[Zorander]

Hi all,

My EMU 1212M (PCI) has finally died after 12 years of service. I am in dire need of a replacement.

The EMU was setup in this manner: PC -> EMU -> Electrocompaniet DAC (via BJ Coaxial cable) -> (Sound systems via analog input).

I'm looking to spend up to AUD$150 (less is better) to get something that faithfully sends out digital signal to the DAC. My uses are typically media consumption (music, netflix, etc) and casual gaming (not fussed about effects, etc).

Any recommendations around these criterias?

Thanks!

 

[PurpleAngel]

The Electroniccompaniet ECD 2 DAC comes with coaxial, optical & USB input.
Why not just plug the ECD 2 to the PC using USB or optical?

The Rosewill RC-702 sound card comes with a S/PDIF coaxial output port.
And it sells for $15-$25.

The Asus Xonar D2, D2X, STX, ST sound cards come with a S/PDIF coaxial output jack.

 

[Zorander]

Thanks for the list.

The E-MU has seemingly revived but a slight nudge on the coaxial cable connected to the card will send the PC into a crash. I will still treat this card as on its way out and look for a replacement (as well as finally moving fully to PCIe card).

My DAC unfortunately is an older version and has no USB input. I have also always thought anything from onboard (even if digital) tends to be flawed, hence my preference for stand-alone transport. Happy to be proven wrong though!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks for the list.

The E-MU has seemingly revived but a slight nudge on the coaxial cable connected to the card will send the PC into a crash. I will still treat this card as on its way out and look for a replacement (as well as finally moving fully to PCIe card).

My DAC unfortunately is an older version and has no USB input. I have also always thought anything from onboard (even if digital) tends to be flawed, hence my preference for stand-alone transport. Happy to be proven wrong though!

Windows has an option to bypass sound card features, while using the sound card's (or on-board audio) S/PDIF optical and coaxial ports.

 

[KungFuNat]

http://www.schiit.com/products/eitr