I'm asking this question, since I don't know very much about SPDIF,
and this forum seems to be the right place to pose this question.

I am planning to build an HTPC based on Microsoft's Media Center
Edition OS (2004). I want to integrate the HTPC into my home audio
system which includes an Onkyo 801 receiver capabale of 7.1 surround
sound.

My question is whether I need to worry about the "quality" of a sound
chip/card if I'm planning to hook SPDIF out on the HTPC to an optical
input on my Onkyo receiver. I see a 7.1 SPDIF sound card from
Chaintech for $20, whereas SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS has 7.1 SPDIF for
$200 (that's right 10X the cost of the Chaintech). If I'm passing the
audio signal via SPDIF (no analog conversion), do I need to worry
about signal to noise ration of the cheaper Chaintech card? I know
the SoundBlaster will do a nice job, but wondering whether I need to
spend the extra bucks, if I'm only going to use SPDIF anyway.

Thanks for your help!

-Hungmeister

En Hung Tran va escriure en 4 Jul 2004 23:31:50 -0700:

I'm asking this question, since I don't know very much about SPDIF,
and this forum seems to be the right place to pose this question.

I am planning to build an HTPC based on Microsoft's Media Center
Edition OS (2004). I want to integrate the HTPC into my home audio
system which includes an Onkyo 801 receiver capabale of 7.1 surround
sound.

My question is whether I need to worry about the "quality" of a sound
chip/card if I'm planning to hook SPDIF out on the HTPC to an optical
input on my Onkyo receiver. I see a 7.1 SPDIF sound card from
Chaintech for $20, whereas SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS has 7.1 SPDIF for
$200 (that's right 10X the cost of the Chaintech).

If you end up deciding to spend $200 on a SoundBlaster, have a
look at this befo

http://www.behringer.com/BCA2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG

$259 list price, probably less at your prefered shop.

(I have no relation to behringer other than being a happy client)

Toni

En Hung Tran va escriure en 4 Jul 2004 23:31:50 -0700:

I'm asking this question, since I don't know very much about SPDIF,
and this forum seems to be the right place to pose this question.

I am planning to build an HTPC based on Microsoft's Media Center
Edition OS (2004). I want to integrate the HTPC into my home audio
system which includes an Onkyo 801 receiver capabale of 7.1 surround
sound.

My question is whether I need to worry about the "quality" of a sound
chip/card if I'm planning to hook SPDIF out on the HTPC to an optical
input on my Onkyo receiver. I see a 7.1 SPDIF sound card from
Chaintech for $20, whereas SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS has 7.1 SPDIF for
$200 (that's right 10X the cost of the Chaintech).

If you end up deciding to spend $200 on a SoundBlaster, have a
look at this befo

http://www.behringer.com/BCA2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG

$259 list price, probably less at your prefered shop.

(I have no relation to behringer other than being a happy client)

Toni

En Hung Tran va escriure en 4 Jul 2004 23:31:50 -0700:

I'm asking this question, since I don't know very much about SPDIF,
and this forum seems to be the right place to pose this question.

I am planning to build an HTPC based on Microsoft's Media Center
Edition OS (2004). I want to integrate the HTPC into my home audio
system which includes an Onkyo 801 receiver capabale of 7.1 surround
sound.

My question is whether I need to worry about the "quality" of a sound
chip/card if I'm planning to hook SPDIF out on the HTPC to an optical
input on my Onkyo receiver. I see a 7.1 SPDIF sound card from
Chaintech for $20, whereas SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS has 7.1 SPDIF for
$200 (that's right 10X the cost of the Chaintech).

If you end up deciding to spend $200 on a SoundBlaster, have a
look at this befo

http://www.behringer.com/BCA2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG

$259 list price, probably less at your prefered shop.

(I have no relation to behringer other than being a happy client)

Toni

In article ,
Hung Tran wrote:

I am planning to build an HTPC based on Microsoft's Media Center
Edition OS (2004). I want to integrate the HTPC into my home audio
system which includes an Onkyo 801 receiver capabale of 7.1 surround
sound.

My question is whether I need to worry about the "quality" of a sound
chip/card if I'm planning to hook SPDIF out on the HTPC to an optical
input on my Onkyo receiver. I see a 7.1 SPDIF sound card from
Chaintech for $20, whereas SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS has 7.1 SPDIF for
$200 (that's right 10X the cost of the Chaintech). If I'm passing the
audio signal via SPDIF (no analog conversion), do I need to worry
about signal to noise ration of the cheaper Chaintech card? I know
the SoundBlaster will do a nice job, but wondering whether I need to
spend the extra bucks, if I'm only going to use SPDIF anyway.

You might want to check the full set of capabilities of these cards,
particular with respect to their ability to send data at its original
sampling rate.

Some sound cards - particularly those built around commodity AC97
codecs - do all of their A/D and D/A processing at a rate of 48
kilosamples/second. If you try to input (or output) data at a
CD-native rate of 44100 samples/second, the sound card uses a built-in
sample rate converter to massage the data. This can have adverse
effects on the sound quality, as these resamplers are often less than
wonderful.

So, if you want to be able to play CDs through your Media Center, you
should make sure that the S/PDIF card you choose is capable of
outputting the original data samples, bit-perfectly, without sample
rate conversion, at 44100 samples/second.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

In article ,
Hung Tran wrote:

I am planning to build an HTPC based on Microsoft's Media Center
Edition OS (2004). I want to integrate the HTPC into my home audio
system which includes an Onkyo 801 receiver capabale of 7.1 surround
sound.

My question is whether I need to worry about the "quality" of a sound
chip/card if I'm planning to hook SPDIF out on the HTPC to an optical
input on my Onkyo receiver. I see a 7.1 SPDIF sound card from
Chaintech for $20, whereas SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS has 7.1 SPDIF for
$200 (that's right 10X the cost of the Chaintech). If I'm passing the
audio signal via SPDIF (no analog conversion), do I need to worry
about signal to noise ration of the cheaper Chaintech card? I know
the SoundBlaster will do a nice job, but wondering whether I need to
spend the extra bucks, if I'm only going to use SPDIF anyway.

You might want to check the full set of capabilities of these cards,
particular with respect to their ability to send data at its original
sampling rate.

Some sound cards - particularly those built around commodity AC97
codecs - do all of their A/D and D/A processing at a rate of 48
kilosamples/second. If you try to input (or output) data at a
CD-native rate of 44100 samples/second, the sound card uses a built-in
sample rate converter to massage the data. This can have adverse
effects on the sound quality, as these resamplers are often less than
wonderful.

So, if you want to be able to play CDs through your Media Center, you
should make sure that the S/PDIF card you choose is capable of
outputting the original data samples, bit-perfectly, without sample
rate conversion, at 44100 samples/second.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

In article ,
Hung Tran wrote:

I am planning to build an HTPC based on Microsoft's Media Center
Edition OS (2004). I want to integrate the HTPC into my home audio
system which includes an Onkyo 801 receiver capabale of 7.1 surround
sound.

My question is whether I need to worry about the "quality" of a sound
chip/card if I'm planning to hook SPDIF out on the HTPC to an optical
input on my Onkyo receiver. I see a 7.1 SPDIF sound card from
Chaintech for $20, whereas SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS has 7.1 SPDIF for
$200 (that's right 10X the cost of the Chaintech). If I'm passing the
audio signal via SPDIF (no analog conversion), do I need to worry
about signal to noise ration of the cheaper Chaintech card? I know
the SoundBlaster will do a nice job, but wondering whether I need to
spend the extra bucks, if I'm only going to use SPDIF anyway.

You might want to check the full set of capabilities of these cards,
particular with respect to their ability to send data at its original
sampling rate.

Some sound cards - particularly those built around commodity AC97
codecs - do all of their A/D and D/A processing at a rate of 48
kilosamples/second. If you try to input (or output) data at a
CD-native rate of 44100 samples/second, the sound card uses a built-in
sample rate converter to massage the data. This can have adverse
effects on the sound quality, as these resamplers are often less than
wonderful.

So, if you want to be able to play CDs through your Media Center, you
should make sure that the S/PDIF card you choose is capable of
outputting the original data samples, bit-perfectly, without sample
rate conversion, at 44100 samples/second.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!