[hughwi]

Hi all,

I have a question for those in the know about external sound cards... I have recently purchased a new laptop as my desktop gave up the ghost. With my desktop, i was using an M-Audio Delta card to output my sound via SPDIF Coaxial cable to a Beresford 7510 DAC which fed a marantz PM-66 KI which powers a pair of Kef Q60's.

Now I am on the lookout for an external sound card that can utilise my coaxial SPDIF cable and DAC. I have been looking at the Emu 0404 USB, but cant help feeling it is a little bit overkill for what i need, however other options such as the M-Audio Transit do not appear to have coaxial. I would ideally also like a unit that can do ASIO. I have a headphone amp integrated into my DAC, so normal outputs are not as important.

I basically just need something that can give me a better quality digital output from my laptop than i have currently (a 3.5mm to coax adapter).

I really would like someone who has some experience with these cards to convince me that the emu 0404, or a card similar to it, is worth the money! I am currently using a 3.5mm to RCA adapter, and i cant wait to get the sound quality i had back! (Most of my digital stuff is ripped in FLAC and played through foobar and ASIO).

Thanks

Hugh

 

[brainsalad]

From what I can glean from your message, you need to convert USB Audio to SPDIF. This process is all done in the digital world and at the simplest level converts the pulsing of digital USB audio to the SPDIF streaming audio standard. The converters shows as a USB Sound card.

CryoParts USB to SPDIF Converter
Hagerman Technology LLC: HagUsb

Just a couple I found via Google.

 

[hughwi]

Thanks for the reply brain salad, that is rather helpful, although i am in the UK and will have to do a bit of searching around!

I have another (related question for you all) in trying to get my laptop up and running via coaxial spdif and the current (rather poor) soundcard, i bought a 3.5mm to RCA adapter (Maplin code N86AN) however, i cannot get it to work, i get no output at all. Any reason as to why this cannot carry a digital signal?

 

[socrates63]

hughwi, is there a setting that perhaps you need to turn on in order to make the soundcard pass a digital signal through the 3.5mm jack? Which laptop do you have?

I did not have any problems using such an adapter to connect my Micro DAC to a CDP's coax digital output.

I have ordered a HagUSB for my laptop for its digital coax output.

 

[hughwi]

Hi socrates, i have now ordered a HagUSB, but as for the adapter question, i have a Znote 6224W which has the Realtek HD Audio chip integrated into it, the drivers have many settings for output, i tried all of the digital settings to no avail. The drivers show a picture of an optical plug next to the digital settings, so i am beginning to think that maybe it is designed for an optical 3.5mm mini-jack, although i thought the adapter should work as it is also the headphone socket?

Sorry for that stream of conciousness there!

 

[sejarzo]

Often, those combo mini-jacks have only an optical S/PDIF output from an LED mounted beyond the electrical "tip" contact. They don't always have the ability to pass an electrical S/PDIF signal.

 

[hughwi]

Ok, thanks for that sejarzo, that would make sense as a bright red light shines from the socket when the spdif is activated, mini-jack it is then!