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Stupid Questions About Digital Audio

D

Dioretsa

n00b
Joined
Aug 3, 2004
Messages
60
So if I were to get a 5.1 Surround Sound Receiver, it would have a Digital Optical Input and Digital Coaxial Input.

So I'm looking for a Soundcard that can output either Optical or Coaxial.

So, like this Turtle Beach, it has an Optical out right on it:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=29-118-104&DEPA=0

And this M-Audio has a Coaxial out right on the back:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=29-121-101&DEPA=0



So I looked at the Audigy 2, and it doesn't have either one, it has a small little connector at the top labeled Digital Out:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=29-102-162&DEPA=0

So how does that work? Does the card come with some kind of adapter for the little hole that makes it an optical/coaxial connector?
 
Audigy 2 digital out is a Coax digital out, you just need a mini->RCA adapter. Not sure if the card comes with this or not, but any Radio Shack will have em. Same type of connector you would use to plug the soundcard into analog RCA jacks.
 
i used the minijack digital our on my audigy 2 to connect to the audio equipment listen below. the sound is superb, and IMO better than the 6 channel direct sound since i use the receiver controls to adjust sound instead of the audigy surround mixer. however for surround sound in games you have to switch to 6 channel direct mode otherwise you get 2.1 sound for anything that's not DD or DTS. fantastic sound though.

here's what i used:

4x (3x for 6ch direct, 1x for digital) minijack to RCA adapters (one of them has to have a minijack extension cable or plug for it since the standard minijack to stereo RCA adapters are too wide to fit 3 in a row for 6 channel direct)

1x minijck extension cable (for the reason stated above, to fit on the back of the sound card)

4x radio shack 12' RCA cables (for connecting minijack adapters to receiver). dont go for monster cable since these standard-style radio shack cables do the job just as good and cost 1/4 as much.

Now you're ready to get jiggy with it. na na na na na
 
The chaintech av-710 is probably the best 'inexpensive' soundcard on the market for music quality, makes music sound better than most expensive sound cards. Its based upon the Envy 24HT-S chipset and also uses high quality dacs. Do some heavy reading on your choices before you decide though.

Chaintech AV-710
 
bjornb17 said:
i used the minijack digital our on my audigy 2 to connect to the audio equipment listen below. the sound is superb, and IMO better than the 6 channel direct sound since i use the receiver controls to adjust sound instead of the audigy surround mixer. however for surround sound in games you have to switch to 6 channel direct mode otherwise you get 2.1 sound for anything that's not DD or DTS. fantastic sound though.

here's what i used:

4x (3x for 6ch direct, 1x for digital) minijack to RCA adapters (one of them has to have a minijack extension cable or plug for it since the standard minijack to stereo RCA adapters are too wide to fit 3 in a row for 6 channel direct)

1x minijck extension cable (for the reason stated above, to fit on the back of the sound card)

4x radio shack 12' RCA cables (for connecting minijack adapters to receiver). dont go for monster cable since these standard-style radio shack cables do the job just as good and cost 1/4 as much.

Now you're ready to get jiggy with it. na na na na na
Click to expand...

Ahh... thanks. This is exactly the information I was looking for. So what kind of receiver do you have?
 
SJetski71 said:
The chaintech av-710 is probably the best 'inexpensive' soundcard on the market for music quality, makes music sound better than most expensive sound cards. Its based upon the Envy 24HT-S chipset and also uses high quality dacs. Do some heavy reading on your choices before you decide though.

Chaintech AV-710
Click to expand...

Oh, and thanks for pointing out this card... I'll do more research.
 
Dioretsa said:
Ahh... thanks. This is exactly the information I was looking for. So what kind of receiver do you have?
Click to expand...

Harman/Kardon AVR130...... its fantastic!
 
dont go for monster cable since these standard-style radio shack cables do the job just as good and cost 1/4 as much.
Click to expand...

I am curious as to how you came to such a conclusion.
 
by using them and realizing there is no real benefit, and then feeling like a chump for having spent so much money on them. :D just use a radio shack cable with sufficient thickness and you'll be fine.
 
Mister X said:
I am curious as to how you came to such a conclusion.
Click to expand...

For the MOST part high-end audio cable is often refferred to as Audio Jewelery, the extra money serving no purpose other than to make it look pretty;)

A few things that are important about cables are the CONNECTORS, quality connectors can make a difference. Physically you want it to work with your gear, and stay in. Also you want a good tight connection. However you do not need to spend ALOT to have this.

With Analog cables shielding is important, but not that important on short runs. And unless you have very expensive equipment and good ears you wont hear a difference. Note this is regarding low-voltage interconnects. For digital interconnects shielding is even less important.

For speaker wire, use lamp cord of proper gauge for the distance you need. I recommend either tin the ends if going bare connection or using spades or bannana connectors on the end. Only purpuse for tinning the ends is to keep it neat and prevent a possible short from a stray wire. 12ga wire should be the biggest you need in MOST home applications, but for short runs 14ga or even 16 ga is good. Shielding is not important with speaker wire since the voltage on the wire is of sufficient amount that any stray noise picked up will be well below the noise floor already in the signal.

One note with speaker wire, do be careful with some of the fancy techinques used in high-end wire and home-made wire from CAT5, this type of wire that is braided small gauge wire can have some really bad capacitance which can cause some amps issues.
 
Careful here... Mister X has a soldering iron and a quality listening rig. I'd tend to trust him regarding the importance of cabling. He builds them.
 
Dioretsa said:
So if I were to get a 5.1 Surround Sound Receiver, it would have a Digital Optical Input and Digital Coaxial Input.

So I'm looking for a Soundcard that can output either Optical or Coaxial.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. Do you expect surround sound to come out of that soundcard's digital output? They can only encode stereo output. Unless you have previously encoded audio, like DVDs, then digital output is generally a two-channel game.

You should look for a receiver that has multichannel analog inputs. This way you can connect the analog output of a decent soundcard. It's really the best way.
 
GodsMadClown said:
Careful here... Mister X has a soldering iron and a listening quality rig. I'd tend to trust him regarding the importance of cabling. He builds them.
Click to expand...

Yes and I am a EE who builds speakers and amps for fun ;) What I said still holds true. You can barely find a measurable difference between most cables, and even if you can measure still does not mean you can hear it. Our ears just are not that good, but our minds are great at fooling itself.
 
bjornb17 said:
by using them and realizing there is no real benefit, and then feeling like a chump for having spent so much money on them. :D
Click to expand...

That is all I needed to hear. :)
 
bjornb17 said:
dont go for monster cable since these standard-style radio shack cables do the job just as good and cost 1/4 as much.
Click to expand...
I agree with the first part of this statement, but not the second.

My personal opinion is the following:

There is little to no difference between good cables and so called great cables.
There is a huge difference between bad cables and good cables.

bad cables - cheap mass produced cables [anything that comes with a component, radioshack cables and monster cables]
good cables - DIY cables, either professionally made or whipped together yourself
"great cables" - anything you see advertised in Stereophile

I've done blind testing and cant hear any difference between my Zu Cables and some well made DIY cables that a friend of mine has. However when I got my Zu Cables and compaired them to the crappy cables I was using before, the difference was definately there. My Zu Cables probably lie somewhere between the good and great category... ie. I spent too much on them, but not so much that I feel like a chump ;)
 
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