Soundblaster question (HDMI connection to receiver)

T

thekipper

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
471
Hi,
If I buy a SB card but my only connection to my Yamaha receiver is via HDMI, will I get sound or do I need to use a Toslink cable?

I currently just use the Nvidia HD audio so sound and video from PC go to my Yamaha receiver and then on to the TV/speakers.

I'm having to use the Nvidia audio because the Realtek sound quit working on my gigabyte Z77 board for some reason. This way everything also runs from the PC to Yamaha receiver on a single HDMI cable and I'd like to keep that simplicity if possible.

Thanks for the help!
Kip

Yamaha RX-V673
Nvidia (asus) GT660
Gigabyte Z77 board
16GB Crucial
Windows 8.1
 
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Check whichever card you are interested in and see which ports are used. For analog, it's typically 3.5mm ports, and digital it would be coaxial or optical.

HDMI is only used on video chipsets.
 
Tell your receiver to use speakers if you want it to use speakers.
You may currently have it set for HDMI audio pass through.

There is zero (none at all) advantage using optical/coax (SPDIF) over HDMI but there are disadvantages.
To get surround sound over SPDIF it has to be compressed as it doesnt have the bandwidth.

For stereo music you may prefer the quality of analogue out from your Soundblaster soundcard.
If so, use HDMI for surround and analogue for stereo.
 
I think the real question is why you would want to use a sound card at all. HDMI pipes uncompressed 8-channel digital audio straight to the receiver. No sound card can do that, so what do you hope to gain?
 
Well, I thought the Soundblaster would be an upgrade over the Nvidia HD audio but maybe i am wrong? I have no idea why the Realtek onboard quit working but that's another story.

I'm perfectly happy to use the Nvidia HD audio if it's decent...I just want to keep using a single cable HDMI from the pc to receiver:)

Nenu,
thanks, I thought about HDMI pass through but I get sound using the Nnvidia HD audio passed via HDMI from PC to receiver...just nothing if I'm using the Realtek HD Audio. Really odd...I'm wondering if the 8.1 upgrade mucked it up.
 
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When using a digital audio connection, the audio quality is defined by what you connect to, not the computer.
Its where the DAC is that you are using which determines how it sounds.
In this case, when using HDMI or SPDIF, the DAC is in your AV amp.
The quality of the DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) defines a large part the sound quality.

The advantage of soundcards is that they generally have better DACs than AV amps.
You need a very expensive AV amp to compare to the DAC of a good soundcard.
To use the DAC on your soundcard, you need to use analogue out from the soundcard.
In your case, you dont have 5.1 or 7.1 analogue input to your AV amp, so you can only get stereo via analogue.
This is why I recommended that you use HDMI for surround and analogue from a good soundcard for stereo music.

Similarly, I use a high quality Blu ray player with HDMI in for 5.1 (movies) and an even higher quality external USB DAC for stereo music.
You can pick and choose to get the best.

If you dont have good speakers or only play MP3s, you might not care which connection method you use.
You may not care anyway, the people I know vary from not giving a damn to being highly critical.

Bear in mind that how good it sounds can vary a lot with where you put the speakers.
Nearer a wall or corner will give more bass, pull them away if the sound is too boomy.
Where you sit has a major effect on the strength of the bass too, walk around the room when music plays and see where is good.
The angle of the speakers will help stereo effects sound their best, the need for this varies from speaker and how far you sit from them..
Firm mounting to the floor on spikes or good stands can solidify the bass sound.
Really bad cables can ruin a good hifi too, you dont need to spend much to get good cables, but you can easily buy crap.

Got a bit carried away, hopefully some of that is useful to you.
 
Ah, gotcha on the DAC. I'm happy to let the Yamaha decode.

I just want a single cable, good sound and simplicity. I don't have audiophile speakers since I went in-wall and ditched the Boston Acoustics a while back. They in-walls are decent and paired with a SVS sub so I do like good sound...it's mainly for a little gaming, mp3's (320 encoded) and movies.

I'm still stumped as to why the onboard Realtek quit working but oh well:)




Nenu said:
When using a digital audio connection, the audio quality is defined by what you connect to, not the computer.
Its where the DAC is that you are using which determines how it sounds.
In this case, when using HDMI or SPDIF, the DAC is in your AV amp.
The quality of the DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) defines a large part the sound quality.

The advantage of soundcards is that they generally have better DACs than AV amps.
You need a very expensive AV amp to compare to the DAC of a good soundcard.
To use the DAC on your soundcard, you need to use analogue out from the soundcard.
In your case, you dont have 5.1 or 7.1 analogue input to your AV amp, so you can only get stereo via analogue.
This is why I recommended that you use HDMI for surround and analogue from a good soundcard for stereo music.

Similarly, I use a high quality Blu ray player with HDMI in for 5.1 (movies) and an even higher quality external USB DAC for stereo music.
You can pick and choose to get the best.

If you dont have good speakers or only play MP3s, you might not care which connection method you use.
You may not care anyway, the people I know vary from not giving a damn to being highly critical.

Bear in mind that how good it sounds can vary a lot with where you put the speakers.
Nearer a wall or corner will give more bass, pull them away if the sound is too boomy.
Where you sit has a major effect on the strength of the bass too, walk around the room when music plays and see where is good.
The angle of the speakers will help stereo effects sound their best, the need for this varies from speaker and how far you sit from them..
Firm mounting to the floor on spikes or good stands can solidify the bass sound.
Really bad cables can ruin a good hifi too, you dont need to spend much to get good cables, but you can easily buy crap.

Got a bit carried away, hopefully some of that is useful to you.
Click to expand...
 
Dont worry about the realtek SPDIF, HDMI out is the better option.
 
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