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Question about audio passthrough and USB to Optical conversion

post #1 of 8
9/21/11 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 

I've done a bit of searching on these forums and have found topics tangential to my question, but not quite what I needed. So here goes.

 

I am getting the Astro Mixamp 5.8 (which takes only optical input) and need an optical out from my laptop (which only has 3.5mm stereo jacks now, no optical). I also have (from more than 6 years ago) an ancient Zalman 5.1 USB sound card (this one) which has optical out. The output will be my DT-990's.

 

All of the DAC processing will be handled by the Astro Tx unit, so I just need a device to do a USB -> Optical conversion.

 

My question is, does it make a difference whether I use this Zalman card, a Behringer UCA202, Creative X-Fi USB Surround or similar device to convert my USB signal to optical? My guess is that it is a digital-digital signal conversion, so the answer should be that it does  Not make a difference. Anyone else think otherwise?

 

Thanks!


Edited by allister - 9/21/11 at 9:44am
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post #2 of 8
9/21/11 at 10:01am

Given your setup, a Behringer UCA202 would be a fine choice.

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post #3 of 8
9/21/11 at 10:14am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by anetode View Post

Given your setup, a Behringer UCA202 would be a fine choice.



Thanks, any insight into why it would be better than the zalman optical out card I already have?

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post #4 of 8
9/21/11 at 10:29am

Oh, sorry, I missed that you already had the Zalman. In that case, the two are basically equivalent and there's no dire need to upgrade.

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post #5 of 8
9/21/11 at 10:50am
Thread Starter 

Quote:

Originally Posted by anetode View Post

Oh, sorry, I missed that you already had the Zalman. In that case, the two are basically equivalent and there's no dire need to upgrade.


Can all optical outputs transmit compressed bitstreams for 5.1 sound like Dolby Digital? Or does it depend on the hardware/implementation? So can I use this Zalman card (or any other card) to transmit 5.1 sound (compressed bitstream via USB from my laptop)?

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post #6 of 8
9/21/11 at 11:43am

Is your stereo jack a "combo" jack that also does coaxial SPDIF out? If so, you could convert this to optical SPDIF with an adapter for less money than a USB device might cost.

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post #7 of 8
9/21/11 at 11:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iniamyen View Post

Is your stereo jack a "combo" jack that also does coaxial SPDIF out? If so, you could convert this to optical SPDIF with an adapter for less money than a USB device might cost.


 

That would have been the ideal scenario, but sadly, not on this HP 2540p laptop, which has IDT HD audio, pretty terrible SQ IMHO.

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post #8 of 8
9/21/11 at 6:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by allister View Post

Quote:


Can all optical outputs transmit compressed bitstreams for 5.1 sound like Dolby Digital? Or does it depend on the hardware/implementation? So can I use this Zalman card (or any other card) to transmit 5.1 sound (compressed bitstream via USB from my laptop)?



Hardware-wise, yes. It all depends on the software implementation, which in turn differs with various hardware implementations. You'll have to check the manual.

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