computer audio, hi-fi + gaming, possible?

[obobskivich]

ok, so I'm wanting to get a hi-fi output from my computer, preferably a balanced analog signal (i dont care how many times it goes digital -> digital, as long as the digital -> analog is high quality, and there isn't some 16/48khz garbage somewhere in the signal path (mostly because most 16/48's are lower quality overall than 24/96's, even though i dont use 24/96 24/7))

currently I have:

Denon AH-D2000
JVC PC-R11
Creative Audigy 2 ZS Plat
2x M-Audio Audiophile 2496
cabling to make it go

on the drawing board:
Millet Starving Student
Markl mod for the D2000's
(basically these two are going to be done, i just need the free time available, so figure by the time the whole setup is finished, these are effected)
balanced headphones??? (this is a maybe, either HD-650's with a recable, or balancing the D2k's (haven't found much media on this though, but I'm sure its very possible))

anyways, here's basically what I want the setup to be capable of as an end result:
movies/music/TV (from PCI tuner) and gaming, at the same time, with independent volume controls, and not having to minimize the games to change channel/song/album/movie/etc

what that boils down to, roughly, is 2 PCs, still no problem, but the big ???????????? is how to get them working nicely together, cost effectively, theres a couple options I've thought of, but they all start getting kind of expensive:

Scenario A: keep the Audigy 2 in computer 1, get an x-fi elite pro or x-fi prelude in computer 2, feed audigy's digital outs into elite/prelude's digital ins, feed elite/prelude's analog outs into amplifier

Scenario B: keep audigy 2 in computer 1, get an x-fi elite pro or x-fi prelude in computer 2, feed both into a decent mixer (was thinking something like Allen & Heath Zed-14), feed main outs to amp (remove volume control segment of amp, and rewire for XLR input, use the mixer to control everything basically)

Scenario C: move audigy 2 to computer 2, get 1616m or delta 1010 or audiophile 192 in computer 1, feed audigy 2's digital outs to digital ins of 1616m/delta1010/audiophile 192 and feed analog balanced outs to amp

Scenario D: same as C except analog balanced out -> mixer from B -> amp (or with both cards on same lavel, like in B, just higher quality card)

the reason for an X-Fi/Audigy board is gaming, M-Audio, E-MU, and ESI/AudioTrak all make great cards, but they're fairly dinky in gaming, Asus makes some nice gaming cards, but I dont have many issues with the Creative hardware I have now, so I don't see any reason not to stay with that

obviously the soluting that uses the 1616M or Delta1010 as a DAC fed into the mixer is probably going to yield the highest absolute quality, thats also like a $900-$1400 setup and will be a total pain in the @$$ to control (since i'll have like 5 volume settings across 3 devices just to regulate the volume: in-game volume, master out volume on PC 2, input level volume on 1616/1010, master output, and mixer level settings) basically it gets really sloppy to control, even though it affords exceptional audio quality (and generally a fully balanced signal path)

just thinking about it in review, using computer 1 (if you haven't figured out by now, this is the older/slower system thats less appealing for gaming but still up to the task of music and HD video playback) with one of those m-audio cards into a mixer, as a pure music system, might be an option, but again, its getting kind of sloppy to control

basically i'm asking, what do you guys do to get the kind of quality I want from a computer source, while maintaing hardware accelerated in-game audio effects?

[ph0rk]

a small outboard soundcard like the emu-0404 usb will mix two signals, there are a lot of options in the <$200 range.

[gates_2]

honestly, if you are looking for the best gaming and HI-FI solution with one card, the X-FI Extreme pro is the way to go. Its got some pretty high-quality AKM dacs that the lower x-fi's do not have. Of course, you should get it modded for the best results, but for under $200 it is one of the best gaming cards you can buy, and the mods make the listening side more than adequate- I promise you will be happy with the sound

[rds]

the asus xonars are excellent cards. Far superior to creative offerings.
The most cost effective option is the asus xonar dx, which uses the excellent cirrus logic 4398 dac chip for front audio. The cost is a mere $90.
However, it is only available in the pci-e configuration. So make sure you have a free pci-e slot.

[obobskivich]

yeah, see, notice how none of these options accomplish the original goal?

[indikator]

I don't understand why you are having 2 PC but for the independent volume control you can use your amp volume control and max out the rest
you are building the amp right? you can add some inputs and input selector on the amp
and then, use ESI Juli@ or anything better for your foobar, and Prelude or Asus DX for the default sound device
now the only thing you have to do is, switch input selector to active computer or when you wanna hear music,

edit: oh I see you wanna do it all at same time, I don't think it will be good to mix the signal, so Prelude is your to go....