Computer to Reciever to Speakers?

Guest · Nov 5, 2003

hello-i am new to the audio world and i was wondering whether it was possible to connect my computer to my reciever(planning on getting a sub with 2 axiom's m3tis and surround and center speakers) and get accurate sound, and possibly surround sound.  i am hoping to be able to use my computers dvd player and music capabilities without having to buy the separate components.  

will my sound card in my computer hold my system back?  or is the sound card in my computer sufficient.

or, would i need a reciever at all if i have a sound card in my computer?  Would i just need to connect my computer to an amplifier?

Audioholics · Nov 6, 2003

You'll need either a receiver or an amplifier as sound cards put out line level, not speaker level signal.

Then, you can decide whether to use analogue out of the sound card (via [multiple] stereo 1/8" jack to dual RCA cables) or SPDIF (same cable, but will send digital audio to the receiver.

Your sound card will have to support all of this of course, either 5.1 analogue, digital coax out or both. SB Live! 5.1 does this and costs less than $35.

Ultra Nexus · Nov 6, 2003

I use the spdif optical output from my Abit NF7-S 2.0 motherboard to my Yamaha RX-V440 with all channels available and no issues at all... all DivX movies with DD 5.1 pass-thru directly to the receiver and then it does the decodification...

Anyway I still plan to buy an DVD player with mp3 playability in the near future since it will perform better image quality than a Divx, plus has the ability to play DTS and other extended forms of digital sound through the receiver.

Audioholics · Nov 6, 2003

DTS plays out of my SB Live! 5.1, but not any of the ES/EX formats. For that you need the newer cards.

Khellandros66 · Nov 9, 2003

"all DivX movies with DD 5.1 pass-thru directly" , Ultranexus

whoa, hey can u send me a list of these movies and approx file size?

I'd appreciate it greatly

~Bob

Ultra Nexus · Nov 10, 2003

Khellandros66 : "all DivX movies with DD 5.1 pass-thru directly" , Ultranexus

whoa, hey can u send me a list of these movies and approx file size?

I'd appreciate it greatly

~Bob

There are almost all good known movies in this format... they are about 2x700Mb avi files and you can get them from Edonkey/Emule/Overnet network or from BitTorrent network too!!

Up till now I have only, Star Wars 2, Hulk, Dreamcatcher, T3, and The Haunting (for subwoofer tests) all in DD 5.1.

I`ve seen DVD Rips in DTS so I`ll give them a try and listen how they perform...

Cya!

Khellandros66 · Nov 10, 2003

Tried Emule but cannot connect a server, do u have winmx? If so can we meet and trade files?

Ultra Nexus · Nov 11, 2003

Khellandros66 : Tried Emule but cannot connect a server, do u have winmx? If so can we meet and trade files?

Yeah I`ve used Emule too, since it completely download nothing, I changed to Overnet that at least have a constant flow of data... you should install it. And Bit Torrent is simply awesome, it downloads stuff very fast!

I dont use Winmx but if you want I can help you out setting things up and some cool web sites that I think I cant write them here.

I`ll send you a PM with my icq.

Cya!

petermwilson · Nov 12, 2003

Hi,
As mentioned before there's the analog way (Generally using a minijack splitter from the line out of the snd card to the L/R of an input of the reciever), and the digital one (optical or coax fromsnd card ).

I feel there is a possible hidden benefit to the analog option (which does not preclude using the digital one also) and it is that Windows Media Player 9 has the algorythm to recognize and play HDCD's which gives you a quazie hirez music player.

You may own hdcds and not even know it> Most Joni Mitchell and Mamheim Steamroller stuff is hdcd.  Most cd's that have "16 biggest hits" on the cover are hdcds.  You can go to hdcd.com for a full list of music.

Peter m.

MarkP · Nov 13, 2003

There is another way to get excelent sound out of your computer, eliminating the noise associated with a sound card.  I currently use a product made by the Xeitel corp that I purchased from the Ramelectronics.net.  It is a "Black box" affait that plugs into my motherboard via a usb connection.  It has an optical s/pdif and RCA s/pdif out that will allow me to use an optical or coaxial connection into my reciever.  It also has an analogue out capability.  

I use the digital output into my reciever, burn my cds into mp3s, on to my hard drive and make playlists and play them through musicmatch 8.1.  

This device loads "instantly".  It is activated through the control panal audio/sounds icon and shows up as usb audio.  You can activate it or use your sound card but not both at once.  It clains to pass DTS and DD5.1 through, but I have been unsuccessful at accomplishing that so far.

It is VERY CLEAN compared to the S/pdif digital out of my Audigy 2 snd crd.

Its part # is HFL-A1 and is the pro version.

Cheers,

Mark

petermwilson · Nov 13, 2003

Hi Mark,
I use the Audiotrak Maya 7.1 card that has analog outs as well as an optical out.

I also use an ATI All-IN- WONDER 8500dv video card which has a breakout cable which supplies s'vid/firewire and composite as well as analog and coax for sound.

Would that be similar to what your black box does?

Peter m.

Ultra Nexus · Nov 13, 2003

Remember that to play DD 5.1 (DTS is still n/a) from encoded movies you need to proper install and configure the AC3Filter codec.

Cya!

MarkP · Nov 18, 2003

Hi Peter,
I’m not familiar with the Maya 7.1, card but I also run the ATI card (Radeon 9600 pro).  The "Black Box" I refer to literally bypasses the sound card you use installed in the pci slot and shows up in the control panel as "USB audio" option.  It has to be enabled as an option or the system default sound cart will function.  The box as I call it plugs into a usb port and auto-loads its own drivers in order to be able to access and transmit the bit stream directly from the hard drive.  So far I have been unable to get any other technical details about its function.  It is made by the Xitel corp and can be found on their website Xitel.com.  They make a lot of other neat stuff, like a device that you can connect to your turntable or receiver to tecord vinyl to your hard drive that ahs software that automatically puts the song track in automatically.  Another GREAT gizmo site for high end sound cards and other audio stuff (cables, toslink splitters, etc, is RamElectronics.net.

I hope this helps some,

Mark

CyboLynx · Nov 21, 2003

Remember that to play DD 5.1 (DTS is still n/a) from encoded movies you need to proper install and configure the AC3Filter codec.

Cya!
-----------------------------------------------------------

how would you do this ? sorry i am very computer litterate but i havent seen anything on this ...any info would help thanx ...

and thereis a program called Direct Connect ....lots of good files there ....try it out ...the only thing is ..you must share files to get onto hubs ....i like it that way anyhow ...

iv noticed alot of good movies and lots of full album songs ....im into collecting albums of music ..not just songs ...i also have full dvd images ....shure its 7 gigs or so but its not bad ..lol

SoftEng · Nov 27, 2003

MarkP : There is another way to get excelent sound out of your computer, eliminating the noise associated with a sound card. I currently use a product made by the Xeitel corp that I purchased from the Ramelectronics.net. It is a "Black box" affait that plugs into my motherboard via a usb connection. It has an optical s/pdif and RCA s/pdif out that will allow me to use an optical or coaxial connection into my reciever. It also has an analogue out capability.

Its part # is HFL-A1 and is the pro version.

Mark, thanks for the info.  I've noticed that my Creative Audigy 2 NX upsamples my WMA files from 44.1 to 48khz before putting the data out its optical port.  Does your Xitel device resample also or does it just pass the data through at its original 44.1khz resolution?

My receiver has an option to view the sampling rate of digital data - maybe yours does too and you could check for me.  Thanks!

MarkP · Dec 1, 2003

SoftEng : <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote (MarkP @ Nov. 13 2003,09:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">There is another way to get excelent sound out of your computer, eliminating the noise associated with a sound card. I currently use a product made by the Xeitel corp that I purchased from the Ramelectronics.net. It is a "Black box" affait that plugs into my motherboard via a usb connection. It has an optical s/pdif and RCA s/pdif out that will allow me to use an optical or coaxial connection into my reciever. It also has an analogue out capability.

Its part # is HFL-A1 and is the pro version.

Mark, thanks for the info. I've noticed that my Creative Audigy 2 NX upsamples my WMA files from 44.1 to 48khz before putting the data out its optical port. Does your Xitel device resample also or does it just pass the data through at its original 44.1khz resolution?

My receiver has an option to view the sampling rate of digital data - maybe yours does too and you could check for me. Thanks!</td></tr></table>
Dont know but Ill check it out and let you know

Mark

MarkP · Dec 1, 2003

Dont know.  Ill check it out and let you know.

Mark

SoftEng · Dec 1, 2003

Thanks!

SoftEng · Dec 7, 2003

I bought a Xitel.  It also upsamples CDs and WMA files to 48khz.  Apparently it is following some lame standard called AC-97

Computer to Reciever to Speakers?

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