[Heavy]

Have a few ?'s for ya'll. My Dell desktop is on it's last leg. I've been considering a mac mini, and would like to use my current ultrasharp monitor and 5.1 surround. The mini comes with a dvi adapter, but what about the sound?

Also, I just read a review that the mini doesn't play blue ray disc? I thought this was marketed for the home theater type crowd. That's really dropping the ball from Apple.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by Heavy 

Have a few ?'s for ya'll. My Dell desktop is on it's last leg. I've been considering a mac mini, and would like to use my current ultrasharp monitor and 5.1 surround. The mini comes with a dvi adapter, but what about the sound?

You can get 5.1 out via the HDMI port, or the audio jack using one of these: 3ft | Toslink to Mini Plug

Also, I just read a review that the mini doesn't play blue ray disc? I thought this was marketed for the home theater type crowd. That's really dropping the ball from Apple.

It does not play Blu-ray discs. It is also not marketed towards the home theatre crowd, so it's debatable if that's "dropping the ball." It has been adopted by the HTPC crowd due to its form factor and Apple has accommodated that market by adding an HDMI port, but if you need blu-ray support you need a stand alone player.

[Heavy]

Thanks. I just read that it was a home theatre type system by many Mac guys and a review.

I'm not real up on all this, but that Toslink plug, doesn't look like it'll work. The Altec Lansing system I have has three plugs that plug into stereo mini-din jacks on the soundcard of this Dell.

[-Q-]

And you're getting 5.1 out of those speakers?

[Heavy]

Everything plugs into the sub. Separate molded, attached cable goes from sub to card. Three mini plugs. I'd think it'd be for sub, center and satellites, no?

[-Q-]

That sounds like a 3.1: Center, Left, & Right plus sub (the .1 in these systems is the sub-woofer). A 5.1 would have a rear left and rear right set of speakers on top of that.

[Heavy]

It's here, Altec Lansing ADA995 200-watt THX 5.1 Speaker Set (Refurbished) | Overstock.com 5.1

Three mini plugs from the molded plug go into sound card. I'd like to use it with a mac mini.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by -Q- 

That sounds like a 3.1: Center, Left, & Right plus sub (the .1 in these systems is the sub-woofer). A 5.1 would have a rear left and rear right set of speakers on top of that.

Stereo mini-DIN:



3 x stereo mini-DIN = 6 channels.

[Uncle Skeleton]

I have the same set-up (Mac Mini and 5.1 computer speakers with a 3 mini-plug connector). I use this USB thing to connect them, it cost $30:
Amazon.com: Philips Aurilium 5.1 Channel Audio Processor - USB: Electronics

[Heavy]

Thanks. Seems like it might be easier to move down to a simpler sound setup that works with a mini, didn't realize there was so much to it. Hopefully my monitor and keyboard can hook up easiily to a mini without additional stuff.