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Headphone amp, can't use receiver and got crappy sound card.

post #1 of 3
3/31/11 at 2:45am
Thread Starter 

Hi, long time lurker yada yada...

 

Right now I'm using my onboard PC sound card to feed my amp all the sound through SPDIF (optical). This works well since it's SPDIF and it bypasses the DAC on the sound card. Now I want to hook up my headphone amp which uses RCA R-L in.

 

I got an Onkyo 606 whose DAC I wanted to use. This seems impossible to do since I'm feeding the receiver with SPDIF (digital) and receivers in general don't seem to handle digital in - analog out (? - Onkyo 606 manual - http://filedepot.onkyousa.com/Files/own_manuals/TX-SR606_En_A_Rev1.pdf?CFID=1502083&CFTOKEN=18348268&jsessionid=f030e3468fd9f56956172c7830503161704e). I simply can't get any audio out of my receiver either using Zone2 or TAPE out from it. Only solution is the headphone jack, which sounds all but ideal to me.

 

I tried hooking up the headphone amp directly to the sound card 3,5mm jack and it works, but the sound is REALLY crappy (Realtek ALC1200). It's A LOT worse than a Sony Ericsson X8 or an iPod touch.

 

So how do you suggest I solve this? It looks to me like I need either a separate DAC or a new PC sound card. Seems like the cheapest and most hassle free solution is a new sound card and I really don't have much money to spend since I didn't plan for this expense.

 

I have been looking at Asus Xonar Essence ST but since it already includes a headphone amplifier I don't feel like I want to pay for this and also it's a bit expensive, but I'll get it if I "have to". Another option seems to be M-audio 2496 but I'm unsure if this 7 year old card has any decent drivers for windows7? I guess it does the job of outputting 5.1 SPDIF to my receiver and stereo to my headphone amp though. A third solution is Creative X-fi titanium HD, which also is quite expensive but does the job. Had Creative sound card before and hated the drivers that never worked as they should.

 

Any cheaper cards that does the job of outputting SPDIF and good stereo? Any tips are welcome!

 

Edit: I might add that I also game a bit and might like the DTS connect or similar on the newer cards...


Edited by Watkins - 3/31/11 at 5:14am
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post #2 of 3
4/1/11 at 1:47am
Thread Starter 

I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by "outputs labeled number 18". There's no such output on the onkyo 606.

Back of 606: http://www.avland.co.uk/onkyo/txsr606/rearlrg.jpg

 

The only outputs available are Tape out and VCR/DVR out which both requires me to hook up input via those as well, only supporting analog RCA connectors. Alternative would be using Zone2, but that one only supports analog as well according the the manual and many reports.

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post #3 of 3
4/4/11 at 5:41am

Best soundcard for your situation seems to be the Xonar D2/PM which have very high quality DACs whos output is direct coupled to the opamps which in turn is direct coupled to the output analog audio jack. I find this arrangement to provide the most accurate sound. These DACs are much better than the DACs on the M-Audio cards you mentioned.

 

The output of the Essense ST/STX is not direct coupled from the factory. Its headphone amp is but not the line out.

 

You will need a patch cord that converts 1/8" phono to RCA but that is not a problem as that is provided in the box. Don't worry about the quality of the cabling as the output impedance of the soundcard is quite low & consequently can drive any cable very effectively with no audible loss. This output can even power headphone directly if they are low impedance high sensitivty ones. If your headphone amp has a captive RCA plugs then you need a 1/8" phono to RCA jack converter which you can get from Radio Shack or other electronics shop.

 

People who spend a ton of money on patch cords when dealing with the output of compuer audio soundcards are truely wasting thier money as on soundcards the output impedance is so low that cable differences disappear. The main reason that it makes a difference on home audio is that the output impedance is quite high so minor differences in cableling capacitance become quite audible.

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