Soundblaster X-Fi Sound Card - how to connect to an external ampli

[SimonWW]

I bought a Dimension 9200 back in May and went for the soundcard upgrade
option to "Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme".

I recently decided that I want to output sound to my Home Theatre Amp and
thought it would be a simple case of conecting a phono lead from my PC to the
amp but alas it would seem that there is no phono output on the soundcard.

Can anyone therefore help me with either of the points below :

- in order to try and get some further info from Creative, I need to
identify exactly which "Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme" is fitted to my PC as it
seems from Creative's website that there are several Xtreme cards. Does
anyone know which one was being used by Dell for their builds in May 2007 ?

- has anyone been able to make an audio connection to an external amp from
their X-fi Xtreme card ? If so how and with what sort of cable ?

Thanks in advance

 

[DanR]

Does your SB card look like this one?

http://ccftp.creative.com/manualdn/...2C472B/X-fi Xtreme audio quickstart front.pdf

This one has digital I/O which is your best option if your receiver supports
digital. This PDF also shows 3 line out jacks. These outputs may be
multifunctional and set up via software.
So look around at the creative site for manuals. The one I link to is just
the quick start guide.

 

[Dave]

1. don't know... I have a Gateway, and a "X-Fi" card, no "Extreme", etc.

2. I guess you have to use the sound out port (mini plug) that you normally
connect your computer speakers to. You can get a cable that goes from 1/8"
mini to RCA.
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-phoenix-gold-bronze-300-series-5-ft-3-5mm-to--pi-2456454.html

 

[SimonWW]

Yes it does look a bit like it with the four colour coded 3.5mm sockets. So
if I want to make a digital connection to my amp (yes it does accept both
optical and coaxial) using the blue I/O socket how do I do that ? What type
of cable do I use ? Will I need the Digital I/O Module that is shown on the
PDF ? Also I presume if I do this, my normal desktop speakers (plugged into
the green socket) will be unaffected ?