[mcgsxr]

Just checking in with you guys, as there seem to be many here with experience playing around with AudioPC's.

There are some MOBO's with spdif built right in - some Asus, some MSI etc.

My question is, can they pass a bit perfect signal? I would love any insight, as I get closer to building my HTPC toy.

Thanks,

Mark in Canada

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I've never heard of a mobo sound solution that doesn't resample 44.1 to 48, let alone one that is bit-perfect. Chaintech AV710 is all you need, flash to Prodigy firmware (PM me for the files) for guaranteed bit-perfect output.

 

[Wodgy]

I concur with Iron_Dreamer. I haven't run into a bit-perfect motherboard yet either, though who knows, you might get lucky.

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgsxr Just checking in with you guys, as there seem to be many here with experience playing around with AudioPC's. There are some MOBO's with spdif built right in - some Asus, some MSI etc. My question is, can they pass a bit perfect signal? I would love any insight, as I get closer to building my HTPC toy. Thanks, Mark in Canada

if your onboard soundcard supports kernal streaming you can use the foobar resampler and KS out to create a more or less clean digital output. i am doing this with my dell laptop.

 

[mcgsxr]

Thanks Iron_Dreamer, I will PM you when the time comes, I am gathering info right now, and trying to determine how to proceed.

I think I will build out an AudioPC, capable of being expanded into an HDTV device, when and if a better display shows up in my world - presently just using a Sony Vega 32 inch CRT, so no need for DVI videocards etc.

Mostly, I want to invest in PCAudio, rather than buy and mod a transport for cd - I believe that I can get great sound out of a PC, if careful, and down the road build on my investment when a projector enters the picture - if I buy a Sony 7700 and have it modded, it becomes a great transport, but that US$1000 is not transferrable to my HT, when that happens.

Sound about right?

 

[fbhua]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Chaintech AV710 is all you need, flash to Prodigy firmware (PM me for the files) for guaranteed bit-perfect output.

Hey that's interesting. There are a lot of posts about people upgrading from the Chaintech to an EMU and experiencing phenomenal improvement. Of course, they were using the cards in conjuction with an off board dac like the Benchmark. Are there different grades of bit-perfect?

F.B.

 

[dallasstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbhua Hey that's interesting. There are a lot of posts about people upgrading from the Chaintech to an EMU and experiencing phenomenal improvement. Of course, they were using the cards in conjuction with an off board dac like the Benchmark. Are there different grades of bit-perfect? F.B.

That difference is a result of jitter. The data itself is the same, but jitter only causes aberrations in timing. I think the Benchmark DAC1 has a built in timer of some sort that eliminates jitter so it's not very picky as far as jitter is concerned, but DACs like the AOS Piccolo that do not have such features will have considerable dependency on the quality of the jitter control on each soundcard.

 

[recca]

Does the chaintech need to be flashed to have bit perfect output?

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbhua Hey that's interesting. There are a lot of posts about people upgrading from the Chaintech to an EMU and experiencing phenomenal improvement. Of course, they were using the cards in conjuction with an off board dac like the Benchmark. Are there different grades of bit-perfect?

These people are usually talking about the analog outs. There are small differences between digital outs due to timing jitter, but these are relatively minor. If all you want is a good digital out, a cheap bit-perfect card is fine for most people.

BTW, I second the recommendation about flashing the Chaintech with the Prodigy firmware.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recca Does the chaintech need to be flashed to have bit perfect output?

Yes.

 

[TNT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recca Does the chaintech need to be flashed to have bit perfect output?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo Yes.

Err, it most certainly doesn't.

 

[recca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNT Err, it most certainly doesn't.

This makes more sense to me since the SPDIF out really only sends what the software sends it. If you configure Foobar for ASIO or Kernel Streaming, I though it should be sending bit perfect SPDIF to the Chaintech which will pass it to its SPDIF output.

 

[Asmo]

My mistake, you only need to flash the chaintech to the prodigy if you want bit perfect output from applications that do NOT use kernel streaming, sorry.

 

[Halbyrd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo My mistake, you only need to flash the chaintech to the prodigy if you want bit perfect output from applications that do NOT use kernel streaming, sorry.

Would this include applications that use ASIO? AFAIK, ASIO is supposed to produce the same results as Kernel Streaming, but without the need for exclusive control of the sound card.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

The Chaintech firmware doesn't support ASIO, the Prodigy does, so in that sense, yes.