Receiver vs. Soundcard

[gerbiaNem]

I currently have an Onkyo tx-sr503 receiver. Going to buy the SVS SBS-01 speakers very soon for an upgrade. Now I still have quite a bit of change left over to spend, but I don't want to buy a component that won't benefit me...

Would buying a better receiver help out my sound at all, seeing as how the soundcard does all of the processing? I was considering a denon 3806 or onkyo tx-sr803, but if they will not impact sound quality, i'm not interested (volume is not a big concern).

So with a soundcard, does the receiver do more than just amp the signal? Also, i see there is a direct mode on my receiver, does enabling this disable the internal processing (if any)?

 

[Mister X]

Yup, direct mode disables all of the effects and even the tone controls.

Would buying a better receiver help out my sound at all, seeing as how the soundcard does all of the processing? I was considering a denon 3806 or onkyo tx-sr803, but if they will not impact sound quality, i'm not interested (volume is not a big concern).

If you left the part about the Denon 3806 or Onkyo TX- SR 803 out it would have been an easy question to answer.
(those are both very nice receivers and it's very hard to say no you won't notice the difference)

 

[gerbiaNem]

Now I'm confused. I demoed a Denon 3806 and 2106(still more expensive than mine) at the BB Magnolia theatre using Def Tech speakers. The 3806 blew the 2106 completely away in clarity and imaging. I thought the BB rep was pulling my leg till I checked the settings. The 2106 listening came after the 3806 and it was all muddy and inaccurate compared. If I get half the improvement I'll be more than satisfied.

I think I'm going to buy the receiver after I get my new speakers, If I don't notice a difference I can always return it. Maybe I I'll get an Elite Pro at the same time to test with too. Seems improbable I could lose

 

[big daddy fatsacks]

also it's important to note that if you have a sound card with SPDIF output and receiver with an input you can bypass all the subpar processing of the sound card and let your receiver do it. it's not as easy as it should be (just plugging in the cable) because you need to bypass the windows kmixer (aka kmangler) but with the right card and drivers it i certainly possible.

if you're interested, go to avsforum.com and go to the HTPC section and find the via envy thread for more info.