Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.


Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

"ansermetniac" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND
an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd


Well, that's not encouraging!

mz

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.

"ansermetniac" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND
an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd


Well, that's not encouraging!

mz

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.

"ansermetniac" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:

On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND
an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd


Well, that's not encouraging!

mz

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I'll check it out.

mz

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Laurence Payne" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I'll check it out.

mz

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Laurence Payne" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I'll check it out.

mz

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Laurence Payne" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

ansermetniac wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:


On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:


Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

CD

ansermetniac wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:


On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:


Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

CD

ansermetniac wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:


On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:


Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding, which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

CD

How about this:

Can anyone recommend a card that will simply give me optical and coaxial
digital audio outputs from my computer, that is, putting out whatever sound
the computer is doing in 44.1K 16 bit format? I simply want to be able to
shoot music, whether cd, WAV, MP3, whatever, over to the main stereo and use
a Denon D/A unit on that end. I'd prefer optical, I think, to avoid ground
loops, and it'll need to go about 35 feet, so I need to confirm that a
Toslink cable can go that far.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Codifus" wrote in message
...
ansermetniac wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:


On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:


Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND
an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

CD

How about this:

Can anyone recommend a card that will simply give me optical and coaxial
digital audio outputs from my computer, that is, putting out whatever sound
the computer is doing in 44.1K 16 bit format? I simply want to be able to
shoot music, whether cd, WAV, MP3, whatever, over to the main stereo and use
a Denon D/A unit on that end. I'd prefer optical, I think, to avoid ground
loops, and it'll need to go about 35 feet, so I need to confirm that a
Toslink cable can go that far.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Codifus" wrote in message
...
ansermetniac wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:


On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:


Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND
an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

CD

How about this:

Can anyone recommend a card that will simply give me optical and coaxial
digital audio outputs from my computer, that is, putting out whatever sound
the computer is doing in 44.1K 16 bit format? I simply want to be able to
shoot music, whether cd, WAV, MP3, whatever, over to the main stereo and use
a Denon D/A unit on that end. I'd prefer optical, I think, to avoid ground
loops, and it'll need to go about 35 feet, so I need to confirm that a
Toslink cable can go that far.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Codifus" wrote in message
...
ansermetniac wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 23:32:52 +0100, Laurence Payne
wrote:


On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 15:48:27 -0500, "Mark D. Zacharias"
wrote:


Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs (maybe
programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output AND
an
SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the other.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and the
like, is output via the SPDIF. I would like to be able to send MP3 and
other
audio over to the main stereo in digital form if possible, and decode
over
there.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which
makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement number 2.

Look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

Abbedd

I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

CD

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs
(maybe programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output
AND an SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the
other.

AFAIK, the TBSC does that.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and
the like, is output via the SPDIF.

I'm quite sure the TBSC does that. It's the sound card in my office machine,
which is used for general audio playback. The power amp is a conventional
2-channel Pioneer receiver, so I don't have any immediate experience with
how the SP/DOF output works.

Beware of the comments about the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96. It's a fine card,
but AFAIK the analog and digital outputs are logically different audio
devices with separate interfaces for software to write data to.

I would like to be able to send
MP3 and other audio over to the main stereo in digital form if
possible, and decode over there.

Shouldn't be a problem. However, the TBSC's digital output is 48 KHz, but
the resampling is of high enough quality.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement
number 2.

Actually, the MP3 decoding in the TBSC can be ignored. To activate it, you
need to use a special MP3 player that activates the feature. If you use
something like Winamp or CoolEdit, it acts just like any other sound card.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs
(maybe programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output
AND an SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the
other.

AFAIK, the TBSC does that.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and
the like, is output via the SPDIF.

I'm quite sure the TBSC does that. It's the sound card in my office machine,
which is used for general audio playback. The power amp is a conventional
2-channel Pioneer receiver, so I don't have any immediate experience with
how the SP/DOF output works.

Beware of the comments about the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96. It's a fine card,
but AFAIK the analog and digital outputs are logically different audio
devices with separate interfaces for software to write data to.

I would like to be able to send
MP3 and other audio over to the main stereo in digital form if
possible, and decode over there.

Shouldn't be a problem. However, the TBSC's digital output is 48 KHz, but
the resampling is of high enough quality.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement
number 2.

Actually, the MP3 decoding in the TBSC can be ignored. To activate it, you
need to use a special MP3 player that activates the feature. If you use
something like Winamp or CoolEdit, it acts just like any other sound card.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message

Been thinking about buying one, and I see it has 2 SPDIF outputs
(maybe programmable, changing another jack to this function).

1. I need a card that will have available my regular analog output
AND an SPDIF output simultaneously, not disabling one to get the
other.

AFAIK, the TBSC does that.

2. Also, I need to know if any MP3 or other sound, besides .WAV and
the like, is output via the SPDIF.

I'm quite sure the TBSC does that. It's the sound card in my office machine,
which is used for general audio playback. The power amp is a conventional
2-channel Pioneer receiver, so I don't have any immediate experience with
how the SP/DOF output works.

Beware of the comments about the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96. It's a fine card,
but AFAIK the analog and digital outputs are logically different audio
devices with separate interfaces for software to write data to.

I would like to be able to send
MP3 and other audio over to the main stereo in digital form if
possible, and decode over there.

Shouldn't be a problem. However, the TBSC's digital output is 48 KHz, but
the resampling is of high enough quality.

I've been looking over the Turtle beach site, and the answers to these
questions aren't obvious - though they mention hardware MP3 decoding,
which makes me lean toward believing that it does meet requirement
number 2.

Actually, the MP3 decoding in the TBSC can be ignored. To activate it, you
need to use a special MP3 player that activates the feature. If you use
something like Winamp or CoolEdit, it acts just like any other sound card.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC is better
than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as some would have
you believe)
They are both fairly cheap and old cards these days though.

Well, that's not encouraging!

Says more about the person than the cards really.

TonyP.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC is better
than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as some would have
you believe)
They are both fairly cheap and old cards these days though.

Well, that's not encouraging!

Says more about the person than the cards really.

TonyP.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC is better
than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as some would have
you believe)
They are both fairly cheap and old cards these days though.

Well, that's not encouraging!

Says more about the person than the cards really.

TonyP.

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

Hardly something to worry about with any modern CPU. It just spends even
more time doing nothing.
The Echo card does have a lot better performance though for the extra money.

TonyP.

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

Hardly something to worry about with any modern CPU. It just spends even
more time doing nothing.
The Echo card does have a lot better performance though for the extra money.

TonyP.

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

Hardly something to worry about with any modern CPU. It just spends even
more time doing nothing.
The Echo card does have a lot better performance though for the extra money.

TonyP.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
How about this:

Can anyone recommend a card that will simply give me optical and coaxial
digital audio outputs from my computer, that is, putting out whatever
sound
the computer is doing in 44.1K 16 bit format? I simply want to be able to
shoot music, whether cd, WAV, MP3, whatever, over to the main stereo and
use
a Denon D/A unit on that end. I'd prefer optical, I think, to avoid ground
loops, and it'll need to go about 35 feet, so I need to confirm that a
Toslink cable can go that far.

Well optical rules out any of the cheap sound cards. You may be better off
using a co-ax to optical repeater which will probably have more chance at
driving the 35 foot cable as well.

TonyP.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
How about this:

Can anyone recommend a card that will simply give me optical and coaxial
digital audio outputs from my computer, that is, putting out whatever
sound
the computer is doing in 44.1K 16 bit format? I simply want to be able to
shoot music, whether cd, WAV, MP3, whatever, over to the main stereo and
use
a Denon D/A unit on that end. I'd prefer optical, I think, to avoid ground
loops, and it'll need to go about 35 feet, so I need to confirm that a
Toslink cable can go that far.

Well optical rules out any of the cheap sound cards. You may be better off
using a co-ax to optical repeater which will probably have more chance at
driving the 35 foot cable as well.

TonyP.

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
How about this:

Can anyone recommend a card that will simply give me optical and coaxial
digital audio outputs from my computer, that is, putting out whatever
sound
the computer is doing in 44.1K 16 bit format? I simply want to be able to
shoot music, whether cd, WAV, MP3, whatever, over to the main stereo and
use
a Denon D/A unit on that end. I'd prefer optical, I think, to avoid ground
loops, and it'll need to go about 35 feet, so I need to confirm that a
Toslink cable can go that far.

Well optical rules out any of the cheap sound cards. You may be better off
using a co-ax to optical repeater which will probably have more chance at
driving the 35 foot cable as well.

TonyP.

Looked over the Echo card. I'd rather stick with unbalanced analog in/outs,
I think. I'd like to keep my existing preamp etc without using adapters.
Just more clutter.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"TonyP" wrote in message
u...

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

Hardly something to worry about with any modern CPU. It just spends even
more time doing nothing.
The Echo card does have a lot better performance though for the extra
money.

TonyP.

Looked over the Echo card. I'd rather stick with unbalanced analog in/outs,
I think. I'd like to keep my existing preamp etc without using adapters.
Just more clutter.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"TonyP" wrote in message
u...

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

Hardly something to worry about with any modern CPU. It just spends even
more time doing nothing.
The Echo card does have a lot better performance though for the extra
money.

TonyP.

Looked over the Echo card. I'd rather stick with unbalanced analog in/outs,
I think. I'd like to keep my existing preamp etc without using adapters.
Just more clutter.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"TonyP" wrote in message
u...

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
I had a Santa Cruz. I then upgraded to an Echo MIA (the original without
the MIDI) The MP3 hardware encoding on the Santa Cruz means that the
card will lossy compress the music for you instead of your computer's
CPU, thereby making encoding happen faster and leaving your CPU free to
do other stuff.

Hardly something to worry about with any modern CPU. It just spends even
more time doing nothing.
The Echo card does have a lot better performance though for the extra
money.

TonyP.

On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:29:41 +1000, "TonyP"
wrote:


"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC is better
than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as some would have
you believe)
They are both fairly cheap and old cards these days though.

Well, that's not encouraging!

Says more about the person than the cards really.

Maybe I have better ears than you. And the knowledge to know what I am
hearing.

Abbedd
Chief Engineer/Acoustician The Dave Guardala Companies

TonyP.

On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:29:41 +1000, "TonyP"
wrote:


"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC is better
than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as some would have
you believe)
They are both fairly cheap and old cards these days though.

Well, that's not encouraging!

Says more about the person than the cards really.

Maybe I have better ears than you. And the knowledge to know what I am
hearing.

Abbedd
Chief Engineer/Acoustician The Dave Guardala Companies

TonyP.

On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:29:41 +1000, "TonyP"
wrote:


"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I took
it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC is better
than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as some would have
you believe)
They are both fairly cheap and old cards these days though.

Well, that's not encouraging!

Says more about the person than the cards really.

Maybe I have better ears than you. And the knowledge to know what I am
hearing.

Abbedd
Chief Engineer/Acoustician The Dave Guardala Companies

TonyP.

"ansermetniac" wrote in message


On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:29:41 +1000, "TonyP"
wrote:

"ansermetniac" wrote in message
news

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I
took it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC
is better than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as
some would have you believe)
Says more about the person than the cards really.

Maybe I have better ears than you. And the knowledge to know what I am
hearing.

Disucssions like this tend to turn into ****ing matches unless the listening
comparisons are as fair and as unbiased as possible. I invite one and all to
do DBTs of these cards and reach their own conclusions.

You can either compare one card to the other, or you can compare either card
to an absolute standard, which is figuratively a straight wire. Just
download the test files and DBT comparators from:

http://www.pcabx.com/product/ct4830/index.htm

http://www.pcabx.com/product/santa_cruz/index.htm

Let your ears be the judge!

"ansermetniac" wrote in message


On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:29:41 +1000, "TonyP"
wrote:

"ansermetniac" wrote in message
news

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I
took it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC
is better than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as
some would have you believe)
Says more about the person than the cards really.

Maybe I have better ears than you. And the knowledge to know what I am
hearing.

Disucssions like this tend to turn into ****ing matches unless the listening
comparisons are as fair and as unbiased as possible. I invite one and all to
do DBTs of these cards and reach their own conclusions.

You can either compare one card to the other, or you can compare either card
to an absolute standard, which is figuratively a straight wire. Just
download the test files and DBT comparators from:

http://www.pcabx.com/product/ct4830/index.htm

http://www.pcabx.com/product/santa_cruz/index.htm

Let your ears be the judge!

"ansermetniac" wrote in message


On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:29:41 +1000, "TonyP"
wrote:

"ansermetniac" wrote in message
news

I bought the Santa Cruz upon reccomendation. After 60 seconds I
took it out and put back by Sound Blaster

60 seconds told you absolutely nothing. I've used both, and the SC
is better than the SB live for almost everything. (not by as much as
some would have you believe)
Says more about the person than the cards really.

Maybe I have better ears than you. And the knowledge to know what I am
hearing.

Disucssions like this tend to turn into ****ing matches unless the listening
comparisons are as fair and as unbiased as possible. I invite one and all to
do DBTs of these cards and reach their own conclusions.

You can either compare one card to the other, or you can compare either card
to an absolute standard, which is figuratively a straight wire. Just
download the test files and DBT comparators from:

http://www.pcabx.com/product/ct4830/index.htm

http://www.pcabx.com/product/santa_cruz/index.htm

Let your ears be the judge!