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Question

5.1 dolby digital surround sound from imac

Aug 13, 2012 12:41AM PDT

How do I get 5.1 dolby digital surround sound from imac?

Hi everyone, I am very very new to this forum so if I do something inappropriate, I apologize for that. =)

Here are my questions.
I have got a mid 2007 iMac and a Creative inspire p7800 7.1 speaker.
What I want to do is to hear 5.1 dolby digital surround sound from the creative speaker (which does not support DD and DTS like Logitech z5500 and Logitech Z906 do).
I have done tons of research and spend a lots of time in the internet to look for answers. I did find some solution on this issue but I am not 100% sure. And some more questions pop up. So I am hoping that some expert here can clear my mind. Thank you so much ^^

So, here is some solution that I got from the internet. (please correct me if I am wrong)

1. Buy a Griffin Firewave and connect it to my mac and thats all I need to do. As Griffin Firewave has dolby digital processor, so I think I will be getting 5.1 DD surround sound from the speaker. (Am I right?)
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-4019-FIRESS-FireWave-Surround-Sound/dp/B000A09IUS
But the problem is, there is only one firewave listed on amazon and one listed on ebay. The amazon one is really really expensive that I think it is really unreasonable to buy it. So as I may not able to get a Griffin Firewave, this lead to my second solution.

2. Buy a external sound card like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-External-Xtreme-7-1-Channel-Device/dp/B0046B9O9W/ref=pd_cp_e_0
and connect it to the mac. But my question is, As I do not have any Dolby decoding device connected, will I getting 5.1 DD surround sound in my speaker? Or the program in my mac (i.e: VLC) already done the decoding and output as 5.1 multichannel analog so I don't need a extra decoding device?

3. As I am not sure about those method on the above will get 5.1 DD surround sound in my speaker, I keep digging and find out there is actually one more option.
Since the iMac supports s/pdif output, what I need is to buy a Digital to Analog converter(DAC) and use the mini Toslink to connect my mac with the DAC. Then connect my speaker to the DAC. Some DAC I found:
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Analog-Audio-Decoder-Converter/dp/B0057UNPVO/
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Analog-Audio-Decoder-Converter/dp/B007UQE5LW/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005D8YTKQ?tag=at055-20
and most of DAC support DD/DTS decoding, I should be able to get 5.1 DD surround sound at the end. Is it correct?

My question is, is this the right solution to get 5.1 Dolby?
If Griffin Firewave is available, will the result of method 1 same as the result of method 3?
Or is it better to use a receiver instead of DAC?

I know I have so many questions, I hope I did not make it too troublesome. But I really want to know the answer from you guys. I really appreciate for those who read through this. I know my english sucks and cannot express myself very well. I do apologize for that. Anyway, please leave any thought on this, even a sentence or yes/no XD
Thank you sooooooo much
Frank

Discussion is locked

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Answer
About that DAC.
Aug 13, 2012 3:09AM PDT

Most are stereo so where is the 5.1 Receiver in this discussion?
Bob

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I think they are 5.1 decoder?
Aug 13, 2012 11:22AM PDT

I suspect Griffin Firewave and those DAC from amazon can decode 5.1 DD/DTS?
so they act as a receiver right?

If not, can you suggest some receiver for me please?

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Griffin notes that at link.
Aug 13, 2012 11:34AM PDT
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How about movie?
Aug 13, 2012 2:01PM PDT

So lets say itunes can play surround sound, so what about movies?
If I use VLC player to play movie with DD/DTS, can I get surround sound?

So If I cant get Griffin Firewave, I should get a receiver to decode DD/DTS right?
Any receiver you recommend?

Thanks so much for helping though

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Same issues.
Aug 14, 2012 8:21AM PDT

If the content does not have 5.1 then it's likely to be stereo. Some folk work so hard to do this then discover all their tunes are stereo.

As to VLC, same issue. You can't get 5.1 if the content doesn't have it.

Receivers? Onkyo is always a name to check. http://reviews.cnet.com/2719-7612_7-269-3.html has updated reviews and top 5, etc.
Bob

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Contents are 5.1
Aug 14, 2012 10:16AM PDT

So lets say the content I watch or listen are 5.1, and I cant get a Griffin Firewave,
the only option I got is go with the receiver?
Or you think those DAC from amazon works too?

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What DAC?
Aug 14, 2012 10:27AM PDT

Sorry but if the maker/seller does not answer, you don't want it.

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Like this one
Aug 14, 2012 10:40AM PDT
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Sure but where is the 5.1 amplifier?
Aug 14, 2012 10:43AM PDT
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Creative speaker has amp built in
Aug 14, 2012 12:38PM PDT

I think the Creative inspire p7800 has amplifier built-in
The reason that I dun want to buy the #8 one is because on amazon,
[QUOTE]
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
It cannot decode DTS or Dolby Digital

I purchased this and tested it on both a PS/3's and a Mac Pro's optical digital outputs. It decodes the AAC signal to stereo (2 channels) but that is it. It discards the other four channels (LR, RR, Center, and subwoofer) and re-synthesizes those (poorly) using a trick that went out of fashion in 1980. Why do they not do it right? Because if they did, they would have to pay license fees to DTS and Dolby. It is telling that neither the product nor the accompanying docs feature the DTS and Dolby logos. You can verify this yourself by downloading a DTS test file from the web. You should get 6 VERY separate channels. When they say "this is the rear left channel" the sound should come out of only one speaker. These people even got front left and front right mixed up. Spend $200 more and buy something that has the DTS and Dolby Digital logos on it. Elsewhere on the web there are blogs where other people have tried to make these work, starting with increasing the volume of the subwoofer channel, which is too low. This involves soldering. Happy Oh, and one blogger that opened it up noticed they sanded off the original chip ID and printed on another chip ID with the manufacturer's name misspelled. Hardly confidence-inspiring business practices.
[QUOTE]