I'm about to build a new computer and would like to know how to make it the best digital transport for a HeadRoom Micro Stack.
Last week I thought all digital outputs were the same; after all, it only has to spit out a 1 or a 0. But then I started research on these forums and other places and Oh NOes!
My head is spinning and I'm full of questions. Please help a noob, good souls!
These are the 3 options I've discovered so far:
1. A direct USB connection that bypasses the sound card
2. A sound card with bit-perfect digital out like the AV-710 with proper drivers
3. A USB sound card like the M-Audio transit
Could all 3 give me bit-perfect output? Apparently just using a USB cord like in option 1 isn't the best way to go; is that because sound cards re-clocks the signal to reduce jitter? Consequently, the cheap AV-710 option looked the best, but then I read this and it got me worrying about the jitter and noise that a PCI card apparently puts out.
I guess my biggest question is if an option like the M-Audio transit is worth the greater cost over the AV-710, and if so, why exactly?
Here are a few other questions I have:
A. Does the M-Audio transit re-sample all inputs into 24/96 or is that just a format it supports?
B. Would the AV-710 suffice for basic 2.1 gaming?
C. To put things in perspective, my future upgrade from "iPod--> Micro Amp" to "PC--> Micro Stack" would be more significant than reducing this jitter nonsense, right?
Last week I thought all digital outputs were the same; after all, it only has to spit out a 1 or a 0. But then I started research on these forums and other places and Oh NOes!
My head is spinning and I'm full of questions. Please help a noob, good souls!These are the 3 options I've discovered so far:
1. A direct USB connection that bypasses the sound card
2. A sound card with bit-perfect digital out like the AV-710 with proper drivers
3. A USB sound card like the M-Audio transit
Could all 3 give me bit-perfect output? Apparently just using a USB cord like in option 1 isn't the best way to go; is that because sound cards re-clocks the signal to reduce jitter? Consequently, the cheap AV-710 option looked the best, but then I read this and it got me worrying about the jitter and noise that a PCI card apparently puts out.
I guess my biggest question is if an option like the M-Audio transit is worth the greater cost over the AV-710, and if so, why exactly?
Here are a few other questions I have:
A. Does the M-Audio transit re-sample all inputs into 24/96 or is that just a format it supports?
B. Would the AV-710 suffice for basic 2.1 gaming?
C. To put things in perspective, my future upgrade from "iPod--> Micro Amp" to "PC--> Micro Stack" would be more significant than reducing this jitter nonsense, right?
