anybody using digital output on a soundcard?

[bubba freaktree]

hi guys,

i have an idea:
take a pci card that has a digital output. use this to feed a high quality consumer component (something like an Onkyo or Nakamichi) on it's digital input.

the whole idea is to use the consumer piece to do the d-a conversion.

my guess is that you can get better d-a for the money in the consumer world, since it's a far larger market and economies of scale come into play.

i'm guessing something like a $200 audio sound card feeding a digital input to a $600 consumer component.

anybody try something like this?

basically i feel the pro-audio ad-da world is pretty stale right now, and i'm thinking outside the box.

[MisterX]

LOL...thinking outside the box.
Nice one. http://www.audioforums.com/forums/biggrin.gif
FWIW the main advantage of such a feature is getting the dac outside the interference inside the box as it were.

Mind if I ask you one question?
Are you new to this whole computer thing?
The reason I ask is because many consumer grade soundcards have featured digital outputs for over 4 years.
And many "multimedia speakers" now feature digital coax inputs and/or optical inputs for just such a reason ( better DACs).


[This message has been edited by MisterX (edited 05-07-2003).]

[bubba freaktree]

with "made for pro audio" d-a converters costing up to $5000 or even more, it is a fresh thought to think about tapping into the audiophile stereo market for premium d-a conversion by way of a digital throughput.

mabye this thought has been extremely obvious for you for a long time. but for me, i'm used to working inside the pro-audio sphere for equipment decisions and purchases. so for me this was a fresh thought to overcome "functional fixedness" as they say in psycho-babble terms.

i've always thought of digital i/o on a pro-audio card as a pathway to use an external effects device such as a Lexicon 480L/PCM-90 or TC-5000. I never thought about using it as a gateway to a stand-alone d-a converter. the musician related audio cards invariably make the digital i/o, not just output, so it's always seemed to be for a digital effects loop.

a lot of these audiophile conveters are adding upsampling functions to them, which is an interesting thing to ponder.

an apogee rosetta costs about $1000? i'm guessing $200 for a digital pci card plus $800 for a nice audiophile piece (some sort of dvd/digital receiver thing) could very well give superior audio performance, plus some bonus features.

i'm not convinced that the pro-audio market provides the best value for money in the d-a field. for somewhere between $500-1500 i'd bet on a high quality consumer product to carry the load, until i could be convinced otherwise.

[bubba freaktree]

one more thing. i remember you now "MisterX".

I don't care for your sarcasm at all. Stay away from that with me. I see no reason for you to act in a condescending, predatory fashion on this forum.

[MisterX]

So now you have moved from calling me rude to calling my posts sarcastic, condescending, and predatory?
I was simply pointing out that consumer level cards have been doing this for years.
The reason I asked if you were new to this whole PC thing is due to the nature of your posts and your attitude. You take everything like it was meant to put you down. If that was my intent believe me you would know it.
Take a break,lighten up,and relax.
I am not flaming, not insulting, not bashing you. I also fail to see what sarcasm you are referring to.
I took your outside the box statement as pun...my mistake.
I also have the ability to move beyond things that were said in the past and offered you an olive branch so to speak. Thanks for making it clear that I was wasting my time.
Unfortunately this forum does not have a ignore feature so do not be surprised If I make the same mistake (posting a reply to one of you threads) again. http://www.audioforums.com/forums/frown.gif




[This message has been edited by MisterX (edited 05-07-2003).]

[MisterX]

Now that, that is out of the way.
The basic reason many consumer level cards offer Digital line outs is to pass a Dolby Digital signal to an external decoder.
Re-Sampling is typically handled by the cards drivers and in many cases so is the Decoding process.
For an exceptional consumer level card check out the M-Audio Revolution.
Best <100$ card I ever bought. http://www.audioforums.com/forums/smile.gif


[This message has been edited by MisterX (edited 05-07-2003).]

[bubba freaktree]

"Nice one"... that's sarcastic, for example.

Also, "always taking offense" is *quite* an exaggeration. I am usually rather happy and positive on this site, as it has become probably my favorite place on the net. It *your* put-down responses to my well-meaning posts that I have a problem with.

I'm not always perfect, and don't always have the ultimate idea or question. If someone comes up with something better, that's great. But the other people I've interacted with on this site have enough class to advance the discussion forward without looking for an opportunity to rip into someone and insult them.

Basically two things:
1)I have no idea what "olive branch" you are referring to. The last response i remember from you on one of my threads was vitriolic and had profanity in it...anything but friendly. i reported it to admin. i peacefully hadn't seen the likes of you around for a while. maybe admin suspended you, or our paths fortuitoulsy did not cross for some period of time
2) it's simple. if you're trying to be funny, cute or witty, your wording does not come off at all like that to me. so lay off anything like that with me. keep it straight, supportive and polite, or refrain from respoding. and i will do the same with any of your posts. the world and this forum will not die if we simply ignore each other's threads.

you obviously have more knowledge in sound cards and menu configs than i do. i have a particularly extensive knowledge of preamps and microphones. if i saw you post something wet-behind-the-ears on one of these topics, i would have enough class to not take a cheap shot at you. do you get my point?

.>>>
I am not flaming, not insulting, not bashing you. I also fail to see what sarcasm you are referring to.

[MisterX]

Ok, I see how the "Nice one http://www.audioforums.com/forums/biggrin.gif" comment may have ben taken out of context.....I edited the post to try to make it more clear as to what I was reffering to.
The http://www.audioforums.com/forums/biggrin.gif (grin) was intended to show that it was meant to be funny not sacastic.
Are we straight now?

[wogg]

To reply to the actual question at had:

Has anyone used the digital out of a sound card to a consumer piece of audio gear. - Yes

I currently use the optical digital out on my Asus A7N266-VM to connect to a Sony Dolby Digital Reciever (model STR-DE685 ~$250). I do so for DVD playback and gaming, not for my recording rig (seperate PC). The D/A converters are pretty standard for this class of reciever and sound very good to me(without A/B comparison to an Apogee or other high end unit). The Sony can automatically decode Dolby Digital or PCM signals up to 96kHz. At the 96kHz samplig rate it does have to bypass the DSP functions like the built in crossover for the sub and EQ's etc. I don't think it will handle 24 bit streams. I do know that the internal processing is done at 32bit resolution. The more expensive recievers will get you better power amps and more features, possibly 24 bit compatibility.

The biggest drawback of home theatre setups I have noticed is that very few can handle a speaker load of 4 ohms, most top out at an 8 ohm load. Most good passive monitors are 4 ohms, a bit too much to handle, unless your up for a whole lot of extra heat and an early demise for you reciever.