Headphone Question...

[Serapth]

Ok, so I went ahead and bought a pair of Turtle Beach Wireless Ear Force X41 headphones. I know people poo-poo on wireless headphones, but with my projector setup, this is ideal for me. Anyways, in addition to my Xbox 360, I want to hook up my PC. Right now I am using a headphone->RCA connector, which is obviously not ideal. I want the full 7.1 (faked) experience, damnit!


Anyways, the headphones work, here is from the FAQ

If your PC has a digital output, you can connect it to the X41 transmitter and listen to Dolby surround sound with the headset. If your PC doesn’t have a digital output, you can buy the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage® Micro, a small USB device that provides a digital audio output for any PC or laptop, available at TurtleBeach.com.


So.... digital output, this is where I am triping up. The following is a profile shot of my laptop, question is, is the gold port what they are looking for? If so, it appears to be an optical in on the headphone receiver, what kind of cable to I need to buy?


http://www.flexamail.com/GetImage.ashx?id=3093

[Crittias]

Can you post more specific specs on your laptop? Brand and type, for instance?

[Serapth]

Dell, 1747, details from invoice.

1 224-7350 Studio 17 Laptop $1401.46
1 312-0949 85 WHR 9-CELL,LION,PRIM BATT $0.00
1 313-8050 Plum Purple $0.00
1 313-8870 8X DVD+/-RW DL,INSP $0.00
1 317-2448 i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz, 8MB Cache) $0.00
1 317-2715 4GB,DDR3,1066MHZ,2 DIMM,1747 $0.00
1 320-0828 17.3" HD+ TL LED DISPLAY W/CAM $0.00
1 330-4433 BACKLIT KEYBOARD,INSP $0.00
1 330-5790 ATI RADEON 4650 1GB,1747 $0.00
1 330-6222 Windows 7 OS Label,CNB $0.00
1 330-6363 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,1747 $0.00
1 341-9979 1TB (2x500GB) HDD, 7200RPM,1747 $0.00
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0,MLANG,I/S/X NB $0.00
1 410-2185 MCAFEE SAPPHIRE MUI,15MTH,I/S NB $0.00
1 412-0148 NO ISP REQUESTED $0.00
1 420-6436 PC-RESTORE, DIM/INSP $0.00
1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,SW,DIM/INSP $0.00
1 420-7938 DELL CONNECT 2.1,DIM/INSP/XPS $0.00
1 420-9100 DELL DOCK CONSUMER,INB/XNB $0.00
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG $0.00
1 421-0187 DELL SPRT-CTR SW,64BIT,2.0 $0.00
1 421-0323 WINDOWS LIVE SEARCH,MUI,CSMR NB/DT $0.00
1 421-1009 DELL WEBCAM SW 1.4 APPLICATION KIT,CNB $0.00
1 421-1362 DELL SOFTWARE,ROXIO 1.0, CNB $0.00
1 421-1367 WIN 7 HOME PREM, 64, ENG,INB $0.00
1 421-1582 CYBERLINK POWERDVD 8.3 DVD PLAYBACK,CNB $0.00
1 421-2000 Soundblaster X-Fi HD Audio,SW Enabled $0.00
1 430-0701 Dell Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini Car $0.00
1 421-0304 MS WORKS 9.0/HS,ENGLISH,I/S/X NB $0.00
1 903-6437 HW WRTY + SVC,Studio1747,SOL,INIT,CA $0.00
1 904-5720 RTD,Studio1747,SOL,INIT,CA $0.00
1 920-5080 WARRANTY SPRT,INSP,INIT YR $0.00
1 009-6800 SHIPPING FEE $0.00
1 330-4532 NO WWAN,STUDIO 17 $0.00
1 420-9800 DELL REMOTE ACCESS, FREE BASIC SERVICE $0.00
1 430-0735 INT 365 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS,CNB $0.00
1 950-9057 NO WARRANTY,YRS 2/3(1-1-1RTD) $0.00
1 993-1919 Dell Remote Access, free basic service $0.00

[Crittias]

Searching for Dell 1747, I ran across this review (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Studio-1747-Notebook.24820.0.html), and the following blurb:

"So, on the left from front to back there are: two 3.5mm headphone-outs, one microphone-in, an ExpressCard slot, an antenna socket for a TV tuner, which didn't work in our prototype as it didn't have a tuner, though. Further, a combined eSATA - USB 2.0 connection, an HDMI port, a display port, a VGA socket, a LAN port and a slot for a Kensington lock built into the hinge."

Doesn't look like you have digital out.

[nabokovfan87]

No, Digital would usually mean digital SPDIF connector, which looks like the one on the right, the one on the left is analog SPDIF:

http://img.tomshardware.com/us/2005/11/23/pc_interfaces_101/slot_sound_digital.jpg

The port you were talking about is HDMI, which does video/sound, the Digital SPDIF does only sound.

Monoprice.com for the cable, I just bought one there, nice metal cord, works beautifully.

Here is some more info:

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efx41/howdoesitwork.aspx

http://www.turtlebeach.com/Portals/0/images/Products/EF_X41/X41-home_entertainment.jpg

Upon Further research, this is how they want you to set it up, which WONT be digital audio, probably uses a digital to analog converter in their cords.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efx41/ps3pcchat.aspx

and here is the micro thing you were talking about, but that is only 5.1 (so is the Micro II card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829118107&cm_re=Turtle_Beach_Audio_Advantage%u00ae_Micro-_-29-118-107-_-Product

Ah HAH! got it...

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/micro/indetail.aspx

http://www.turtlebeach.com/Portals/0/images/Products/AA_Micro/diagrams/aa_indetail.gif

[Cactaur]

Apple does optical out via the headphone jack. Take a look inside the jack to see if there is a light flashing.

[Serapth]

No, Digital would usually mean digital SPDIF connector, which looks like the one on the right, the one on the left is analog SPDIF:

http://img.tomshardware.com/us/2005/11/23/pc_interfaces_101/slot_sound_digital.jpg

The port you were talking about is HDMI, which does video/sound, the Digital SPDIF does only sound.

Monoprice.com for the cable, I just bought one there, nice metal cord, works beautifully.

Here is some more info:

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efx41/howdoesitwork.aspx

http://www.turtlebeach.com/Portals/0/images/Products/EF_X41/X41-home_entertainment.jpg

Upon Further research, this is how they want you to set it up, which WONT be digital audio, probably uses a digital to analog converter in their cords.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efx41/ps3pcchat.aspx

and here is the micro thing you were talking about, but that is only 5.1 (so is the Micro II card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829118107&cm_re=Turtle_Beach_Audio_Advantage%u00ae_Micro-_-29-118-107-_-Product

Ah HAH! got it...

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/micro/indetail.aspx

http://www.turtlebeach.com/Portals/0/images/Products/AA_Micro/diagrams/aa_indetail.gif

Nah, I know about the HDMI port, not too sure what exactly DisplayPort is for ( mac tech? ), but the port in question was the gold recessed port, which Crittias discovered was for a tv tuner antenna apparently. Would explain why I have partial driver support for ATSC but don't actually have a built in decoder.


I actually broke down and bought the Micro adapter. Really, 5.1 / 7.1 isn't going to make a huge difference when its being faked by the headphones anyways. ;)

[Serapth]

Apple does optical out via the headphone jack. Take a look inside the jack to see if there is a light flashing.

Yeah, no blinky lights.

Would someone be so kind as to explain why there are 2 outs anyways?

[mightbe]

You can get an HDMI that splits out an optical jack but it's pretty darn expensive.

[Cactaur]

Yeah, no blinky lights.

Would someone be so kind as to explain why there are 2 outs anyways?

Check your speaker properties, you might be able to do front & rear surround?

[Handmade.Mercury]

Yeah, no blinky lights.

Would someone be so kind as to explain why there are 2 outs anyways?

Multiple listeners. Either that, or you can listen to your music twice at the same time.

[nabokovfan87]

Yeah, no blinky lights.

Would someone be so kind as to explain why there are 2 outs anyways?

Check your speaker properties, you might be able to do front & rear surround?

If you look at the diagram, it shows, 1 is in (xbox input) and one is out (pc/surround setup). Unless you are talking about the laptop itself, which, you will have to look in the manual to find out which is in and which is out. The port on my tv has a light, the one on my pc mobo is out and has a light, and the one on my monitor and slot on my pc are input without the light.

[Expugnare]

Yeah, no blinky lights.

Would someone be so kind as to explain why there are 2 outs anyways?

Well, if they show up independently, they can be use to provide separate channels, for example with DJ-ing software, you set one for headphones and another for main outs.

[Krispy]

Hold the show. Just because you don't see blinking lights doesn't mean you don't have digital out. The light won't blink unless it thinks it is being used and if no adapter is plugged in then it won't think it is being used. You don't have three audio sockets for nothing. One is mic, one is regular stereo out, and the third will be your digital out if it's there. You just need to small adapter for it. To be extra sure just go to Sound in the control panel and see if you have a high definition out playback device.

Edit: If this laptop actually has two of the same audio output that will be completely ridiculous!

[Satertek]

Edit: If this laptop actually has two of the same audio output that will be completely ridiculous!

Laptops often have 2 headphone jacks so, for instance, two people can watch a movie.

According Dell's website (Audio jacks (2 line-out, 1 Mic-in)), that is the case with this one.