i think this is where this belongs...

[burn-e86]

i was wondering if there was a way in which i can hook a PC to an external amp. I have a Realtek ALC 880 AC97 onboard sound card that splits the audio into 7.1 8 channel config. Of course my amplifier which is around 10 years old doesnt have seperate channel input cause its all processed through the amp.
Now i think that the amp is capible of 4.1 surround (it was bought/made when LDs were popular, and when dolby 5.1 haddnt really reached full acceptence). on the input side the amp only has the red/white composite in. which means that i'm using a composite to 3.5 mm jack. which leaves me with either 2 channel, cause its split onboard, or simulated surround...which never sounds right.
btw i dont think that this amp even has SP/DIF input.
thanks to anyone who replies.

 

[yakyb]

to be honest i think you'll be struggling but without knowing the exact model of your amp it would be impossible to know plus what is your intended use of the amp/ speaker setup i.e for gamingrig or a media center rig either way i think you'll be wanting a bit more than 4.1. howeveer if your planning on using it as a mp3 jukebox then 4.1 will do you nicely

 

[astrallite]

If you mean to feed the amp with an audio signal from the sound card, you need to goto RadioShack and get some RCA to Stereo-mini cables or converters, which might cost you about $7-8 for each stereo (pair, red/white) channel.

If you have any more questions, I suggest you head off to an audio forum, like avsforum, arstechnica, or audioholics. I get the impression that most people here use made-for-PC powered speakers, you might get some confused speculation or misinformation if you rely too much on TGH forums for home audio support.

 

[burn-e86]

yea thats what i what i usually use/am currently set up with, but cause i have an amp i was thinking of hooking it directly to the pc, and remove 1 sound system. and since the speakers that i have are pretty high quality...i thought....well may as well try, thanks i'll give the audio forums
a shot
though i looked up the amp and they dont seem to have it...i know its a pioneer VSX- series amp, but the model number (which i dont have on me) isnt on the site, i think it was designed for the asian market or something like that

 

[asdasd123123]

The old dolby 5.1 system consisted of an amplifier with either 3 or 4 channels of actual output. Plus one subwoofer output on more expensive models.

You have two input channels, wich are supposed to contain dolby data, wich the amplifier splits into; sub, centre, surround, Left and Right.

left and right have separate amplifiers, centre has 1*xxWatts and BOTH rear channels share One amplifier, 1*xxwatts/2
And sub a separate if your amp has that.

Problem is, from a computer you're expected to have "discrete" inputs and outputs.
So you can basically only get stereo from your dolby 5.1 (analogue) amplifier, from your current sound hardware, unless you can enable fake dolby encoding through software. then you will be able to get so-so 4.1 surround.