Hi,
I've recently bought a set of Logitech X-530 speakers, which is an analog 5.1 surround sound system for my college dorm (I'm on a budget). Since my laptop doesn't come with onboard 5.1, I went the external route but stupidly bought a crap Starlogic "home theater" system off ebay. Although the sound-test works fine, I don't get much out of my rear speakers either in movies or in the upmix from stereo, so I'm real disappointed. (There's definately not a problem with the speakers). Right now, I'm considering the SB Live! 24-bit external (USB 1.1) and the Audigy 2NX (USB2.0), but I have a question about surround sound.
The Live! doesn't not have built-in dolby/dts decoding, but I use PowerDVD, which does. Since I only listen to music and watch DVDs, DVDs are the only time that I'd need dolby decoding. Do I need to purchase the Audigy in order to get true surround sound, or is software decoding fine? The Audigy also uses USB2.0 -- but again, I'm not really a hardcore audiophile, just a college student on a budget. I can't really seem to justify spending an extra $50 on the audigy, especially since the Live! seems identical to the extigy except for hardware decoding. What do you think?
I've recently bought a set of Logitech X-530 speakers, which is an analog 5.1 surround sound system for my college dorm (I'm on a budget). Since my laptop doesn't come with onboard 5.1, I went the external route but stupidly bought a crap Starlogic "home theater" system off ebay. Although the sound-test works fine, I don't get much out of my rear speakers either in movies or in the upmix from stereo, so I'm real disappointed. (There's definately not a problem with the speakers). Right now, I'm considering the SB Live! 24-bit external (USB 1.1) and the Audigy 2NX (USB2.0), but I have a question about surround sound.
The Live! doesn't not have built-in dolby/dts decoding, but I use PowerDVD, which does. Since I only listen to music and watch DVDs, DVDs are the only time that I'd need dolby decoding. Do I need to purchase the Audigy in order to get true surround sound, or is software decoding fine? The Audigy also uses USB2.0 -- but again, I'm not really a hardcore audiophile, just a college student on a budget. I can't really seem to justify spending an extra $50 on the audigy, especially since the Live! seems identical to the extigy except for hardware decoding. What do you think?