masterxela Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I'm using the coax digital output on my sound card to send audio to my receiver, would a new/better sound card increase my sound quality? It seems that since its not doing any digital to analog conversions itself but instead outputting the digital, that its not contributing to poor sound quality at all. I believe I have a Realtek AC'97. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbossa Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 If you're only sending digital to your receiver, buying a better card will make no difference. I had that exact setup for years up until last week. I picked up the Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 sound card and had it output both digital (S/PDIF) and 7.1 channel analog (to my Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXvi receiver) though the analog inputs. I was able to switch back and forth between the digital and audio connections and the difference was astounding. I though my audio was perfect up until I got the XM but now that I have it I can't believe that I used to freak out over the 'old way'. The DACs in the XM appear to be significantly better than the Burr Brown DACs in the Pio. Of course, this will all depend on the how good your receiver is. If your receiver is anything under $1500 or so I would strongly recommend the XM and use it as your pre-pro. Also look into the LM4562 OPAMPS upgrade. For about $20, you can swap out these tiny chips on your soundcard for an instant sound quality upgrade. I was able to swap them out myself in a little under 5 minutes simply using a small flat head screwdriver. Highly recommended stuff.... you can read about it at avsforum.com in the home theatre pc section. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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