[d-cee]

hi all,

been searching threads and been gathering info about PCI sound cards with coaxial bit perfect outputs that aren't too expensive

i will be using this as a transport only, so analog sections don't matter all too much. it will go to my Zhaolu D2.0

i know not all coaxial outputs are equal so wanted to find out which of these canidates (and any others meeting the above criteria and in same price bracket) people recommend

atm i've gathered this much:

m-audio revolution (not sure if this does bit perfect through coaxial)
emu 0404 (the breakout cables, are they bad quality?)
ESI Juli@
ESI Maya 44

just wanted to know of any blaring concerns or issues with the above cards (or if they don't meet my criteria at all)

all your help and advice greatly appreciated!

 

[alex_cs]

try a Chaintech AV710, at 20-30 bucks its not exactly a big investment.

youll want a mini jack to RCA SPDIF cable for coax, eg Ram Electronics. it has the ENVY24 chip on it, as long as you have a quiet pc and a good cable as mentioned, you dont really need anything else. the next step is the juli@ from here it seems, but i reckon if youve got a good dac, and your amp of choice, it wont matter.

 

[device manager]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_cs try a Chaintech AV710, at 20-30 bucks its not exactly a big investment.

The other day when I recommended this card the specs said optical only. A google search yields the same results.

http://www.chaintechusa.com/tw/eng/p....asp?PISNo=199

d-cee, out of the four cards that you list the Juli@ would be my choice. The driver is under 1MB, it's easy to configure, supports ASIO 2.0, coax via breakout cable, optical out is on par with a Lynx, and it also offers a removable analog section.

However if you're a gamer you should definitely consider the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music. The X-Fi is the best card for gaming (DS3D, A3D, Open AL, EAX 5.0), and it also servers as an audiophile card. It offers built-in hardware AC3/DTS decoding, ASIO 2.0 support, digital out (coax), bit-perfect capability, mode switching, excellent driver support, and the ability to use a 44.1 kHz sample rate in Audio Creation mode. Normal price for the Xtreme Music is $125 shipped, and you can occasionally pick it up for under $100 after rebate. Even if you do not play a lot of games it's still a smart solution.

 

[alex_cs]

you have a direct mini line out from the card that is spdif. all you need is either a normal coax rca cable with an rca to mini adaptor, or a specially made mini to rca coax cable. ive seen them for sale at Ram Electronics.

i was facing the same decision you are, and in the end i realsied what a bargain it was and that i didnt need all the extras of the maudio etc if all i wanted was to pass the signal to an external dac.

 

[d-cee]

i've actually already got an AV-710

using a crappy toslink cable though. not sure whether i should get a card with coax or a decent glass toslink =S

at the moment i've got blue jeans all round (except toslink)

 

[alex_cs]

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/RCA-mini-spdif.html

mini to rca spdif cables.

if youve already got one, and dont plan on using any digital circuits on this new card you want to get, why are you thinking of getting a new one?

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_cs you have a direct mini line out from the card that is spdif. all you need is either a normal coax rca cable with an rca to mini adaptor, or a specially made mini to rca coax cable. ive seen them for sale at Ram Electronics. i was facing the same decision you are, and in the end i realsied what a bargain it was and that i didnt need all the extras of the maudio etc if all i wanted was to pass the signal to an external dac.

alex, the line-out is analog, i require digital output, which is only available via the optical interface on the AV-710

i'm still debating the advantages of coax or toslink for SPDIF especially since it is in a PC use... decisions decisions

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_cs http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/RCA-mini-spdif.html mini to rca spdif cables. if youve already got one, and dont plan on using any digital circuits on this new card you want to get, why are you thinking of getting a new one?

i'm using it with my Zhaolu D2.0 DAC so all i am after is a good digital section.

the ESI Juli@ is damn expensive in australia, as is the Maya 44 shipping from USA is also quote steep =(

 

[alex_cs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d-cee alex, the line-out is analog, i require digital output, which is only available via the optical interface on the AV-710 i'm still debating the advantages of coax or toslink for SPDIF especially since it is in a PC use... decisions decisions

the black output on the right is digital out coax

 

[alex_cs]

b&h has the julia for 140USD, 172USD with shipping, works out to be 229AUD landed in aus.

 

[device manager]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_cs the black output on the right is digital out coax

Are you 100% positive? As I mentioned before you appear to be the first one to claim that one of the line outs is a digital coax out.

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_cs the black output on the right is digital out coax

ok you're definitely mistaken here. i am sitting here listening to the black lineout port of my AV-710 and i have headphones plugged straight in and it is producing analog music straight into my headphones

it is an unamped lineout yes, but it is NOT a coaxial digital out.

thanks for the headsup about B&H though, ebay sellers are charging extortionate rates for shipping =(

 

[alex_cs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d-cee ok you're definitely mistaken here. i am sitting here listening to the black lineout port of my AV-710 and i have headphones plugged straight in and it is producing analog music straight into my headphones it is an unamped lineout yes, but it is NOT a coaxial digital out. thanks for the headsup about B&H though, ebay sellers are charging extortionate rates for shipping =(

i was under the impression there was a very simple way of bypassing the wolfson onboard DAC and thus have the digital output come from that lineout.

im using optical atm, im sure ive heard people like Ori discussing it.

anyway, im currently building up a silent pc and want to get either a julia or a maya44. is the maya inferior in its digital coax out compared to the julia?

 

[alex_cs]

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[alex_cs]

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