question about 5.1 speakers and decoder

[whoopz]

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good day peeps,

karon lang ko naka remember nga naa koy question that i've asked many people with dugay na unya wala judkoy nadawat nga answer nga claro.

i own an altec lansing 251
its a 5.1 speaker system. when i bought it, it was 5.5k and there was an option to add 3k and get a dolby digital decoder, but wala rako nikuha sa dolby digital decoder ky kulang ako budget para ana at that time.

but i was always curious... unsa gud gamit anang dolby digital decoder? and if ever ganahan ko mupalit ana, available pa kaha ni? is the decoder specific jud per model of speakers?

[Wayth Vader]

sound enhancement na bro, have u been to a cinema nga nakadolby digital, have u ever wonder and feel ur on scene sounds from back going to front, like a bullet, chopper

[blade4638]

@whoopz: you need a decoder if the output of your soundcard is still a composite (undecoded) digital signal (e.g. dolby, dts, etc.) and your speaker isn't able to decode the signal by itself (e.g. cannot accept composite digital signals). the decoder separates (decodes) signals to appropriate channels (e.g. front, rear, center, sub) prior to amplification, after which the amplified signals are sent to each of your speakers and converted to sound that you hear.

composite digital signal -----> decoder -----> multi-channel amp -----> speakers

some sound cards have this decoder built-in so sound is available at its analog outputs (but still needs amplification). some av receivers also come with built-in decoders so that when used with sound cards with built-in decoders, one has to decide where decoding is made, on the receiver or on the sound card...

most sound cards offer analog outputs (e.g. front, rear, center/sub, etc.), while some offer both digital and analog. cards that offer both have a built-in decoder. i have only come across 1 sound card that has only digital outputs (onkyo ang brand), which is more difficult to find.

if you need more details, send me a pm. i'd be happy to answer your questions.

[whoopz]

ah, enhancement diay na cya. i dont know if sa mga cinehan ako nalantawan ug gagamit ba pareha ani. im about to change my mobo and proc pud from intel to amd. my mobo will be msi k8ngm2-il, i dont know if naa ni cya built-in decoder but what i know is pang 7.1 cya. mura ganahan ko mupalit anang decoder for my sound system. hehehe... mu pm unya ko nimo blade to ask you more questions.

but anyone, if naa muy ika share nga knowledge, pls feel free to share it, para maka learn pud ko and others maka learn pud. thanks.

[Wayth Vader]

murag wala mn cguro sa cebu dolby digital nga senihan... naa cdo sa gaisano...