digital out from a pc card

[MikeSt]

If I run digital optical out (s/pdif) from my pc to a reciever dac, does the pc still downsample the signal to 48khz? I'd like to be able to get the original signal to the reciever without the pc messing with it first. Also, will the digial optical out work for movies as well as music? Thanks!

[JJkizak]

I am pretty sure it depends on the sound card capability and the software.

JJK

[yogi]

hi mike,

to get the original signal out of your pc go via usb to an external hifi dac with 24-bit/192khz and from there optical to the digital input of your receiver. this way you bypass the soundcard entirely. works for music and movies. you can also use the analog rca outs of the dac. they cost only abt $200-$300 and the improvement is dramatic.

here is a link for the korean styleaudio dac, but that's for australia. just google for usb dacs in the usa.

http://www.soundreference.com.au/

yogi

[pzannucci]

You are probably not downsampling since typical CD's are 44.1khz.

Many higher end sound cards/systems for the PC will do bit-matched output. You will have to check all the settings that can be done with your card or see if it will just pass outputs such as Dolby Digital direct to the optical output bypassing the resample to 48khz. I have the Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro and it will do just about everything through s/pdif optical outputs going to my Anthem AVM-30.

Also check your player software. It may also have some settings to modify the 48khz behavior.

As far as movies, if you user later versions of DVD player programs (ripped to the hard disk or off the original disk) the optical output will handle the full surround sound. This will not be true with Blu-ray if you want TrueHD or DTS Master (new high-res audio formats).

[InnerTuber]

Think you still have to get around KMixer which probably means you need to get an ASIO compatible card to get an ASIO signal out of the PC. 44.1 khz DAC is fine unless you want hi res stuff downb the road. 24 bit DAC is nice as it allows a bit more control versus 16 bit. 16 sounds fine too.

[Rich_Guy]

Get a high quality sound card here are two excellent cards. The Onkyo card is my favorite.

From Onkyo:

http://conics.net/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=257

From Auzentech:

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_prelude.php

[InnerTuber]

I'd check the Lynx cards (expensive) and the M-Audio Audiophile cards (less expensive) too. Might be cheaper to buy a Mac at some point, depending what card you go after. Mac is easier but both systems can get you where you want to be.

[pzannucci]

The Creative Labs X-Fi Elite pro is also pretty expensive at $299 but you can typically find it for substantially less then that. It does much of its work in hardware and has a TON of function. It also enables bit-matched output the CD FLAC files I have on the system. Depending on what you want, you are probably looking at a minimum of $100-150 investment for undoctored output. For $250 (internet price) you can have the X-Fi Elite and also do upsampling and such.