HTPC/Sound Cards and nice Recievers

[Daveburt714]

I'm sure there are alot of folks on here with more HTPC experience than me.
So I thought I would ask the question...

Here's my gear:
Mobo: BioStar TA890-GXE (Realtec ALC892 chipset).
Reviever: B&K Ref 50 Series2
Amp: Carver 505 (80w x 5 channel)
Speakers: All Infinity's, with a powered (100w/10") Sub

I recently bought an Asus Zonar DX sound card for the rig.
It seems to sound a little better, but I'm having some driver problems, due to the fact that the Line In port is the same as the Optical out...

Yes, I'm an old fart and I tend to record some vinyl and Cable audio once in awhile, so this leaves me no other choice than to use the Realtec audio input.
This is where conflicting driver problems come into play... :(

My question is, am I just imagining that the DX sounds better, and the ALC892 SPDIF pass through is just as good considering the Reciever?
Did I waste $80 buying this card?
Would I be better off connecting the card to the reciever with analog RCA jacks, so I could use the SPDIF/Input connector as an Input?

I'm sure a lot of this comes down to personal preference, but, any suggestions would be appreciated... :up:

Thanks... Dave

[Nanometer]

The amplifiers on the sound card are better, but if you ask me, I would tell you I cannot tell any difference. There are plenty of people who may claim they know the difference, but I've yet to see it first hand. Though the last sound card I bought and got rid of was a X-fi music, not exactly the most highend card. However, I will say that there appeared to be no difference in sound, perhaps just piece of mind. I've been using digital for a year now, and that is at the point where it no longer matters since it is all the same digital signal.

If you say it sounds better, then it is better. But I no longer tell people to buy sound cards unless they need it for multimedia purposes.

[EniGmA1987]

There is only certain situations I can tell the difference between onboard digital out and a nice sound card's digital out, and that is when you are listening to bass heavy tracks and can notice a dip in sound at other frequencies as the bass overpowers the cheap chips and small capacitors. A nice sound card wont do that, but thats the only difference I can tell between two digital sources sending the same audio out.

Now if you wanted to use the analog out of your sound card then you would notice a big difference between the realtec onboard and your sound card, but not for digital stuff as the sound card doesnt decode the audio at the card unless you are sending out analog.


The only reason to have a sound card is if you need a special one with more inputs, or are using analog sound.

[Daveburt714]

Thanks EniGmA1987.

I think your right, the only thing that seemed to sound better to me was the channel seperation when using the Zonar.
That could very well just be my imagination. Next time I tear that rig apart I'll do some testing with and without to see if I'm still convinced. :p:

My biggest problem with the card seems to be driver problems, since I have to keep the onboard running for audio in (possible conflict).

Whenever I enable the onboard to record audio (from any source) the reciever freaks out and doesn't want to accept signals @ 96k....

Music sounds better to me @ 96k, and switching things back and forth is a PITA.

Not sure it's really worth it to me. I still have a bunch of vinyl I need to rip, and quite often there are tunes on Paladia and FUSE that I like to capture... :up:

[Nanometer]

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I don't believe that's how a digital signal functions.

Digital sound that is fed from any digital source be it CD or DVD is in digital form already. If you are having bass issues that that is related to something else, and not the source. With digital signal there are no amplifiers like those found in the analog arena. It's just the same as your DVI video cable, and it either works or it doesn't. There's no buffer zone for some are better than others and this is what makes digital so special. When you take a signal from any source at sat 192 sampling rate, it will be the same identical signal from any other device feeding the same sampling rate. However, if you were talking DAC or ADC that would be a different story because at some point the signal is passed through an amplifier. And it is a common fact that same amplifiers are better than others, there's a reason why analog source players can vary in price so greatly, and why digital does not. Though if you are using the sound card for Analog only, then sure I would definitely use the sound card.

[josh1980]

When I was shopping for an audio card for my HTPC I did come across the Asus Xonar series. I had read from alot of sites that it was a great value. Then I came across a review that compared a couple different cards from the Xonar to the Xfi and just like everyone else, their blind test found that Xonar scored better for sound quality. Then the reviewer started digging deeper and comparing the actual sound output on the cards to each other and the original signal. It was then that the secret was uncovered. The Asus Xonar series seems to amplify a few key frequencies that gives the listener the impression that the sound is much better than other cards.

This is where personal preference steps in. There are 2 philosophies for audiophiles. One is that you want the output at your speakers to be as close to the original signal as possible. The other is that the sound can be tweaked and modified to improve the sound quality. Me personally, I fall into the first group. I calibrated my TV to provide colors and brightness that are nearly identical to the true colors intended for viewing by the movie company. I feel that sound shouldn't be any different. I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't "imagining" it because the card has been shown to change the signals to some extent.