Home Theatre PC and AV Receiver question

[starbuk]

Gentleman:

My current setup (see attachment) is (2) Klipsch WF-34s, (1) HSU VTF-2 MK3 connected via Optical cable (coming from my motherboard) to an old Pioneer VSX-D509S.

For the time being, the 2.1 setup works fine. I wouldnt mind adding a center channel, but it would be tough to place since it would end up being only about 3 feet away from me, and Im afraid it would drown out my floorspeakers.

My concern is that I am not getting the best possible sound out of my speakers. I have a video card which will do HDMI for audio but my receiver doesnt have HDMI inputs. Because of this, my next upgrade looked like it might be the Onkyo TX-SR805, however I just noticed that it only does HDMI 1.3 which means I would need to upgrade if I ever wanted to get a 3D setup. Not sure if this is a dealbreaker as this receiver is amazing for under $500.

Would an upgraded sound card make a difference? Some people say that if you have a good quality signal you do not need the soundcard to process anything and that it is not necessary, especially since I have an HDMI out from my video card (currently unused).

Please help me out. I feel like the optical connection is not ideal and want to be able to watch BluRays and listen to CDs without worrying about signal loss. What type of receiver would you recommend and do I need to do anything to my computer??

 

[Adam]

As for transmitting a good signal, the optical connection is just fine. HDMI won't have higher quality - it just let's you transmit the newer codecs (like DTS-HD MA) that the optical connection protocal doesn't allow. However, if you are sending a 2.1 signal to your receiver, that doesn't matter (at least, I'm not aware of 2.1 versions of those codecs...but that doesn't mean they don't exist).

Someone else will have to speak to if a sound card would have better quality over optical than your motherboard, but you'll need to tell us which motherboard you have. I connect over analog to my PCs, and the Creative soundcards that I've purchased have crushed the motherboard audio - but that's for an analog connection. The motherboard shouldn't have to do any conversion from digital to analog or vice versa for an optical connection. If the audio circuitry on the motherboard isn't very good, though, I believe that you could still get worse sound.

 

[starbuk]

Thanks for the reply - here is the audio codec that my MB uses. The SNR for the DAC is 95dB and 90 dB for ADC (what does this mean?) while a new sound card is closer to 120dB. Again Im not sure if I need these features at all or what they do.

Also, since my speakers connect directly to my receiver, I dont think that I can use analog connections on my motherboard. I dont know enough about analog vs digital to determine is this is a good move.

 

[starbuk]

It looks like I will pickup a VSX-1121 and a Sound Card to better the SNR coming out of my pc.

 

[Adam]

You may have seen this already, but newegg has the 1121 on sale for $430.

I'm not going to try and talk you out of new gear , but you may want to wait and see if anyone else chimes in. I'm just not convinced that the signal from the computer will get much better.

 

[starbuk]

Adam - to be honest I am hesitant on pulling the trigger on the sound card as well. I just dont understand why if you have a digital signal it matters if its a sound card or any other source.

What do you think about that Pioneer - it is sitting in my shopping cart as we speak do you think (sound-wise) it will be an improvement over my old Pioneer? I think the older unit is like 10 years old, but puts out 90w @ 8ohms. It is selling for under $100 online, making me think that yeah it will be better to go with a new receiver. Price-wise that is a good deal this weekend on the 1121, just wondering if the upgrade will be noticable!! Thanks for your help, btw.

 

[MDS]

The SNR for the DAC is 95dB and 90 dB for ADC (what does this mean?) while a new sound card is closer to 120dB. Again Im not sure if I need these features at all or what they do.

Also, since my speakers connect directly to my receiver, I dont think that I can use analog connections on my motherboard. I dont know enough about analog vs digital to determine is this is a good move.

The DAC is the Digital to Analog converter and the ADC is the opposite - Analog to Digital converter. 90 dB is plenty good for playback. For recording, a higher Signal to Noise (SNR) is better because the noise floor is lower, allowing for less unwanted background noise or hiss to get into the recording.

You can certainly use analog connections to the receiver if you choose. If you do, the sound card (whether a dedicated card in a slot or the onboard Realtek chip) will be converting the digital audio (say an MP3 or CD played on the computer) to analog and that is where the DAC comes into play. If you go the digital route, the DAC in the receiver will be doing the job.

 

[Adam]

Always happy to help if I can! For your ultimate question about upgrading, I'm just throwing out my thoughts, though, as I don't know for sure how much the new gear will improve things.

Two things come to mind for improvements with that new Pioneer: (a) ability to decode the newest audio codecs and (b) auto calibration, MCACC, to adjust timings and equalizer settings to account for the acoustic properties of your room.

The newer codecs likely don't matter at all for your current 2.1 setup. MCACC, on the other hand, might make a huge difference. For my system, MCACC (or probably any auto calibration system) worked wonders. Wonders. That doesn't mean that it will in your room because it depends on how much the room is affecting your sound, but it certainly might.

In regards to the extra power, it's hard to tell from the specs. 110W isn't much more than 90W in regards to average sound level. The 1121 might have better dynamics depending on the circuitry, though...or it might be the same or worse (I really doubt it's worse, though).

 

[starbuk]

Thanks for the DAC explanation!!

Adam - right right. Well my system does sound good now and tbh I am not crazy about spending 400 on a receiver even thought it is a great deal since mine works for what I use it for. I am in a 600 unit high rise and cannot listen to my music as loud as I would like!!

Other forums have really praised the soundcard I listed for its improvement over the onboard sound, and at under 150 I would be a lot more willing to roll the dice than with a 450 receiver.

 

[starbuk]

Just ordered that sound card - will update this thread when it comes in. Too many good reviews to pass it up for $125 through amazon.

 

[Adam]

Cool, and congrats on the soon-to-be-installed new gear! I look forward to finding out how it works out for you.