Earthyworm Jim Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 Ok peeps.. couple of questions on these sound cards... Hercules Game Theater XP: 1)What's up with everyone saying how it doesn't split stereo sound? Don't all sound cards do that? My friend has an x-gamer, and the Klipsch PMV2.400, and he get's sound from all speakers with mp3s/cds/etc.... Would I get sound from all speakers on the PM5.1s if I had the Game Theater XP? How about Live Platnium 5.1? Acoustic Edge I know I would. 2)Any know about Hercules making an upgrade so that the sound card has hardware Dolby Digital decoding? Acoustic Edge: 3)I understand how the acoustic edge decodes 5.1 on the card, is that Dolby Digital it's decoding? Also, how can ANY sound card support 5.1 if they don't have seperate jacks for all 5 speakers and the sub. Cards like the Lives, and I think Acoustic Edge don't have seperate Jacks for every speaker, they just have some weird thing were you plug the fronts in one jack, the rears in another, and the sub/center in another jack... how does that = descrete channels/Dolby Digital??? The only sound card I know of that has seperate jacks for each speaker is the Game Theater XP... Live Cards: 4)Which have DD decoding on the card? ------------------ I like sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Phew Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 The folks at 3dsoundsurge.com could give you the most help. The reason the AE has only three jacks is that each connection caries two channels, the same reason that plugging your headphones into a walkman gives you stereo. 2*3=6 channels of audio. Any 5.1 card will 'decode' Dolby Digital. But this usually only applies to DVDs(as currently, DVDs are the only thing with DD content), so you will still get boring stereo from music and most games. The GTXP may play from all the speakers, but there are only two different CHANNELS playing regardless of how many SPEAKERS are playing. This means that the front left and rear left will be playing the exact same thing at the same time, same with rights. The AE will take a stereo stream (music, games) and 'expand' it into a 5.1 stream(which you can't really call DD, but don't get lost in the terminology). This just means that every speaker is playing something unique at a given point in time, and there is no duplication between the two lefts like on the GTXP. Basically, if you want '3D' sound from your CDs and MP3s, buy a AE. If all you care about is DVDs, both cards will play the exact same thing for them. Games are more complicated, but with the AE you know EVERY game will have 5.1 discrete channels, whereas with the GTXP you may get 4 for some games, maybe just stero for others. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabbycatt Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 If your interested in the 5.1 decoding for music that the Acoustic Edge offers but still want the great features of the Game Theater XP don't fret. Qsound who does all the decoding for the AE has a software solution that can be used with any sound card. Qsound is a Calgary based company. I contacted them yesterday and they say they will have a program that will give you the same 5.1 decoding as the AE available in about 6 weeks. Great, something else to wait for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBvader Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 i took al ook at the GTXP, where are the outs for the speakrs? on the external box? ------------------ BRING ON THE POWER! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabbycatt Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 Yes, all the ins and outs for the GTXP are on the external box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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