Hello guys, i have a 5.1 speaker system and i would like to be able to connect both my PC and Xbox 360 to the speakers, is this possible? I've tried numerous searches but didnt get the answer i was after?

i think your best bet wold be to find a hifi amplifier with the right jacks on the back

You can only get 5.1 with an optical cable. So get an optical cable and plug it into your 360's a/v cable and then into the 5.1 and use the other 5.1 cables to go into your PC's sound card that supports 5.1.

or

You can use all 5.1 speakers on your 360 but it will only be stereo sound by converting the 360's stereo L/R to 3.5mm female and then plugging it into your 5.1's 3.5mm jack (usually green).

Another way to get only stereo sound via your pc is to plug in your converted stereo=>3.5mm into the PC's 'line in' which will route the sound back out through your PCs audio system.

I dont fully understand the first one, is that the only capable way of getting 5.1 with both the PC and Xbox. If yes can you please provide me with a website or a better explaination, when it comes to cabling im not that great.

The only way to get Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound on the xbox 360 is using an optical cable. Do a search yourself to see if that's possible with your equipment.

what don't u understand, both posts are very simple & straight answers

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Originally posted by toddy
what don't u understand, both posts are very simple & straight answers

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to lazy tolook myself but i'm sure http://www.xbox-scene.com will have more details on 5.1

You will need an optical cable and splitter, but PCs don't generally transmit sound in 5.1 (some sound cards will) and music will only be through 2.1. I suggest getting a jack to jack for your PC, as there is no benefit of 5.1 surround sound.

On your 360, Microsoft, being the terrible hardware designers they are, have put the optical out port on the very expensive HDMI/ Component cables themselves. I had to rip off the plastic on my component cable to get surround sound with HDMI (I'm not buying a £35 cable, it would finally make my Xbox 360 more expensive than my PS3's standard setup!)

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Originally posted by absorbation
Microsoft, being the terrible hardware designers they are, have put the optical out port on the very expensive HDMI/ Component cables themselves.

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Originally posted by MenthiX

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Originally posted by absorbation
Microsoft, being the terrible hardware designers they are, have put the optical out port on the very expensive HDMI/ Component cables themselves.

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I just connected the HDMI cable to my TV and use the digital out connector on my TV to link to my speakers. That way there's only 1 cable from the TV to the speakers which carries sound from the TV, Xbox, Wii and everything else that happens to be connected to the TV.

This is an black elite version though, might be different.

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Originally posted by MenthiX
This is an black elite version though, might be different.

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