Re:
Hello,
I have an analogue 5.1 surround sound setup in my room. Now i'll admitt, my sound setup is pretty tacky, but it does the job!
Sound Card: Onboard
5.1 Realtek ALC650 Nvidia APU.
Speakers:
Labtec Arena 675 5.1 Speakers
The best thing about 5.1 is that you can enjoy the benifits of having your very own, indoor cinema! Although my setup is pretty cheap, you can get much better systems (mine is rather old). A good 5.1 speaker system will allow you to pump up the bass to your music, and blast that treble through multiple speakers. And of course, you can watch clear DVDs and submerse into the rich surround sound. Another plus is gaming. Alot of games have surround sound, so you can really dive into reality.
A 2.1 speaker setup will allow you to pump up the music, but you're missing out when playing DVDs with enriched surround sound, and gaming. Although a 2.1 system would be more compact and less fiddly, I would advise you get a 5.1 system for that magnificant experience!
You've got to think about analogue and digital when you're going with 5.1 . For 2.1 an analogue setup would be enough, however I don't know of many 2.1 systems which have a digital interface.
Now obviously, a 5.1 system would have higher clarity and less interference if it utilises digital. You can get optical digital inferfaces and coaxial digital interfaces (both deliver excellent sound). Of course with a digital setup, you'll need a sound card with digital output, either supporting coaxial or optical (SPDIF) digital connections. However digital setups tend to cost more.
If you are fine with an average sound experience, but with that surround sound kick, then an analogue would be most cost effective. Analogue speakers would just require analogue ports (usually 3 x 3.5mm jack outputs).
The choice is yours!!!
