[lostspyder]

I'm thinking of getting the infamous AV-710, but I need two outputs - optical and a line out - because I don't want to switch software around to switch from headphones to speakers.

My on board sound allows for me to use both at once (optical and line out). Is it possible on the AV-710?

I've also been tossing around the idea of building a Alien DAC. Would you recommend this over a AV-710? It's a little bit more expensive, is there a significant benefit? I'll be connecting it to > Pimeta > DT 880's

 

[CarbonTi]

I use the AV710 in linux with the ALSA drivers and there's no problem running both the Wolfson dac chip outputs and the spdif optical simultaneously. Most of the time the drivers that support the evil empire are as robust, if not more so, than what is found in open source, so you should be OK in either platform. Maybe someone who uses the Envy drivers can chim in.

Most of the time, any external dac sounds better than a soundcard. Might still need a AV710 for its digital outs. For what a AV710 costs, there's very little risk in getting one.

 

[MrKazador]

WinXp
4.73 drivers
I can output through Line Out, Alt Out(wolfson), and optical at the same time @44.1khz.

 

[lostspyder]

Cool, thanks to everyone who replied

I think I'm going to get the av710 and leave the alien DAC until I decide to buy again

 

[Joshatdot]

With newer drivers (> 4.73) you can use both HQ Alt Out & TOSLINK Out too.