dolby digital live question

[creepcolony]

i have a stupid question about DDL...
to use it, do i need special speakers or a receiver or something? or do i just need a sound card that supports it, and plug my 2.1 analog speaker setup into it?

 

[Mister X]

Yes speakers and or a receiver that can actually use it are pretty important.
Otherwise you would just be using the analog outputs which kinda defeats the entire purpose of DDL

 

[phide]

You need:

A) A receiver, pre-amp or speakers that can decode Dolby Digital
B) A sound card that can encode Dobly Digital
C) A digital connection, be it optical or coaxial, between the two

I'm not sure I understand the reason why you want to use Dolby Digital Live with a 2.1 system. The ideal way for using a 2.1 system is via analog outputs/inputs with the subwoofer's built-in crossover. DDL is for those with receivers/pre-amps without discrete analog connections (six standard RCA connectors), but with optical or digital coaxial connections and 5.1/6.1/7.1 systems.

Dolby Digital (AC3) is a compressed multi-channel audio format. Unless you need to use it, avoid the drop in audio performance and encoding overhead.