alonso Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Hey everybody. Ive read most of your posts and they're very interesting... I will be the future (proud) owener of a set of 4.1 promedia refurb's from ecost. I have bought this system basically for music. I was originally aiming for a 2.1's at 170 bucks @ amazon... But these 4.1's at $119 was to much of a temptation. So here's the deal: I will use this system with a Sony CD/DVD player, but the 4.1 has twin mini plugs for the surround set up, but my CD unit only has a set (2) of RCA's. Is a Y-splitter the only answer? What kind of splitter would I need? Am i not going to degrade the signal? Id greatly appreciate your "input"! hehe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iXtreme Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Thats the only way to get all four sat's working. RCA to minijack (1/8) then miniplug to dual minijacks. The 4.1's are good, but not good enough to notice any signal loss via this hookup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alonso Posted March 28, 2004 Author Share Posted March 28, 2004 thanks a bunch iextreme! and if I plan to feed the 4.1 with an external USB sound card from my laptop... What card could I use? I dont see they sell any external cards exclusively for 4.1 sorround... Almost all are 5.1's or more... Can one set these 5.1 cards to work in 4.1 mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iXtreme Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Yeah, most all 5.1 card do everything from 2.1, 4.1 to 5.1. No problems there at all. There will be a software provided switch for the type you want to use. The SB extigy looks nice. http://www.soundblaster.com/products/extigy/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007 Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 grab the new extigy , it will work great for ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alonso Posted March 28, 2004 Author Share Posted March 28, 2004 Thanks for the Info... THe new extigy is 5.1 right? Im a little bit confused about how these 4.1 thing works... the 5.1 is pretty clear... but the 4.1. Eventhough i did buy it for music, if I ever want to hook it up to a Home theatre system, what would I need? reciever/amp/dvd-players are 5.1... What happens with the "missing" centre channel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iXtreme Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Actually you're missing 3 channels. The center and the two surrounds. The best the 4.1 will do is stereo. The rear channels are not rear channels, they are more of a back second set of stereo channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmpeethree Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 alot of the 5.1+ soundcards have software to change what each jack outputs - you can set it for headphones, 2, 3 ,4, 5 channel. i got a turtle beach santa cruz (awsome for sound quality) and am thouroughly enjoying the results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alonso Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 "The best the 4.1 will do is stereo. The rear channels are not rear channels, they are more of a back second set of stereo channels" IS THAT SO!? I mean. That's alright with me cuz i just want 4 channel stereo to fil up my dining room with music when I have people over, so i have sound from 4 corners... BUT I thought that a 4.1 config, eventhough, not as evolved as a 5.1 it still meant different signals sent to the back speakers if hooked up the appropriate card! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 i had several promedia (2x2.1 for a 4.2 system and a 5.1) here the way it work: if you listen to a stereo track surrouds will get a copy of the front channel. if you listen to multichannel track(dolby digital signal from a dvd for exemple) each speakers should be fed with a different signal if your sound card is properly installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alonso Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 "If you listen to a stereo track surrouds will get a copy of the front channel" --- > Provided you are feeding it with an appropiate sound card right? Or will it also work this way if you only use ONE set of the twin mini jacks? "If you listen to multichannel track(dolby digital signal from a dvd for exemple) each speakers should be fed with a different signal if your sound card is properly installed" ---> If you are feeding the system with multichannel media from a dvd as you say, that is encoded for a 5.1 channel... What happens with the center channel? It gets mixed between the front ones right? thanks a bunch dou dou!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 doudou in only one world please...it s french not an american doo doo for the audio first: with stereo soundtrack you will have something on your surrounds only if you have a Y adaptator or a soundcard with a soft that feed all the output of the sound card. on fact if you listen a stereo record even with a 42.3 sound card only the 2 front channel of the sound card should work.if you want some sound on all the soundcard output you have to use a soft or a driver. for exemple with soundblaster sound cards there s an option called CMSS(if i remember well),it s a kind of dsp that feed all the output. if you don t use this option stereo track are played only on the 2 front channels. for dvd: i used windvd with my 4.2 system i used the "4 speakers" option and the center was blent to the front pair of speakers. it sounded quiet well.in fact you won t see there isn t a center if your front speakers aren t too far from each other and if they are at an equal distance from your screen.and with a phantom center there is no problem of timber-macth because the two front speakers are the same so there timber are the same(quiet logical ) it shouldn t be too difficult to set your system. if i were you i would go for a sound blaster because i m sure you can do what you wan t with(because i succeed in doing what i wan t with ) i go back home now(it s 17pm here). if you have any questions...ask ps:i will answer as soon as i can,i think i will not be able to answer before thursday or friday.in the worst case it will be monday afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 i wait for some minutes more,i ve some work remaining,and then i leave. if you you have a question you can have an answer...if you are fast enought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alonso Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 Hey Dou Dou! You rock! Thanx a lot man... You really clarified everything now... So, where did you say I could get that 43.2 card? I'll keep everybody posted on my "discoveries" CHeers UK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 i hope all is totaly crystal clear for you now. in order to enjoy totaly your promedia don t forget too place it really carrefully: speakers pointed to your listening position and sub in a corner of your room. i wish you will enjoy your promedia speakers, they are realy good speakers for the money they cost. i really leave now. as i said before if you need some help you can e-mail me or send me a message on my forum box. see you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson_ngo Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 using a 4.1 on stereo source is a waste of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alonso Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 ---------------- On 4/2/2004 9:13:46 AM jackson_ngo wrote: using a 4.1 on stereo source is a waste of money. ---------------- I Agree... To a certain extent. When I stop agreeing with You Mr. AMJacko is when, after enjoying your 4.1 using only 2 speakers, you plug the 4 of them and invite 15 people over to have some drinks and party a little; THEN you put each satellite in each corner and blast the night away while everybody enjoys... not only the ones close to the fronts.... YES YES I know... For that then I should get a pair of proper tower speakers right? Well right IF you have the budget. If you dont... You have to make do with what you have... That is 4.1 promedias... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson_ngo Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 i've tried passing a stereo signal through the 4.1, i find that the rear channel do not sound as good as the front. Because of that, i sheldom use my rear channel for music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 if the sound coming out from the rear sat is not as good as the one coming from the front sattelites, your rear sattelites are not placed correctly or the way you feed them is not the good way, because rear and front sattelites are exactly the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson_ngo Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I placed my rear as what home theater placed. they are high on the wall behine me while the front is sitting right on my desktop. But nvm, my rears are only used as a effect speaker in movies and games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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