"Steven Sullivan" wrote in message


I've archived my CD collection lossless FLAC files,
and I play them via a foobar2000 front end on my PC.

The output to my home audio system is from an M-Audio 2496
soundcard to the coaxial digital in of my receiver,
via the coaxial S/PDIF output of the card.

I'm curious to know,
what actually happens to the audio in this
sort of setup, between foobar decoding the
FLAC file, and the sound coming from
my speakers?

Not a lot that is very intersting or sonically significant happens. Nothing
in the bit patterns is changed.

I understand that a D/A conversion
takes place in the receiver, but is that the only place
DA (or AD) conversion takes place in this path?

Yes.

What is the M-Audio card actually doing?

Sending bits to the outside world from inside the PC box, via a coaxial
line.

The M-Audio card is converting parallel byte patterns from the PCI bus into
serial bit patterns on its coax output jack.