Computer audio interface (scarlett 2i4) to AVR

[melolagniac]

I currently have my computer connected a set of powered monitors via a Scarlett 2i4 audio interface and its balanced/TRS outputs.

I'm planning on building a home theater system and want to connect my PC to the receiver via my 2i4's unbalanced/RCA outputs. I hope that this way I can play music on my computer and hear it on my HT system and my monitors simultaneously.

Is there anything wrong/unusual with this setup? Just want to make sure that going through the external interface in this fashion won't create any problems with sound quality, latency, etc.

 

[rojo]

I currently have my computer connected a set of powered monitors via a Scarlett 2i4 audio interface and its balanced/TRS outputs.

I'm planning on building a home theater system and want to connect my PC to the receiver via my 2i4's unbalanced/RCA outputs. I hope that this way I can play music on my computer and hear it on my HT system and my monitors simultaneously.

Is there anything wrong/unusual with this setup? Just want to make sure that going through the external interface in this fashion won't create any problems with sound quality, latency, etc.

You'll only get stereo sound to your AVR that way. If the AVR is in a different room from your PC, I'd set up a DLNA service (Serviio, Plex, Windows Media Player's DLNA service, etc) on your PC, and pull content over your wireless LAN via a small home theater PC, Android appliance of some sort, Roku, or similar device attached to the AVR. If the AVR and the PC will be in the same room and can be reasonably tethered via wire, you could connect HDMI from PC video card to the AVR, run Zone 2 to an HDMI to VGA with Audio converter (example), and run VGA into your display and unbalanced audio into your powered monitors. The only advantage of balanced over unbalanced is to avoid signal degradation over long distances. I think the Roku / DLNA solution would be more resistant to possible HDCP issues, but you would lose the simultaneous output ability. You could also screencast to a Chromecast device from SMPlayer, but I'm not sure whether that would allow local output simultaneously. Never tried it.

 

[melolagniac]

Thank you. For the time being I just want to be able to hear the music I'm playing on my computer on all of my speakers, so it sounds like this should be fine for that right?

For movies and such I don't need simultaneous output, and will likely just run an HDMI to my AVR, like an extra monitor (or perhaps use Roku/DLNA as you suggest).

 

[rojo]

Thank you. For the time being I just want to be able to hear the music I'm playing on my computer on all of my speakers, so it sounds like this should be fine for that right?

For movies and such I don't need simultaneous output, and will likely just run an HDMI to my AVR, like an extra monitor (or perhaps use Roku/DLNA as you suggest).

*shrug* It'll probably be fine, but I can't guarantee whether the balanced and unbalanced outputs play simultaneously on your Scarlett gadget. I didn't bother reading the manual.

 

[jinjuku]

Most likely all outputs are active.