Good Simple PC Audio

[eighthcircuit]

I am very overwhelmed with how complicated it is to setup a decent quality computer audio system. What I want to do is very simple. All I want is to play MP3s from my computer's hard drive through my home stereo system. Right now i just have the internal sound card connected to my receiver with an RCA cable (this is the most basic but relatively poor quality method). I've been reading about all this stuff about external sound cards, external DACs, Wireless Servers, toslink cables, usb to coaxial converters, and a bunch of other things that i don't really understand. The most simple and inexpensive method to have better sound seems to just get a better sound card. Is an M-Audio External sound card a significant step up from just using my internal creative labs sound card? Also, can i just bypass a computer sound card completely? By the way, I have a "digital ready" receiver, meaning it has digital inputs but not a built in decoder.Just mentioning this since ive read a lot of stuff about using either analog or digital outputs from the M-Audio sound card. I don't know if i can use the digital out feature with my curent "digital ready" receiver. What should i do? I want to spend no more than $200

[ericl]

M-Audio Audiophile USB

Take your $200 and just buy it. It is great. I love mine. It bypasses your computer soundcard, has digital and analog outputs, an external power supply, and sounds great. I am hooked on computer audio now.

-Eric

[spago]

If all you want is a digital output from your PC, take a look at the Audiotrak Optoplay. It's cheap and simple.

[eighthcircuit]

M-Audio Audiophile USB

Take your $200 and just buy it. It is great. I love mine. It bypasses your computer soundcard, has digital and analog outputs, an external power supply, and sounds great. I am hooked on computer audio now.

-Eric

Thanks for your reply Eric. I was just curious about the difference between the M-Audio Transit and M-Audio Audiophile. The Transit is external (and cheaper), while the Audiophile looks internal. Also, does the Audiophile provide higher quality sound than the Transit or just more features. If i just want high quality stereo sound for playing mp3s from my computer's hard drive through my home stereo and nothing else, which one is better? And lastly, i noticed there are two audiophile models, the 192 and the 2496. What is the difference exactly?

[ericl]

Thanks for your reply Eric. I was just curious about the difference between the M-Audio Transit and M-Audio Audiophile. The Transit is external (and cheaper), while the Audiophile looks internal. Also, does the Audiophile provide higher quality sound than the Transit or just more features. If i just want high quality stereo sound for playing mp3s from my computer's hard drive through my home stereo and nothing else, which one is better? And lastly, i noticed there are two audiophile models, the 192 and the 2496. What is the difference exactly?

There are two (maybe three?) "Audiophile" models. The Audiophile pci is the internal model, I'm talking about the Audiophile USB which is external, with an external power supply, which the transit does not have. The external power supply gets the noisy computer power out of the soundcard, benefitting sound quality. This is the one I have. Its got tons of features too, in case you ever want to record analog source onto your computer, or what have you

-Eric

[eighthcircuit]

There are two (maybe three?) "Audiophile" models. The Audiophile pci is the internal model, I'm talking about the Audiophile USB which is external, with an external power supply, which the transit does not have. The external power supply gets the noisy computer power out of the soundcard, benefitting sound quality. This is the one I have. Its got tons of features too, in case you ever want to record analog source onto your computer, or what have you

-Eric

Are you familiar with the Xitel Pro HiFi Link. I just came across this. It's under $100 and seems to be what i'm looking for. Is this the same kind of device as the M-Audio Transit. The Xitel has a DAC, I havn't seen that in the description for the Transit. Here's the link to the Xitel: http://www.xitel.com/product_phfl.htm

[eighthcircuit]

Since the digital coaxial output is one plug (coming out of the external sound card), and on the receiver side there are 6 different digital outputs (for 5.1 systems), do i need a Y adapter to split the digital coaxial cable into left and right channel (since i am using this for 2 channel stereo)?

[ericl]

a connection through a digital cable contains all the channels in a single cable. the decoder on your dolby digital receiver then decodes the signal into two or 5.1 channels. You were vague about whther or not your receiver is dolby digital or not, is it? or isn't it? What make and model is it, and when did you buy it or when was it made? If it doesn't actually have digital inputs then you would have to use the analog output of the m-audio into the receiver.

[eighthcircuit]

a connection through a digital cable contains all the channels in a single cable. the decoder on your dolby digital receiver then decodes the signal into two or 5.1 channels. You were vague about whther or not your receiver is dolby digital or not, is it? or isn't it? What make and model is it, and when did you buy it or when was it made? If it doesn't actually have digital inputs then you would have to use the analog output of the m-audio into the receiver.

The receiver is "digital ready," meaning it has digital inputs but no digital decoder built in. Is that sufficient to hook up the soundcard through its digital output? If so, do i need a Y adapter since the digital output of the sound card is a single plug while the digital inputs on the receiver have a separate plug for left and right channels?

[eighthcircuit]

I think now i get it. Digital ready means it has 6 channel discrete input capability. This means that when a dvd player with built in digital decoder is connected, i will get dolby digital sound. But I think the sound card thing im trying to do is a whole different matter. The digital out of the card i think needs a recevier that has digital inputs for its for components such as a cd player (which would be one plug rather than two for the older rca cable method). I think my confusion is stemming from the fact that my reciever doesn't have digital inputs for various components (e.g. CD player), but rather only digital inputs for a an external 5.1 decoder (which is useless for my purposes). Does this make sense. If this is the case, I'm wondering if this means that newer receivers or perhaps even stereo preamps now provide digital inputs for components (one plug), rather than just the standard method of using (2 plug) rca cables.

I think this is an example of the inputs i don't have that i need in order to hook the sound card up digitally:
http://www.yamaha.com/menuitems/panelviews/yec/RX-V2095/bRXV2095_2.htm

[noddin0ff]

Since the digital coaxial output is one plug (coming out of the external sound card), and on the receiver side there are 6 different digital outputs (for 5.1 systems), do i need a Y adapter to split the digital coaxial cable into left and right channel (since i am using this for 2 channel stereo)?

What make/model of receiver do you have? I think most receivers that have 5+ channel outputs/inputs ALSO accept digital inputs AND must have built in decoders. If your receiver has Dolby Digital or DTS logos on the face, it should be able to decode those signals.

But, you're looking to play 2-channel audio from your PC. If you connect a digital output from a sound card (external or internal) to your receiver, the computer soundcard is still decoding the MP3 formatted file and converting it to a digital PCM format. PCM is the format a CD player would deliver digitally, and any receiver with digital inputs will accept and decode the PCM signal.

[eighthcircuit]

What make/model of receiver do you have? I think most receivers that have 5+ channel outputs/inputs ALSO accept digital inputs AND must have built in decoders. If your receiver has Dolby Digital or DTS logos on the face, it should be able to decode those signals.

But, you're looking to play 2-channel audio from your PC. If you connect a digital output from a sound card (external or internal) to your receiver, the computer soundcard is still decoding the MP3 formatted file and converting it to a digital PCM format. PCM is the format a CD player would deliver digitally, and any receiver with digital inputs will accept and decode the PCM signal.

This is my receiver: http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/DsplyModel/?gAVR00010RX-V592

It's older, at that time they had both digital and "digital ready" (which was cheaper).

"DOLBY DIGITAL READY*
Rear panel input jacks make this receiver easy to upgrade to Dolby Digital, the newest and most dramatic surround sound format for movies. The output of Yamaha's DDP-1, DDP-2, other Dolby Digital decoders, or the decoded output from a DVD or laser disc player easily plug into this receiver to create an up-to-the-minute receiver."

[noddin0ff]

Ah, yes. I see... Down at the bottom of the page you linked to it says, "Features subject to change without notice." Maybe you should keep checking the rear panel in case a digital input shows up!

I'll make my usual plug for Griffin's iMic.
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/
A simple external USB DAC for two-channel only, no frills. A modest step up from the soundcards most computers come with, for about $40. I'm very happy with it in two separate systems.