Gizmodo
This is one of the best little gadgets out there. This USB dongle plugs in to your laptop (or desktop) and instantly gives you 5.1 surround and microphone-in jacks. Got an iBook? Add line-in support with this baby. It all comes wrapped up in a beautiful green plastic shell, too. The price for adding 5.1 surround sound and line-in via USB? Only $9.95. Makes a great stocking stuffer for the geek of the house or a great gift for someone with an iBook who wants to record some things.
USB 5.1 audio adaptor [Red Ferret]
UPDATE - Reader Jeremy writes:
If you look at the product page it says "stereo 5.1 sound effects." Stereo, of course, is "2.0" not "5.1." I strongly doubt that this 9.95 dongle is a 5.1 soundcard replacement. The line-in is nice for 10 bux, though.
Jeremy - We never learned how to read!
Comments
I bought one of these for $19 last year :) I dont think I took it out of the box yet, though. www.geeks.com at the time, anyway. :)
Zodiac, feel like taking it out of the box and giving us a quick review of the sound quality and stuff?
Perfect use for this.. Dual-output for a DJ rig on the cheap. One regular line out for the performance, one addon like this to headphones for previewing the next song's crossfade. I need to pick one up.
usb is the new snake oil. what CAN'T you do with it?
Joachim: Sure why not. :) I will get on it when I arrive my ass at home. I Shoulda brought it into work.. shux!
This looks to be a great thing!
Their webpage mentions "virtual 5.1ch sound". Having only two stereo plugs, that strongly suggest that one is the mic/stereo line in and the other is a stereo speaker/line out. Still a nice device at that price (for example to convert any standard analog headset into an USB one).
ok, so this one doesnt give you the 5.1 sounds... is there one that does give you 4 or 5.1 surround for a lappy? I've got some fantastic speakers that I used with my old desktop but ever since I went mobile, I just plug in my ipod and I only get stereo, I'd love to get surround out of the laptop. or heck, new mac mini, HD display, run audio out of mac as well. sounds nice to me.
What you want is a 5.1 USB Amplifier. Zalman makes one. I haven't used it, as I'm not really a hard-core gamer and I generally like to NOT be on the move when watching DVDs. But you can *also* get a *true* 5.1 set of headphones, also offered by the Zalman corporation.
Hcearwicker: Unfortunately, those headphones have really, really crappy sound (my brother has 'em). Nice concept, borked execution. No, get a real pair of Sennheiser headphones instead. Your ears will be in bliss. (This caps thing is annoying as hell!)
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