need some help choosing soundcard
Jun 26, 2012 at 10:23 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 6
psyslava

psyslava

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hi, i just ordered a htpc with core i7 and 16gb ram at 1600 clock speed.
and i need a soundcard coz i a music freak and i have the old good creative z5000 speakers with the optical input, so the soundcard shold have optical out port.
i have the pci and pciexpress ports free.
does it makes any difference if i use pci or pcie port?
i considered the xonar d1, or the creative x-fi  as options...
both not that expensive and have opt. out
whitch one is better, have clearer sound, better prossesor, again i am not using headphones, i wont play games, its mainly for music and movies.
anyone please?
 
Jun 26, 2012 at 11:17 AM Post #2 of 6
Quote:
psyslava said:
Hi, i just ordered a htpc with core i7 and 16gb ram at 1600 clock speed.
and i need a soundcard coz i a music freak and i have the old good creative z5000 speakers with the optical input, so the sound card should have optical out port.
I have the PCI and PCI-Express ports free.
Does it makes any difference if i use PCI or PCI-E port?
i considered the Xonar D1, or the creative x-fi  as options...
both not that expensive and have opt. out
Which one is better, have clearer sound, better processor, again I am not using headphones, i wont play games, its mainly for music and movies.
anyone please?
Click to expand...

A used Asus Xonar DX or D1 ($55) will work fine optically with the Logitech Z-5000.
Xonar DX & D1 come with Dolby Digital.
The Xonar Dx & D1 come with good DACs (Digital to Analog Converter)
Invest in some analog audio cables and the Z-5000 will sound better.
Three 3.5mm (1/8 mini-jack) male to male cables will do the job (Monoprice).
 
Jun 26, 2012 at 1:52 PM Post #4 of 6
Quote:
psyslava said:
So you say that the Xonar is better than the creative?
what about the Xonar DGX, I believe it has an optical out jack.
I really want to use an optical wiring :)
Click to expand...

I just know more about Xonar then Creative.
I know the Xonar DX & D1 come with a good DAC
Movies use Dolby, Xonar comes with Dolby Digital.
The DG(X) optical out is limited, better to go with DX/D1
If you like optical, cool.
 
Jun 27, 2012 at 12:44 AM Post #5 of 6
I agree with PurpleAngel, the DX is good for surround/5.1 outputs.
 
Jun 27, 2012 at 1:29 AM Post #6 of 6
I guess that makes me PurpleAngel's foil; I know quite a bit about X-Fi-based hardware, but have no experience with anything C-Media-based (which includes all Asus Xonar and HT Omega cards).
 
You're not playing games, though, so the X-Fi advantages just went flying out the window. Just get something as cheap as you can find with Dolby Digital Live support, and preferably with a PCI-Express interface (for future-proofing's sake).
 
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