Any Benefits of Digital Connection for Stereo Listening?

[Transmaniacon]

Hey guys,

I am looking to upgrade my PC speakers from my Logitech Z-2300 to some nearfield active studio monitors. I listen to a lot of music and feel the Z-2300 do not provide good detail.

My motherboard has digital coaxial and digital optical outputs, and I was hoping to utilize these in combination with a re-ripped .wav library. My question is, is there any benefit of using a digital connection with a 2 channel setup? I read that compressed music formats are limited to stereo sound, so if I am not going beyond that, would the studio monitors still be able to take advantage of a much higher bit rate source?

 

[fightinkraut]

Hey guys,

I am looking to upgrade my PC speakers from my Logitech Z-2300 to some nearfield active studio monitors. I listen to a lot of music and feel the Z-2300 do not provide good detail.

My motherboard has digital coaxial and digital optical outputs, and I was hoping to utilize these in combination with a re-ripped .wav library. My question is, is there any benefit of using a digital connection with a 2 channel setup? I read that compressed music formats are limited to stereo sound, so if I am not going beyond that, would the studio monitors still be able to take advantage of a much higher bit rate source?

One of the main benefits to using a digital connection is the ability to use an external DAC which tends to remove a lot of the noise found in onboard sound. Are you using the built-in soundcard?

Studio monitors will sound much better than the Z-2300, and they will definitely be able to take advantage of higher bit rates. I used KRK RP6CL monitors for a few months and was very, very impressed, but I had to turn the gain way down on the monitors due to a bad analog connection from my onboard sound. Using a USB powered DAC greatly helped in that regard.

 

[Transmaniacon]

One pair of monitors I was looking at, the Behringer MS40 (http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MS40.aspx), has both digital and analog inputs, so I could get a digital coaxial cable and be done with it. The speakers I would rather get, the Swan 1080MKII (http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=384), only have analog RCA connections.

Could you point me in the direction of some decent DACs? Or rather what to look for, decent brands, how much you need to spend to get something of decent quality, etc.

Thanks for the quick response, oh and yes I will be using my onboard sound from my motherboard.

 

[Adam]

Hi. There's three things that I see in the question, and I'll try to address those:

• Deciding if you want to send information from your computer to an audio system via digital signals or analog signals comes down to two things: which system has the better digital-to-analog conversion (your computer or your audio system), and do you need to worry about cable effects? Generally, you won't need to worry about the cables either way, as long as you use shielded cables for analog signals. So, it normally comes down to which has the better DACs - the computer or the audio system. If you have both already, the easiest way to find out is to try both types of connections to find out which one sounds best to you.
• Compressed formats, as whole, are not limited to stereo sound. I don't know if .WAV files are or not.
• The better the audio system, the better the chance that you (or anyone) will notice compression. So, higher bitrates certainly might be noticeably better to you. There is a point at which you probably won't be able to tell a difference. For me, I can listen to 160kbps AAC on my computer and in my car without noticing a difference between it and the source material, but I sure can tell a difference on my living room system. I haven't tried really hard to tell where I can draw the line, but I tend to recall that I couldn't tell much if any difference above 320kbps AAC.

EDIT: Darn - took time to grab some cereal while responding, and I missed some posts...

 

[Transmaniacon]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

I do not have the speakers yet, knowing this information will help me with my purchase.

I would think my speakers would make a better DAC than my computer. My computer is obviously always sending a digital signal, but I would assume that a a digital to analog (PC digital coax. to speakers) would make for better quality than stereo to analog (PC line-out to speakers).

Is a DAC required for proper connection, or more of an upgrade to reduce unwanted distortion? Could I simply by a RCA Y-cable and run it from the digital coax. on my PC to the RCA on my speakers? I think sticking with RCA over stereo jacks is the best bet, just need to figure out if I need an external DAC inbetween.

 

[Adam]

You have several options for where to put the DACs in your system. One is in the speakers (like you're looking at), one is an external DAC (like fightinkraut said), and another is getting a good sound card. That sound card could be external like the USB one that was mentioned, or it could be internal. In my experience, which isn't vast, the addition of a good sound card greatly improved the audio quality on my computer system over using the onboard analog audio outputs.

 

[jinjuku]

Digital to Analog conversion has to happen somewhere in the chain.

The point of going digital out on the computer is that you get to use some external box for DAC. Whether that be a receiver, a pre-processor/pre-amp, or one of many dedicated external DAC's (stereo only in most cases).

If you aren't going to be a super critical listener then just use a receiver to DAC and then amplify.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Ok so it sounds like I would either need to get those studio monitors with digital inputs, or get a USB DAC; if I got a receiver then I would probably just end up getting some passive studio monitors.

 

[JerryLove]

Ok so it sounds like I would either need to get those studio monitors with digital inputs,

That doesn't exist.

or get a USB DAC;

This would be inferior to a sound card.

if I got a receiver then I would probably just end up getting some passive studio monitors.

I recommend the Behringer 2030P. If you don't like the look, there are some similar speakers others recommend.

 

[Transmaniacon]

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MS40.aspx

The Behringer MS40 has both analog and digital inputs.

I am a little hesitant about using USB-type hardware like sound cards and whatnot, so it sounds like I either get those ^, or get an AVR, or take my chances with 3.5mm to RCA (I have read a lot of negative things in regards to PC use...)

I would love to get the Behringer 2030P with a used AVR, but they are too big for my liking.

Are there any other good passive studio monitors out there? Or brands to look for? I don't think I can afford to buy Mackies or KRK, I would like to keep this in the sub-$200 range.

 

[jinjuku]

Make it easy on yourself:

Again if not super critical listening get a 5.1 receiver and passive speakers. This provides you with the greatest degree of flexibility in that you mix and match components however you want. Add a sub-woofer, upgrade your speakers later etc...

If you can find a receiver with Pre-Outs. This adds additional flexibility in the event that you want to go with an external amp and just migrate the receiver to Pre-Processor / Pre-amp duty.

Remember, out of everything discussed here your speakers have the biggest singular effect on SQ.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Yea I mean have debated going that route, but I really want to get nearfield speakers, as I have read the difference compared to trying to use bookshelves for that application is very apparent.

Can anyone recommend some passive studio monitors that aren't the Behringer TRUTH line?

 

[Transmaniacon]

Found someone selling this receiver, http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Support/HomeEntertainment/AV-Receivers/EliteReceivers/ci.VSX-D811S.Support , on CL for $100, I could probably get it a little cheaper, not a bad find

Has anyone had experience with using bookshelves/satellites for nearfield listening? I don't think I can afford a receiver and passive studio monitors (found some online but they are more than I had hoped), so my next best option would be a receiver and some normal speakers.

 

[JerryLove]

I am a little hesitant about using USB-type hardware like sound cards and whatnot, so it sounds like I either get those ^, or get an AVR, or take my chances with 3.5mm to RCA (I have read a lot of negative things in regards to PC use...)

Try if first: if you don't like it you are out the $3 you spent on the cable.

I would love to get the Behringer 2030P with a used AVR, but they are too big for my liking.

Are there any other good passive studio monitors out there? Or brands to look for? I don't think I can afford to buy Mackies or KRK, I would like to keep this in the sub-$200 range.

Use search to find other times it's been suggested: there are alternatives. There have been some suggested Infinity speakers, I love my PSBs (though woud go Behringer if I did over). I'm thinking about a project to "improve" some old Sony's and see what I can make of them.