly).

 

[Trip.Tucker]

yamaha perhaps..
you can get a solid one for 200-400 euros.
dont expect too much though

if you want to ask me, if you wish to listen to music, get an old stereo amp (end of 70's) with low THD and a good pair of 3 or 4way stereo speakers.
you can keep the 5.1 system and connect it to an external DVD player or something to use it for movies
old amps are nice, i just scored a used JVC JA-S22 which has the capability to drive 4 speakers from a stereo sig at once got it for 50 euroes

...and that's why I still have my BeoCenter 9500 and BeoGram. I don't need to have my computer on for awesome sound.

 

[zmttoxics]

Ya, this was actually the reason I didn't get a Mac Pro. On board sound bothers me for some reason. Creative cards always sound better to me.

 

[UltraNEO*]

Ya, this was actually the reason I didn't get a Mac Pro. On board sound bothers me for some reason. Creative cards always sound better to me.

er.. how does it bother you, exactly? I'm curious.

 

[zmttoxics]

er.. how does it bother you, exactly? I'm curious.

The main reason is performance and the sound. This breaks into how many sounds the card can produce at once which can have an effect on things like videogames. If you play a game on onboard and then play it again on a real card like an Audigy 4 / X-fi, there is a resounding difference in game play performance and sound quality.

 

[TheKipper]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Unfortunately, I don't have the room for a full size receiver (I was kinda hoping someone knew of something a bit smaller... ah well), so I'm not sure that solution will work either.

Since it's looking like I'll be getting new speakers regardless (either with optical in or a good set of 2.1), one final question... If I were to get a new set of 5.1 with optical in, would all five speakers be playing when I listen to anything (ex: mp3) in stereo (without any extra receivers, etc.)? or would only the left, right, and subwoofer be playing?

 

[Trip.Tucker]

The main reason is performance and the sound. This breaks into how many sounds the card can produce at once which can have an effect on things like videogames. If you play a game on onboard and then play it again on a real card like an Audigy 4 / X-fi, there is a resounding difference in game play performance and sound quality.

Not on any Mac I have used. I think you may be making comparisons with the earlier days of p.c. gaming where those onboard chips were cheesey and cheap. The onboard chips on Mac's exceed the AC'97's you might be thinking of.

 

[Trip.Tucker]

<snip>

If I were to get a new set of 5.1 with optical in, would all five speakers be playing when I listen to anything (ex: mp3) in stereo (without any extra receivers, etc.)? or would only the left, right, and subwoofer be playing?

As UltraNeo suggested, get a Decoder with the option to transpose sounds across all channels i.e. simulate 5.1 from a stereo source. Dolby Surround or Dolby Pro Logic (with the right source) are two technologies that can take a stereo source and extrapolate to 4 or 5.

 

[CaptainChunk]

Most entry-level receivers from the major consumer brands (Pioneer, Sony, Yamaha, Onkyo, etc.) start in the $200-300 range. Essentially all of these will decode Dolby and DTS 5.1, as well as offering simulated surround modes (ProLogic II, DTS Neo:6, etc.) for 2-channel sources.

Brands like Rotel, NAD and H/K are typically much more expensive to start but do use higher-quality parts (i.e. better sound) than the more mainstream brands.

If you do decide to go the receiver route, you'll want traditional, passive speakers to go with it. Speakers designed for use with computers are generally self-amplified. If you decide to buy a receiver first and keep your existing speakers for a while, look for a model that has multi-channel preamp outputs.

 

[TheKipper]

As UltraNeo suggested, get a Decoder with the option to transpose sounds across all channels i.e. simulate 5.1 from a stereo source. Dolby Surround or Dolby Pro Logic (with the right source) are two technologies that can take a stereo source and extrapolate to 4 or 5.

Ah! Originally I thought this was referring to a receiver (which is much too big to fit with my current desk set-up). However, I just came across this after a quick Google search: http://us.creative.com/products/pro...pid=440939&product=9468&nav=0&subcategory=136
Something like this appears to be what you and UltraNeo are referring too, correct?

 

[nanofrog]

Ah! Originally I thought this was referring to a receiver (which is much too big to fit with my current desk set-up). However, I just came across this after a quick Google search: http://us.creative.com/products/pro...pid=440939&product=9468&nav=0&subcategory=136
Something like this appears to be what you and UltraNeo are referring too, correct?

That's the section of an AV Receiver you actually need (processor section). At least for a bare minimum solution.
The rest of a receiver might give you some options, but with limited space, it's apparently not feasible.

Smaller, and some models aren't too expensive. It just depends on how insane you are about sound quality.

 

[Magick]

I am considering purchasing a MP myself, I currently have a 7.1 surround system hooked up to my PC.

The posted decoder would be ideal but it's very hard to get one at a decent price since they're no longer produced.

Does anyone know if installing a xi-fi and passing the MP output through to the optical in of the xi-fi would work? or does it need to have the drivers running?

My speaker set was around 400-500 euros, so I'd be having a hard time to justify spending such a amount on a receiver to hook them up, and even a harder time to buy a new speaker system.

 

[Sesshi]

It wouldn't work. It's funny isn't it, the hoops you have to jump through on a supposedly media-friendly machine? As I said - it's a machine for content creators who don't know what they're doing otherwise, while Windows / non-Apple hardware in most cases do a vastly better job for people who consume media (and don't revolve solely around the iPod).

Some decoder/amps as included in 5/7.1 packages are pretty slim these days thanks to class D amplification - and they depreciate quickly. I'm sure you'll be able to dig something up from Sony / Panasonic / etc's offerings as I said.

 

[midnyt]

Man, do I wish I had found this forum and thread sooner... I just got a brand new Mac Pro on Monday of this week and have been looking for a solution for my Logitech 5.1 setup.

I just went out tonight and purchased a PCIe X-Fi Titanium hoping against hope that it might work. Looks like I'm returning it in the morning and ditching the 5.1 speakers for 2 ****** desktop speakers.

A big disappointment.

 

[Sesshi]

As I said before, very ironic that as a media consumer, you're better off with a PC.

 

[midnyt]

Yeah, agreed. I ended up setting the logitech 5.1 speakers aside, returned the X-Fi Titanium card and bought some M-Audio AV40 speakers as per someone elses suggestion in another thread.

Pretty damn good speakers for only $150.

It's nothing amazing, but I can finally use speakers again instead of whatever speaker was inside the Mac Pro that I've been using this past week.

 

[markusm]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TB825LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0MA&mco=MjQyMTQ4NA

The Logitech Z-5500 has optical input, and since the Mac Pro has optical out I assume that will do the trick. I am considering it for Soundtrack Pro 5.1 surround editing on a project.

Thoughts?

 

[Sesshi]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TB825LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0MA&mco=MjQyMTQ4NA

The Logitech Z-5500 has optical input, and since the Mac Pro has optical out I assume that will do the trick. I am considering it for Soundtrack Pro 5.1 surround editing on a project.

Thoughts?

It's worth reading the thread again. The Pro's optical port passes through 5.1 audio. i.e. it has no capability to generate 5.1 audio.

What you need to edit / monitor multichannel audio is something like a Focusrite Saffire (or better) - i.e. a soundcard with discrete multiple outputs.

 

[TheStrudel]

That or a Firewire interface that can output to discrete channels, like a mixing board. It's unfortunate, too. I would have liked to monitor out to my own set, but it's just not possible. Now, that would be a great feature for  to add, but we can wait until the cows come home for that one.

 

[enb141]

Yeah, I've been waiting for a descent PCIe card for mac since 2005 but no luck at all, only windows have good soundcards for 5.1 and Dolby Digital Live or DTS.

 

[z1ross]

You can Have 5.1 analog sound out for gaming and movies.

First off... there are several people who need to go pick up some audio technology books and do some reading. Terminology in audio forums is greatly misunderstood.

Ok, I have a Mac Pro rev2, 17"MBP rev2, 15MBP rev1.2 and have been digging into the Audio abilities for quite awhile. Here are a list of Audio Devices that I have purchased and confirmed work with OS X with 5.1 Surround Sound out:

1. Griffin Firewave (Discontinued):
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave

2. Creative X-Fi USB
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=873&product=17751&listby=

3. Miglia Harmony Audio (Discontinued) [supports 7.1]:
http://www.miglia.com/products/audio/harmonyaudio/index.html

In OS X Leopard, all these devices have to be configured properly in the "Audio Midi Setup.app"

For gaming support, Its a hit or miss based on the company doing the programming. OpenAL has a few different versions and unfortunately many programmers have been ill trained in the Microsoft world and don't know how to implement properly but that is changing...lol.

OK I play WOW and the surround sound when Playing on any of my MACs with any of the above external sounds cards, is second to none. I've had guild mates over who are windows only people and they have gone "wow!!!" over the Surround Sound as it sounds better then their setups with 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1]. I've had success in a few other games with surround sound, but until programmers fully learn the OpenAL standard, we are in for allot of C R A P!

If you pickup a one of these devices and cannot figure out how to configure it (and there are no drivers to install) drop me a line at " z 1 r o s s @ g m a i l . c o m"

Here are some issus:
1. There is no Dolby digital Live support.
2. Leopards DVD Player only decodes 2ch DPL sound, have to use VLC Media Player
3. Must have Surround sound speakers with 3 analog connections for Front, Rear, and Center/Sub.
4. Griffin Optical pass-through is tricky to get working for movies.
5. (In OS X) the X-Fi USB volume dial doesn't work and volume control is entirely up to your speakers as it only outputs one preset level.

Now the X-Fi USB is the best on my Mac Pro as when I bootcamp into Vista for gaming, Its got full driver support and everything works perfectly.

 

[Kosh66]

I've seen this device from creative recommended for getting 5.1 sound out of your Mac Pro. I guess it uses the optical out to the creative box and then the creative box hooks to the speakers.

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=4&subcategory=136&product=9468

I went the optical out way with the Z-5500's from logitech - great sound.

 

[bmb012]

Not sure if that card will work as the Mac Pro only has PCI Express slots. However, the Mac Pro does support 5.1 audio but only through the use of optical out. So if you have/get a receiver with optical audio in you can connect it to the Mac Pro and get full 5.1 sound without using your sound card.

There are also Mac Pro compatible sound cards that you can buy but your existing one won't work.

Eh, no, well, kinda... You have to stream the feed over as a faked DTS signal, either a PCM file (that sounds like static if played normally) AC3 passthrough with VLC or DVD Player, OR (and this one took me forever to find), Plex that can transcode 5.1 aac to faked DTS in real time, though there's a bit of lag with the sound (last I checked, though, which was sort of a while ago).