Dave A Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Here is the background to this question. I have an Onkyo 8050 reciever which I really like but the interface is clunky with the USB. I also have a Klipsch 2.1 speaker system which just for the heck of it I used to power the La Scalas. Worked pretty well with all the volume that I wanted but was not even close to the output quality of the Onkyo. I did like however the idea that I could A, use the files on my PC with the audio card on the PC and B, there was a graphic equalizer I could use to. What do I need to do to use my PC as the main "controller" for powering these La Scalas? I really like the idea of numerous files I can pull from and do whatever mix I want and be able to control it all from the PC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Welcome to the Klipsch Forums, Dave! Hopefully someone can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Computer > Asynchronous USB controller > external DAC > Amplifier > Speakers. then again you could just load the computer files to a flash drive and plug that directly into your Amplifer via the USB adapter on the front of your unit or via Ethernet connection. Edited March 18, 2014 by Schu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Super simple way is to visit Schiit Audio and look at there 99.00 modi DAC, run out of your computers usb into modi usb, out of the rca outs on the modi and into your onkyo, cd or aux inputs and you are set to go simple and cheap and sounds very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) A simple solution would be to run an 1/8" to RCA adapter out of the back of your PC to your receiver. From there to your speakers. Edited March 18, 2014 by CECAA850 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) A simple solution would be to run an 1/8" to RCA adapter out of the back of your PC to your receiver. From there to your speakers. Simple yes but you are going to have Sound Quality commensurate with your computers sound card, and 99 percent of those suck, an outboard dac is the way to go if you care about sound quality Edited March 19, 2014 by joessportster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) A simple solution would be to run an 1/8" to RCA adapter out of the back of your PC to your receiver. From there to your speakers. Simple yes but you are going to have Sound Quality commensurate with your computers sound card, and 99.9 percent of those suck, an outboard dac is the way to go if you care about sound quality I offered the simplest solution, certainly not the best. He can be up and running for about $5.00. It fits all his criteria. He didn't list "best sounding" in his question. Maybe he should have listed a budget. I'm sure we could spend all his money Edited March 18, 2014 by CECAA850 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 A simple solution would be to run an 1/8" to RCA adapter out of the back of your PC to your receiver. From there to your speakers. Simple yes but you are going to have Sound Quality commensurate with your computers sound card, and 99.9 percent of those suck, an outboard dac is the way to go if you care about sound quality I offered the simplest solution, certainly not the best. He can be up and running for about $5.00. It fits all his criteria. Maybe he should have listed a budget. I'm sure we could spend all his money I'm always willing to spend someone else's money , There is no WALLET REMORSE spending O.P.M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I offered the most expensive solution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Completely disagree that 99% or even close PC sound cards sound that bad anymore. Certainly used to be the case, but even MB chip sets are often more limited by the source material than their qualities these days. I use an Asus Xonar, and not the pricey one, and the quality is outstanding. I long since gave up the search for a PC media player with "everything" and just use Windows explorer to organize and access my digital files and play them with VLC. I am sure there are still crappy PC audio cards and chip sets out there but there are also plenty of sub-200.00 choices that are mainly limited by the quality of the source material. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanm84 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Purchase apple air express, plug into receiver with RCA adapter and wirelessly play from the computer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Some sound cards and computers have S/PDIF outputs. If that is the case, connect yours to your receiver. You will need a cord. PS: S/PDIF comes in two flavors, TOSLINK also known as optical, and RCA phono connectors also known as digital coax. Edited March 18, 2014 by mustang guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I agree with Dave and Carl. At the very least, you can try it for a very small expenditure. I use and old Onkyo in my office with a pair of JBL Control 25 speakers. I use a 1/8 inch out from either a Dell or IBM into the receiver. Works for me. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Sorry, but I disagree. If he has a digital output on his computer, he would be better off buying a digital cable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Deal with issues as they arise. Start cheap, the line out option. If you hear something you don't like in the DAC, throw money at it. I've built my entire systems over decades using the philosophy of "...don't throw money at a problem unless you have it" and it's kept my wallet safe and my sanity intact. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) The cables cost $1.63 to $8.55 depending on length needed from 1' to 50'. Monoprice TOSLINK cables Of course you have shipping too... Edited March 18, 2014 by mustang guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I guess we will just disagree Dave, sound cards in all consumer based computers are cheaply made and on average cost around 25 to 50 dollars, I have 2 relatively expensive computers HP elitebook 2200.00, and sony vaio 1200.00 and both have CRAP for sound, take a look at almost any audio based forum and you will find most people emphatically state soundcard as a weak point in the chain and they advocate an external dac sound cards have multiple jobs to complete on a 10.00 pcb , whereas a dac has 1 purpose, so obviously more effort is put into sound quality on a dac (otherwise whats the point ? ) There are exceptions to the rule and you can certainly go out and spend a few hundred on a quality sound card, But you are not going to get one on a consumer pc off the shelf you are correct the OP can test the waters much cheaper, I read his question and to me it seemed he had already tested this via other means and was looking for a better more permanent setup. I was offering up my personal Experience of decades of setting up my various systems and what I found worked best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I listen to my setup via a i3NUC with the built in audio via the HDMI cable and it sounds great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 USB DAC> cheap T AMP>Lascala's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted March 18, 2014 Moderators Share Posted March 18, 2014 Just went through this, if you only have USB from the computer and no other digital output this may help. I have one on the way because the DAC I am connecting it to is limited on the USB input. It changes USB into coax or optical. http://www.audioadvisor.com/NuForce-U192S-USB-to-S_PDIF-Converter/productinfo/NUU192S/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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