connecting hi-fi to computer without interference?

so i have a budget hi-fi system with some klipsch forte II's and an Onix RA 120 dual mono integrated amp 120 wpc and acoustic research master series 10 ga speaker wire... i have a monster cable connector that works in the aux out that works great with my ipod but when i plug it into my computer it picks up a lot of interference and static... i was wondering if anyone had experience with good products that eliminated this problem very well considering the efficiency of the speakers and the large speaker wire the signal is preserved very well so i need something that really cuts out interference well.

i was thinking about the "xitel pro hi-fi link" or the "creative USB sound blaster audigy 2 nx" and have been reading some reviews, etc... anyone have any suggestions or anything?

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Originally Posted by dandre47

so i have a budget hi-fi system with some klipsch forte II's and an Onix RA 120 dual mono integrated amp 120 wpc and acoustic research master series 10 ga speaker wire... i have a monster cable connector that works in the aux out that works great with my ipod but when i plug it into my computer it picks up a lot of interference and static... i was wondering if anyone had experience with good products that eliminated this problem very well considering the efficiency of the speakers and the large speaker wire the signal is preserved very well so i need something that really cuts out interference well.

i was thinking about the "xitel pro hi-fi link" or the "creative USB sound blaster audigy 2 nx" and have been reading some reviews, etc... anyone have any suggestions or anything?

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Sorry, but I'm a little confuse about what it is you're trying to do. Are you trying to record from the Onix amp to your computer?? If so, I'm curious why you want to do this: are you trying to record from some input to your amp, e.g. FM tuner, turntable, or whatever? If your are ripping CDs it would be better to do it using the computer's own optical drive.

Make sure you have a good connection and keep the cable(s) to the computer as short as possible. Do you use the same cable for the computer as you do for the iPod? If not, possibly the cable is bad, or maybe the problem is with the computer's jack or sound card.

Does the Onix have "tape out" connectors? In that case you be better using it instead of "aux out" which is presumably controlled by the amp's volume control; too highe or low a volume setting just might be the cause of the interference and satic.

Let us have any additional info you can think of.

i am actually trying to play songs from my computer through the amplifier so i don't have to use my tiny computer speakers that i got for free. the cable works fine with the ipod, it's the same one i tried with the computer... although it is in the aux output, should i use the tape out to play music or were you only talking about recording or ripping to the computer?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dandre47

i am actually trying to play songs from my computer through the amplifier so i don't have to use my tiny computer speakers that i got for free. the cable works fine with the ipod, it's the same one i tried with the computer... although it is in the aux output, should i use the tape out to play music or were you only talking about recording or ripping to the computer?

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Since the cable works fine with the Ipod, we can safely say that the cable or the amp isn't at fault.

That leaves but one possibility. The computer itself. The question is where in the computer the issue lies. It could be the sound card or the power supply itself.

Since internal audio cards (and dirty power supplies) of computers are always subject to debate, you might want to follow your instincts here and consider trying a different internal sound card, or even one of those external USB sound cards like you mention. The latter should minimize any problems with the power supply.

As always, keep all receipts and packaging should it not be what you want/need and find you want to return it.

I LIVE off my XP machine for listening to music:

Here's been my experience:

Option 1: For the most part, every time I use an analog cable coming right off the onboard chipset, the sound generally sounded just OK. But there were sometimes noise issues which brought me to option 2.

Option 2: Get a sound card. Some of the "better" sound card brands have noise filters on them to filter out noise produced by your power supply, processor, harddrives and other components inside your machine. The sound card got rid of most of the static/noise when using analog cabling.

Option 3: I decided to try using the SPDIF output (digital audio) instead utilizing the same sound card. This pretty much eliminated all noise going to my receiver. It's the best thing I've heard yet for under 100 bucks. BTW, I'm using a simple Soundblaster Audigy OEM at 48Khz.

Option 4: The best sound I've heard yet was the M-Audio device from DigiDesign (more expensive but effective). I only had one for a while, but it was VERY VERY clean sound. I was a little suprised that an analog interconnect could sound that good but in this instance I think you get what you pay for. My only quam was it's limited to 2 channels of audio. no 5.1 output to my Onkyo/Integra.

Footnote:
I also have a Media Center PC with onboard "HD" audio by realtek. This also has a SPDIF output right on the motherboard. I haven't hear any noise, clicks, fuzz, static OR crackling from this setup either(WHILE USING SPDIF OUTPUT)

I've had very good luck using SPDIF connections from the PC to the receiver. it's very effective and let's me have 5.1 digital audio on my movies with just one cable.

Hope I helped and didn't hinder.....

Why not use 320 decoding put everything into the ipod and play it directly through the receiver?

holy thread revival batman!

320 decoding + ipod +receiver is an option, but given the DAC quality & driver stage of an Ipod, there are better sounding options :)

Welcome to AR, by the way :)

Keep them spinning,
Bert.