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Soundcard with line level out

post #1 of 11
2/8/12 at 9:05am
Thread Starter 

Does anyone know of any good sounding PCI soundcards Under $100 that have a line level output (either RCA or 3.5mm)? 

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post #2 of 11
2/8/12 at 11:29pm

I thought ALL sound cards had "line-level" output. Some of the old ones had "speaker" outputs but that was about 1990.

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post #3 of 11
2/9/12 at 6:08am
Thread Starter 

They all have a headphone out which is amped

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post #4 of 11
2/9/12 at 6:50am

Not necessarily.  Many headphones play just fine out of other components' "line out"s. 

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post #5 of 11
2/9/12 at 7:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy*Carl View Post

They all have a headphone out which is amped



Since when do ALL soundcards have an amped headphone output?

Most if not all soundcards have line level I/O to make it compatible with other gear.  A few cards have amped outputs along with the line I/O but it is far from all.

 

There are many cards under $100 with line level I/O.  Look at any of the Xonar entry level cards or cards from other companies.  Line level is the industry standard for audio I/O.

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post #6 of 11
2/9/12 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 

What about a pc motherboards analog out?

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post #7 of 11
2/9/12 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy*Carl View Post

What about a pc motherboards analog out?



Line level.

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post #8 of 11
2/9/12 at 5:24pm
Thread Starter 

Excellent! Thanks you that's saves me from spending more as my pcs Dac Is real good

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post #9 of 11
2/11/12 at 11:43am
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think a lot of laptops are a compromise between HP and line level. Perhaps they have an output impedance somewhere inbetween?
Some sound cards can drive either and use impedance sensing to my knowledge.
Regardless, I own a couple PCI Onkyo cards which measure 2V RMS on their line out RCA lacks.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Edited by headfinoob - 2/11/12 at 11:45am
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post #10 of 11
2/11/12 at 3:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBSCIX View Post

Line level.


Some newer Realtek onboard audio chips actually have "amplified" outputs in the sense that the output impedance is low, and they can be used for powering low impedance headphones. The maximum output voltage is still low, though, not much more than 1 Vrms.

All Xonar cards from the D1 and above have line outputs with 2 Vrms voltage and 100 Ohm impedance.

 

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post #11 of 11
2/11/12 at 4:06pm

Maybe you can find the RME Digi 96/8 around $100 on ebay.

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