Reddit mentions of Optimal Shop USB 2.0 External Sound Card 6 Channel 5.1 Surround Adapter Audio S/PDIF for PC (Blue)

My mobo is MSI A88XM-E45, and it has absolutely awful on-board sound. Most things I couldn't even hear because it wouldn't get loud enough. My sound card is this, I think. It's actually pretty decent for the price.

if you simply wanted a multi-channel audio output, i would just get a multi-channel soundcard or multiple soudcards, and then hook up the outputs the same way as the current CD player's outputs (left channel->light controller, right channel->speakers).

this is assuming that you want to keep the rest of the relay controller system intact, which looks like was painstakingly built and calibrated, and you probably don't want to redo that part.

from there, simply find the right audio player for your needs. you could look into a multitrack program to control the time synchronization of multiple songs/tracks on the different channels. (reaper is a good one, and has an "infinite" demo period and the actual price is also quite low as well if you're satisfied with what it can do).

qlab (as the other commenter suggested) is a great piece of software, but is potentially overkill in terms of features and price, but more importantly not designed with your existing light control system in mind and from your post it sounds like you're simply looking for a solution for the audio part of the system.

in terms of specific audio hardware, the cheapest option would be to get a bunch of usb audio interfaces - like, really cheap ones that are a couple bucks each (many are advertised as virtual 7.1 but really just have a speaker out and mic). from there, each track you're playing can be set to output to a particular interface. more expensive options might include a professional grade multichannel dac, but then you're looking at a couple hundred bucks at least and you probably won't be needing the high quality preamps for inputs, or balanced outputs in your setup. one in between solution would be to get something like this which gives you "3 CD players" worth of outputs since it has 6 channels of output. not as nice as a pro interface but much cheaper.

maybe this will help you guys

I had the exact same problem with my motherboard. I bought this and it works great, no drivers required, on Linux or Windows.

https://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Shop-Channel-External-Surround/dp/B00Q4WQ7XW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467733609&sr=8-1&keywords=usb+5.1

I have actually done this exact thing! I purchased Optimal Shop USB 2.0 External Sound Card 6 Channel 5.1 Surround Adapter Audio S/PDIF for PC-Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4WQ7XW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zuAeAb8W124J2 because it was cheap and worth a shot. It has been extremely good to use and I have had no issues with it whatsoever. The software is a bit...low budget, but it has all the features that you could need.

This is the one I use. $13 bucks :P https://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Shop-External-Channel-Surround/dp/B00Q4WQ7XW/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1518862926&sr=1-8&keywords=sound+card

I actually had the 558s before my AKGs! :D

But sorry to say, this is actually my first headphone amp. It was about $60 and powers my AKGs/sounds great.

The one I have is here although note that it only works through optical, there's no USB port there, so if you're stupid like me and damage your optical port, you'd have to buy something like this to fix it.

Otherwise, /r/headphones is always a good place for buying advice, and people there are definitely more well-versed than myself.

Does the X1C3 have stereo line-in input? Even decade-old Thinkpads have mono microphone inputs. You could try a USB sound card with stereo input, like this one.

If your minidisc player has some form of digital audio output, you could investigate that feature, as it would minimize degradation of the sound quality.

Optimal Shop USB 2.0 External Sound Card 6 Channel 5.1 Surround Adapter Audio S/PDIF for PC-Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4WQ7XW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nqUKBb31EYXPQ

http://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Shop-Channel-External-Surround/dp/B00Q4WQ7XW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1458699439&sr=8-6&keywords=sound+card
im kinda strapped for cash until the summer so would this work for right now?

Note: I'm far from the average audio file here, still a newbie, take others advice before mine.

If you need an amp is dependent on how much power your system draws. Otherwise, an easy way is to use an external usb sound card.


Optimal Shop USB 2.0 External Sound Card 6 Channel 5.1 Surround Adapter Audio S/PDIF for PC-Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4WQ7XW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_5wYxzbCW7V6S9


That one is probably poor considering how many generic copies there are of that one, but gives you an idea of what to look for.

Looks like the same idea yes...hopefully something that cheap would work and last. Sound quality would most likely not be up to par with what the Sound Blasters can offer though.

This is in Amazon's top 10...looks like exact same device with different branding LOL. If it's that popular I imagine it at least works...I only see 3.5 stars though which is a little low for electronics so just be careful or check out return policies. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Shop-Channel-External-Surround/dp/B00Q4WQ7XW/ref=zg_bs_3015427011_9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2S9W70QM5GC3053QB6Z3