External USB 5.1 Channel Sound Card

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External USB 5.1 Channel Sound Card

Any good buys?

vibgyor79

3:25 pm on Jul 26, 2004 (gmt 0)

I bought Altec Lansing 5100 (5 speakers and a subwoofer) yesterday and plugged into my laptop. Then a little birdie told me that my laptop sound card does not support 5.1 channel sound.

Has anyone purchased an external USB sound card (5.1 channel)? After some quick research, I found a few for $60 to $150. Is there anything cheaper?

bcolflesh

3:26 pm on Jul 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

The Zalman is cheaper:

[newegg.com...]

But I'd go for the Creative:

[newegg.com...]

vibgyor79

6:06 pm on Jul 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

Thanks. The Creative Soundblaster seems to come lots of wires. And one of them looks like a power adapter. Does the USB sound card require a separate power supply?

And wooaah - these things come with 3 CDs. Is the installation of external sound card complicated? Or is it just plug and play?

bcolflesh

6:24 pm on Jul 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

Does the USB sound card require a separate power supply?

The Creative one does - very power hungry, like all their hardware.

Is the installation of external sound card complicated? Or is it just plug and play?

The built-in drivers in the latest service packs for 2k or XP will drive those devices fine, they just won't have all the extra features that the drivers and accompanying software "enable".