Optical or stereo?

[yonatan_flores]

Hi I just recently got my pc. I own a set of speakers the Logitech z5500 and I wanted to know which is better for 5.1 surround sound. The optical or stereo jacks.
Thank you in advance.

Jonathan Flores

 

[Colif]

Do you have a sound card?

What motherboard do you have otherwise?

What you use depends on windows really as it doesn't play 5.1 by default any more. Only in movies and games that actually support the features, will it play 5.1.

I used to have those speakers but they died years ago. Bought a pair of Logitech Z906 to replace them - that was over 10 years ago now. They have similar features but they aren't as powerful as yours. I was sad the day I realised my Z5500's weren't working properly. They were actually causing windows to not boot correctly. I had to replace them.

I recently had to swap from analog using RCA cables to digital using spdif cable as my new motherboard only had two audio outputs on the backplate, compared to all previous which had slots for 7.1 support. I could have used the front output for the 3rd cable but that would have been messy.
One spdif cable is cleaner.

If you can do analog do it, but I haven't had any problems running my Z906 5.1 speakers over digital. Only downside I have is the centre speaker may not do a lot any more. My control box lets me run at 4.1 most of the time.

note:
Optical = Digital/spdif
Stereo = Analog (I assume)/RCA cables.
Just to clear up potential misunderstandings about above.

 

[yonatan_flores]

I have a soundcard
I put it on optical
Lemme see if tonite I try the sound again and see if it works. The people at creative says that analog shows the 5.1 option in their software but I don’t get it I believe digital is better. Anyways tonite I’ll check it out.

 

[Colif]

Some settings that might help
Win 11 5.1 Surround

Might help with Creative - link

Creative Worldwide Support > Knowledgebase Lösungen

Welcome to Creative Worldwide Support. Get technical help for your Creative products through Knowledgebase Solutions, firmware updates, driver downloads and more.

support.creative.com

 

[yonatan_flores]

Ok I’m staying optical
The software that came with my sound blaster offers two codecs. Dolby digital and DTS
Which one should I select? I click on Dolby digital and it sounds awesome.

 

[Colif]

Dolby Digital is surround, DTS isn't

Dolby Digital Vs DTS: What's The Difference

The Dolby Digital vs. DTS debate has been going on for decades now, and this article will help you understand the two formats' backgrounds, pros and cons. Click now!

www.tcl.com

I would stick to DD

speakers also support both, if they same as the Z906 in that regard. I wonder if I can use it...

 

[yonatan_flores]

I’ve got the Logitech Z5500
Anyways I’ll give it a try on music. But I’m pretty sure I’ll end up on DD

 

[yonatan_flores]

The middle speaker didn’t sound. But I fixed it with the sound blaster software. I’m with optical now on DTS. Works perfect. Thanks to you guys for everything