I was just interested in buying a soundcard, for example the Asus Xonar Essence STX, and I was just wondering, how does one...

 

... connect these three plugs

 

 

... which I normally just connect into my motherboard right here

 

 

... into this soundcard which doesn't have any of those black, green or orange connectors?

 

 

I'm using a mid range Creative 5.1 T6160 with subwoofer, which I'm more than happy with. It features these three black, green and orange plugs. But infortunately all soundcards have completely different connectors on them. So how the hell will I be able to connect my subwoofer to my soundcard?! Via some kind of adapter or something?

 

Can anybody clear this up for me?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Appears to me the sound card is meant to be connected to a surround sound stereo system/amplifier/speakers using the RCA jacks? Using the external amplifiers speakers.

Appears to me the sound card is meant to be connected to a surround sound stereo system/amplifier using the RCA jacks or whatever the other connections are?

 

I dunno, but litterally every soundcard doesn't come with the connectors I need, which is strange because these three black, green and orange plugs are very common.

 

I dunno' date=' but litterally every soundcard doesn't come with the connectors I need, which is strange because these three black, green and orange plugs are very common.[/quote']

 

Was there a break-out cable in the box? Does it say anything in the manual? I've seen a few cards like that that include a cable to provide the analog outputs.

 

 

Was there a break-out cable in the box? Does it say anything in the manual? I've seen a few cards like that that include a cable to provide the analog outputs.

 

I don't have the soundcard yet, I was just looking at them. Or are you referring to my 5.1 soundsystem? It's just 5 speakers connected to a subwoofer by connectors looking just like these on the soundcard but in red and white only. Then there's a power cable and last the three plugs that go into my motherboard, but i don't have a clue on how to connect them to a soundcard...

Arjen

I'm not sure if this would work as you would have to match your present 3 cable outputs to those on the new sound card.

To connect you would need a Stereo 3.5mm Mini Jack (Female) to 1 RCA (Male) Cable (if such a thing exists) as its usually 1 stereo minijack to 2 RCA outputs. ( or 3 x 3.5mm to 3.5 mm stereo joiners/couplers (female to female) and use a 3.5mm Male Mini Jack to 1 or 2 RCA cables. But the speakers may still not work as they should.

May be time for new speakers??

Regards

pH

Watch Linus unboxing the card here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iueTVM3xfFM

 

It only got stereo analog outputs, but it has a S/PDIF output as well... If you want to use your 3.5mm jacks from your 5.1 system you will probably be better of with something like Asus Xonar D2X.

<br />May be time for new speakers??<br />

 

Why? My speaker system is only one year old, and even the more expensive ones from Logitech feature these 3.5 mm jacks. And please note my subwoofer is a 5.1 system, not stereo...

 

Ok these adapters could work, but I've only seen 3.5 mm jack (black) to RCA female. But then my speaker system will only work in stereo, right? I would need to connect the other two also...

 

Are all the modern speaker systems stereo or something? If not, how are they normally connected to these soundcards? Do they feature RCA's only???

From reading at the Asus site this card appears to be an amplifier mainly for headphones. It does have an optical out though so if you have that on your speakers it would work with 5.1

 

I'm suprised they label it as 7.1. The only way to do that or 5.1 is to use the digital optical out/toslink.

 

I've got the old Logitech Z680 5.1 speaker system and optical is the only way I can connect it to my PS3 for watching movies.

 

It seems you won't be able to connect your analogue speakers to this card in 5.1

 

Here's what you want unless you're an audiophile:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102048

 

I don't have the soundcard yet' date=' I was just looking at them. Or are you referring to my 5.1 soundsystem?[/quote']

 

No, I was referring to the sound card. Some have a break out cable for connecting to analog PC speakers like yours. In other words a cable with 3 analog connections on one end that match your speaker cables, and a single connection of some type on the other to connect to the sound card.

 

Simply, that card isn't for your purposes. Choose a different one from the xonar line more suited for standard pc speakers.

Choose a different one from the xonar line more suited for standard pc speakers.

 

I have to agree with this. The Xonar gaming line would be a better match if you are looking to hook up PC surround sound speakers.