PS2->surround sound

Hello!

I have Creative T770 7.1 speakers, which I want to work with my PS2. The PS2's input is an optical digital cable and the speakers' output consists of 3 cables - a green, an orange and a black one.

The only thing I've seen that would help me out is the Creative DDTS-100 decoder, which is a bit dearer than I'd like. Can anyone suggest an alternative method of hooking the 2 things up, or a cheaper decoder?

Thanks if you can help!

andy1249

That decoder is only 150 euro !!!
Your not going to get a 5.1 amp much cheaper than that now seriously !!

What you have at the moment is just a set of speakers , they are capable of being driven from a soundcard , or some other amp but not the PS2 .

To get any kind of surround you are going to need a 5.1 amp. I have yet to see anything decent for less that the price of that creative unit.

Here is a list of some surround setups from Komplett , generally considered to be one of the cheapest suppliers aroung , it will give you an idea of what you should look for in these systems.

Dont forget , that you will need as many inputs as possible for the money , your current needs are for a digital optical in for the PS2 , and you may want to connect your TV / SAT /NTL / DVD player in future ....

The cheapest one here is that samsung , for 199 , it does come with speakers though , but the inputs are really limited ,

So your best and cheapest bet at the moment is the creative unit , if you can find one.


http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10104

Thanks for that! But I got the sound system on the cheap for only 75 euro so that's why €150 doesn't fit me very nicely!

Using 2 headphone splitters, I'm able to hook my laptop/iPod up to the speakers ok (although the middle 2 don't work when I do this) so at least I'm getting some use out of them as it is!

A guy in Maplin showed me a few things I could buy (signal converters and things) and put together, which might work for the PS2. Think it came to 50 euro altogether which is great, but I'm afraid it mightn't work so I thought I'd see if there were any other ideas. Might try it now though!

Thanks again!

Ghost Train

A sound card with 5.1 sound card with optical input could act as decoder. You would need a pc near the playstation though.

Something like this http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-Trust-SC-5250-5-1-Surround-Sound-Card_W0QQitemZ110042279764QQihZ001QQcategoryZ3701QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If you only have a laptop a CREATIVE Audigy 2 NX USB should work, but is pricey

Balfa

IMPORTANT: A PS2 only outputs digital optical for DVDs, NOT for games. If your intention is to play games, you need to output the sound via the stereo (red & white) audio cables. That's not a problem, though, because it still does surround sound for games (on the red & white cables) via Dolby Pro Logic II.

You'll still need a DPLII decoder, though, and probably different speakers. I'd be surprised if you could easily find a soundcard that'll decode DPLII. Sound cards are so damn finicky about things and (in my opinion) have some way to go before they're ideal for home theatre use.

Unfortunately, the speakers you got are specifically for PCs and are really quite different to regular speakers. To use them with anything other than a PC would be a huge hassle. If someone sold them to you under the pretense that you'd get great use out of them with anything other than a PC, then you've been swindled.

Your solution of using headphone splitters is really rather pointless. You obviously won't be getting any surround sound and you'd be much better off with a quality pair of bookshelf speakers or a 2.1 setup.

If you hook them up to your PC's sound card, you'll get great sound from your iPod, but then what's the point when any PC is a far more sophisticated mp3 player than an iPod ever will be?

I reckon what you're looking for with your PS2 is a good quality 5.1 home theatre receiver. You'll be able to hook your PS2 up to it and get great surround sound straight away. You'll be able to add your DVD player and any other home entertainment devices you have to it as well.


One other point, remember that not all games support surround sound. Look for the "Dolby Pro Logic II" logo on the back of the box.