Sound Blaster Z Speaker Setup

[ilikecake]

I am considering getting the Soundblaster Z to upgrade my dodgy X-fi sound card. However, I have a question for the current owners about the speaker setup. My speakers consist of a set of bookshelf speakers attached to a small amplifier. The input of the amplifier attaches to the stereo line out from the sound card and everything seems to work fine. However, I was thinking of adding a subwoofer for a bit more bass, so here is my question:

Can I setup the Sound Blaster Z to a '2.1' configuration such that the high frequencies are passed out the Left/Right stereo jack, and the low frequencies are passed out the Center/Sub stereo jack? According to this picture in the manual (page 32), it looks like it would be possible, but I cannot find any definite answer either way.

From what I understand a 'normal' 2.1 configuration would pass all of the sound out the Left/Right stereo plug, and the low/highpass filtering would be performed by the speakers. I am aware that on many subs I can use the high level input/output plugs to set everything up, but this requires a bit more wiring than I would like to do.

It seems that I could set up the speakers in '5.1' mode, but tell the software that the center and rear channels are not present. Will this cause the sound card to combine the center channel information into the left/right channels? Using a 5.1 speaker setup without the center channel sucks, as most of the dialogue only comes through the center channel in that configuration.

Also, does the bass redirection allow me to filter the low frequencies from the left/right signals and add that to the subwoofer output?

 

[Procyon12]

i strongly suggest using a subwoofer on high level inputs and solving your problem with hardware rather than software. it simply sounds better in most applications and adding some speaker wire one time is going to be way less headache in the long run.

It seems that I could set up the speakers in '5.1' mode, but tell the software that the center and rear channels are not present. Will this cause the sound card to combine the center channel information into the left/right channels? Using a 5.1 speaker setup without the center channel sucks, as most of the dialogue only comes through the center channel in that configuration.

it will not have the sound card combine channels. you would have to use down mixing in all your playback software. tell all your games you only have 2 speakers as well. some games like starcraft 2 will not allow it to my knowledge. maybe there is a work around.

Also, does the bass redirection allow me to filter the low frequencies from the left/right signals and add that to the subwoofer output?

exactly right. without enabling this option, you will not get any sound from the subwoofer at all after downmixing to 2ch (unless your playback software can downmix to 2.1, like j.river)

 

[ilikecake]

Thanks for the recommendation. Is it possible to use the 'bass redirection' feature with the speakers set to 2.1 mode? Ideally, the speakers would be set as 2.1, but the bass would be split and output on a dedicated channel (sort of like how AV receivers do it).

If I have to use the high level input/output from the sub, I can do that. I just want to see what my options are.

On a related note: Does anyone have any recommendations for a sub that is not too pricey? when looking for subs for my home theater, I was looking in the $300-500 range, and most of those subs are huge. I figure that I can get by with a smaller sub because I only need to hear the bass near my computer desk. As such, I was thinking in the 100-200$ range for a computer sub.

 

[ilikecake]

I thought I would bump this thread to mention my resolution to the problem. I got the SB-1000 subwoofer, and stereo speakers with an amp.

Firstly, bass redirection is not available in 2.1 mode on the SB-Z.

My first setup was taking the stereo output from the card and put it into the sub. I then plugged the output from the sub into the speaker amplifier. This works, but was not ideal. The amplifier that I have has a volume control, but with the speakers set up this way, changing the volume using the amplifier does not affect the volume of the sub. The volume of the sub is set on the back of the sub. This meant that when I try to turn down the volume using the amp, I end up with low volume and big bass.

To fix this, I switched the setup such that the stereo output of the card goes directly to the amp. The output of the amp is split and goes to the speakers as well as the high level inputs to the sub. This will work okay because the sub input is high impedance, and therefore does not add much additional load to the output of the amp. In this setup, twiddling the volume knob on the amp will change the volume of both the speakers and sub. The volume knob on the sub can then be used to set the amount of bass that you want.