[HandsomeRob]

Hey Guys I just got my Sager NP8120 monster of a Laptop yesterday and need serious help.
Im kind of a noob when it comes to audio.
 
I just bought a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi USB External sound card! What a pile of crap!!!! Driver problems with Windows 7 and all this software crap everywhere. It didnt even sound that good.
 I decided to get rid of that and i'm considering other options.
I have a pair of AD700's and was planning on getting an Astro Mixamp just for Headphone 5.1 usage. My Laptop has Dolby Digital Live out of the SPDIF out 3.5mm jack.(Non-optical) I believe it's Coaxial.
What can I get thats good?
Im unfamiliar with DAC's and Amps and stuff. Somebody please point me in the right direction.
Thanks
Rob

 

[HandsomeRob]

anybody have a laptop with external 5.1 sound??

 

[Dalamar]

There's not many option for external surround sound, sadly. Most the snake oil dacs around here are 2.0.
Headphones are incapable of being "surround", they have 2 drivers in the same location. Even the gaming headsets that claim surround have worse sound quality than real headphones.
 
IMO you should get a reciever and a real surround sound setup, not those logitech toys.

 

[etamin]

I don't think it's possible to set up a decent surround system on a laptop.  I think your best bet is to use an expresscard like the Echo Indigo IOx.  With powerful laptops like that Sager, you probably have background hissing in the audio signal and that can be eliminated with the Indigo.  I used to own a monster sized Alienware m7700 and an Echo Indigo IO (PCMCIA version) worked wonders for it.  Even if the price looks steep, it's not a bad investment considering the xpress card interface is not scheduled for an overhaul any time soon.