Help connecting Audigy 2 to digital speakers

Question

Hi!
I have an SB Audigy 2 card (SB0240) and want to connect it to my Logitech Z-5500 Digital speakers. (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...CONTENTID=9486)
This digital 5. speakers support a number of <SPAN>simultaneous connections like optical digital, coaxial digital, 6 channel direct (the one I'm using now) analog, and a couple other analog and stereo ones.
Now, I'm kinda hating the fact that I paid that much to get digital speakers so I can connect by analog to them!!!
I went out to try and buy a coaxial digital cable to hook it up to the digital out of the Audigy 2 to the digital in of my speakers. Went to Radioshack first but they didn't really know how to handle it. Checked out CompUSA with the same luck. I stoped by BestBuy which had a huge collection of audio cables but none that matched my needs. Or so I think. I wasn't very happy getting home empty-handed.:angry:
According to the Knoledge Base (<A href="]http://ask.americas.creative.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=850,E=0000000000036399263,K=764,Sxi=0,Question 3969=obj(3969)bj(397[/url])) that I just checked out, I need a /8" mini plug to RCA converter cable. And that a mono or stereo one could be used.
Is this correct? And WHERE DO I GET THAT CABLE?
Please someone help me as soon as you can!
Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Actually I bought an adapter and a cable. To my knowledge, Radio Shack doesn't have a cable with a mono /8" miniplug on one end and an RCA jack on the other (at least I didn't see one).
So I bought the adapter which is a male /8" mono miniplug on one end and the female RCA on the other. Then just get a digital coax cable with RCA jacks on both ends.
Just remember to also set the DVD software right to use digital. On mine I had spdif as an option along with all the other speaker options (2 spk, 4 spk, 6 spk, etc). Selecting this automatically disabled all the other software decoding options that were there. Dunno how it is with your DVD software.
Then also remember to select whatever sound options the DVD movie itself has. If you don't have the DVD in yet and hit the coax button on the Z-5500, it will still read "no digital data". When the movie is then inserted and sound starts to play, the Z-5500 will switch to digital - stereo. Then when selecting the sound options on the DVD, and starting the movie, the Z-5500 will again switch to whatever was chosen (or whatever the movie plays in if there were no audio options) by itself (ie: Dolby Digital or DTS). Yes, I have played some movies with DTS. All of them don't have that. Most all have Dolby Digital. I haven't played enough movies yet to determine which is better, though I hear most like DTS better. All I know at this point is they both sound great!
Believe it or not, I had never watched a movie with 5. sound before (other than theaters) because I never had the setup. A whole new experience.
Also you can get the sound in DVD movies through all the speakers in analog too using the Pro Logic option but it's not quite the same, and you don't get the Dolby or DTS.
For mp3s I still use analog with the "PL II Music" effect (to get use of the center channel) and it sounds great.
For games I also use analog, just selecting 6 ch direct if the game has 5.. Also sounds great. You can also use the "Pro Logic II" setting if the game does not have 5. to get the sound mixed through all the speakers. Makes me want to play all my games again. EAX also only works in analog.
As far as your software. Creative has an auto update now just like Windows Update. You can go on and it will scan your system and tell you what drivers you need and then give you the option to download what you want. It downloads and installs it just like the Windows Update does. I like it a lot.
http://us.creative.com/support/downl...dDspLangID=033
Finding that option to disable the Audigy 2 decoder, just go to "Audio HQ". In that box is "Device Controls". Hit the "Decoder" tab and you will see the "spdif passthrough" box to check. As I said before, no need to check the box for "digital out only" in the "Creative Speaker Settings". You can switch back and forth just using the Z-5500 Control Center.
All I can say is I LOVE THESE SPEAKERS! ! ! Especially now that I've gotten everything working right. I had been contemplating getting these speakers since they came out. I had previously the Logitech Z560s. I thought those sounded great too (4.). I got a Christmas bonus at work and said, "what the hell, I'm going to buy myself a Christmas present". Gawd dam, I'm sure glad I did! My wife doesn't like it too much, with her "turn that crap down" comments. Heh heh. At least I have an office in my garage so I have some sound buffer room to play. I heard a funny review of these speakers once with comments like, "the whole neighborhood is going to hate your guts but you will love them".
Message Edited by Mike89 on 2-2-2004 0:4 AM