[takutox]

might sound dumb but bare with me. i am new to this whole DAC thing
 
im a musician who connects their digital piano to a computer using line out -> RCA -> computers line in port, which then is recorded through a program like audacity.
 
few questions
 
1. will a pure DAC override my computers soundcard in this case?
 
2. how do i make this connection work. do DACs have a line in port that i can plug into instead or something
 
3. will i be able to record the sound coming from the piano using the external DAC instead of my computers soundcard
 
4. my computers sound is 'realtek HD audio'. would using an external DAC make a significant difference
 
a bit redundant any advice would be appreciated, thanks heaps!

 

[takutox]

just realised what im looking for is an 'ADC'
 
i won't be able to record sound through an external DAC im guessing

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Might sound dumb but bare with me. I am new to this whole DAC thing
I'm a musician who connects their digital piano to a computer using line out -> RCA -> computers line in port, which then is recorded through a program like audacity.
few questions
1. will a pure DAC override my computers sound card in this case?
2. how do I make this connection work. do DACs have a line in port that i can plug into instead or something
3. will i be able to record the sound coming from the piano using the external DAC instead of my computers sound card
4. my computers sound is "Realtek HD audio". would using an external DAC make a significant difference
a bit redundant any advice would be appreciated, thanks heaps!

A DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter, what your talking about is going from Analog to Digital, which is what a ADC (Analog to
Digital Converter) does.
Chances are your computer comes with a very very low cost ADC chip.
 
The RCA output on the digital Piano is an Analog Audio Signal.
When your computer stores audio, it is in a digital audio format.
 
If your Digital Piano has a digital output, like S/PDIF (optical or coaxial), and you add a matching input port to the computer, then you would not need to use a ADC or DAC, for recording on to the computer.
 
The Sound Blaster Titanium (non-HD) and Turtle beach Montego II sound cards come with optical input.
You can find them used on eBay.