hd54321

People - Does the Audigy decode 5.1???? I thought it just outputted 5.1 but it DID NOT decode it. Please clarify.

-HD

MP3Car.com

 

Vijindr

hd54321 --

The current ADS 4000 does its output via RCA/coax so there's no need for crazy converters. At $130 it's a pretty slick solution... However it's quite bulky (considering you still have to get an amp or two) and getting it powered in the car and stowed away nicely seems a bit complex.

Vijindr

I was under the impression that the Audigy has two outputs: 1 digital, and another set of analog. The digital is not decoded, but I was pretty sure that the analogs are.

Vijindr

Yup here it is from the manual:

Dolby Digital and Digital Surround EX Decoding
Decodes Dolby Digital Surround EX to 7.1 or 6.1 channels, or will pass through a compressed SPDIF bitstream to an external decoder

So the digital isn't decoded, but the analog outputs are.

antimatter

I have been watching this thread.

Now i feel is time to post. First off what is your budget?

I used the CYAC300-EX processor from panasonic.

The propper way of achieving surround in the vehicle is to run your Digital signal from your computers sound card into a Digital Surround Processor like the one i mentioned above and run that into a six channel amp.

You can hack the audigy to work but was undesireable for me becasue i run a low power setup (EPIA M10000) and have many usb devices including a CDRW/DVD that share the USB bandwidth not to metion a ton of other usb devices including a webcam. Others have experienced choppy audio when the computer was doing the decoding.

Just for the record the audigy does decode dolby digital, however it does not decode DTS and doesn't provide prologic for upmixing to surround sound from stereo sources.

All the above are reasons not go the route of a sound card. Not saying that it wont work but i was concerned with quality not cost. I didn't want to do it half assed. I didn't go big either... i found good deals and products that were priced reasonably.

Lastly learn to search better than you have, This topic has been beat to death and many of the questions that you asked have already been answered many times. Take some time to do some research before you post.

Good Luck

__________________
-Jesus- King of Kings Lord of Lords

pdub

Ok, I am not sure if I am just confused or just way off here, but it seems like everyone is missing what he is asking. He is trying to utilize the 3 analog 1/8 (line outs - front/rear/sub).

I am also not sure if you are aware of what these outputs consist of. Let me break it down this way. Have you ever used headphones? They are in stereo, well most of them. I think you might be confused, but correct me if I am wrong. These 3 outputs are not "MIXED" as you put it. Each one consists of a left/right.

I hope that made sense. If not, let me know. I also have the audigy that I just picked up for my new system.

I plan to try these out: http://www.monstercable.com/productPage.asp?pin=135

There are cheaper ones that you can buy, you can also go to radioshack and probably pick some up for $5. I perfer to use quality.

Again, maybe I am way off and confused. Please let me know if I am!

Vijindr

pdub you've hit the nail on the head. Thanks!

Vijindr

antimatter--
I know that 5.1 has been posted to death on this forum, but despite all the threads I read I never came across something about using the analog outs on an audigy or any sound card for that matter -- all the solutions you guys discussed used external processors/decoders. Also, for my situation, I was going to use the PCI card, not the USB card, and I don't have a whole host of USB devices, not even a cd-rom or dvd drive -- I'm going to be storing all my dvd movies in ISO format on the hard drive of the Carputer so that I don't have to carry DVD's around. My budget is anything up to $1500 US for decoder/amp and hopefully speakers too (though I'm willing to spend more if necessary for quality.)
Lastly, does the upmixing from Pro Logic make a big enough audible difference that it's worth having?
Thanks.

pdub

Ok, i was beginning to get confused by reading all of the replies. Let me know how it works out and how it sounds. I wont have mine in for weeks. Still building my new system, but it is near completion.

TheKingPlaza

i tried to make a picture..


hopefully it explains everything..

Norrin302

Pdub was right, the 3 jacks on teh back of the audigy card each have two channels. Jack 1=subwoofer/center, jack 2=rear l/r, jack 3=front l/r. Jack 3 would be the same basic jack as you have for normal stereo headphones, one jack, two signals, left and right. Same for jack 2. Jack 1, two signals, center and sub. You should be able to do 5.1 surround sound with just this card, just like you would if you had the same card in your home computer and surround sound computer speakers.

moltensilver

Great diagram. I have not read all the posts on this thread so I may be repeating but the output from the the soundcards analog outs are line level female stereo 1/8" mini jacks and the amp is line level rca jacks.

To run to your sound card to your amp you need a male stereo 1/8" mini jack to 2 rca converter cable these can be purchased at any cable place on the web or radio shack. Monster cable probably is the best and what I used in my setup. http://www.monstercable.com/home_av/...s/rca-mini.asp

Also to run full 5.1 surround (ie 6 channels with center channel) You will probably need two separate amplifiers as most amps right now are 5 channels. I understand that Audiobahn just released a 5.1 surround amp (6 channel amp) so more may be coming soon. I personal elected to bypass the center channel and just use a Kicker 5 channel amp.

All surround sound cards output the channels in analog and most passthru the dolby digital via spdif in case for instance you want to use your home theater receiver to decode instead. For the CarPC setup is is probably best for most to go the route I mentioned.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

Good luck.

moltensilver

TheKingPlaza

@moltensilver.
thanxs for the addon..

hd54321

Vijindr, you're missing one of my points! There was a reason I was mentioning the ADS-3000 - it's CHEAP! You could get a used one on eBay for very cheap and purchase a $15 cable (from midiland.com) to integrate it with your system. The best thing about doing this is that you will get a direct digitally decoded stream from your soundblaster into a decoder. The decoder has the ability to balance/delay each channel as well as a seperate volume/mute control. Delay is something you will NEED in an auto environment since you are sitting at a fixed distance from each speaker. If you don't have proper delay settings than you are wasing $ on a 5.1 setup. I currently use the 5.1 analog output on my soundblaster and have PowerDVD do the decoding for me on my home computer - i took out the external decoder since I didn't need an extra piece of hardware on my desk. PowerDVD does the same thing in movies.

You could spend all the $ in the world on a 6-channel amp and a center speaker - but think......really think and get out of the 'cool-factor' for a minute. Ask yourself this, how many DVD's do u anticipate watching in your car? Most DVD's and only a limited amount of audio dvd's have the dolby digital stream encoded into them....Unless you plan on watching DVD's all the time in addition to wanting semi-accurate sound reproduction in a car you are wasting loads of $ that you could be using for other things like better speakers, a faster computer, a nicer integration with your dash, etc, etc...

Just my .02

-HD

MrSpace

hd54321 whatever you tell them, they absolutely want to convert their 1/8 to RCA then to an amp directly. Let them do what they like, even if we know it's far from good sounding.

Etienne

MP3Car.com