What To Do For Digital Out

P

practal

Gawd
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Messages
652
I built a very nice audio system at the start of the year. I have been using a Soundigo Callisto USB sound card for years prior. It worked well even with it's Windows 7 x64 driver issues. I recently moved and have not been able to locate it. Damn USB.

I have resorted to using HDMI out from my 460GTX to my plasma which then goes through SPDIF to the Pre-Amp. I have noticed diminished sound and a harshness in treble that was not present before. I am guessing this is from the TV being in the loop and/or the new listening environment that is not treated yet.

I am looking to eliminate the TV from the loop however my current motherboard does not have any form of digital out. I'm wondering if I am better off buying a sound card or replacing the motherboard with one that has digital out?

I have a good Stereo Pre-Amp so I'm not certain if I need an expensive sound card? If digital out just passes the signal through, wont they all function just the same? Are there any benefits of going with an ultra high end sound card in my situation? My Soundigo could not access any features due to Windows 7 driver issues, would the high end cards have features to improve audio? Also, would a DAC be an option? I know next to nothing about these.

I am going to be changing cases soon and would like to deal with this at that time. I have room for PCI, PCI-E, or a USB sound card. As far as usage, I game very little. My main concern is music then movies. Blu-Rays have been the area that I notice the biggest impact in sound quality, it is very quiet compared to what it once was.

Audio System:
Emotiva UMC-1 Pre-Amp
Emotiva XPA-2 | UPA-2 Amp
PSB GT-1 Speakers (Left|Center|Right)
Rythmik F15HP SE Dual Subwoofers

HTPC
MSI P55 MATX
Intel I3-530
MSI 460GTX
16GB Corsair DDR-3 1800
2xCrucial M4 64GB SSD RAID0
 
If all you want is digital out, then onboard is fine. However, a new motherboard is more expensive than a low-end sound card - something like the Xonar DG which can be found for as low as $20.
 
Due to copyright protection and bandwidth limitations, your TV does not simply pass along HDMI's digital audio signal to the S/PDIF output; your TV will process the HDMI audio by potentially stripping channels and limiting bit rate and frequency. Your TV is also likely to convert the whole mess to some form of a Dolby codec regardless of what the source signal uses, and even if it outputs LPCM, it may add unwanted EQ to the signal.

This may be fine for some systems, but with the sort of gear that you have there is no reason whatsoever as to why you should be limiting yourself in this way.

Is there a reason why you can not have your HTPC directly connected to one of the UMC-1's HDMI inputs, with the UMC-1 then connected to your TV via HDMI? (The only reason that I can think of is that you need HDMI 1.4 vs. 1.3, e.g. 3D.) This is by far and away the best solution.

Also, if you do need 3D over HDMI, you can get the UMC-1's 3D upgrade (factory) performed when it is released ($200).
 
I have the HTPC hooked up to a Panasonic TC-P50VT25 and it is because of 3d. I don't use it much but the girlfriend does. My video card also only has one output which I'm sure I could get some sort of adapter for. I have read of the emotiva upgrade but I would like to get this situated by next week.

The only reason I was thinking of swapping boards is because I have another LGA1156 system as a bedroom HTPC. It's a Gigabyte board that has spdif out however it would be a lot of part moving and time re-installing Windows on 2 systems. Not really a task I want to undertake but would if need be.

So any difference between a Xonar DS and a HT Omega Claro in my situation? I don't mind spending the money but I do not want to if it has no benefit. I don't want to sacrifice sound quality at all.
 
you will NOT get the Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master HD through spidf. this only works through HDMI and analog.

what you want to do is use the HDMI for sound only and the DVI-> HDMI for video only for 3D. you will have to send a dummy signal to your UMC-1 like a second monitor. along with the audio over HDMI. maybe a clone display will work. i dont know.

the other option is to buy this:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=WoxpTtHsB-6HsAKEqvGxBg&ved=0CE4Q8wIwAA

if your changing boards, you want to buy a board that has HDMI onboard and that board should support Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master HD bitstreaming.

if you get the Asus Xonar DS you want to run ANALOG to your UMC-1.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top