[Bombaman]

I hope this is the right Thread
 
In the near futurre i am going to buy a new Motherboard and i am thinking if i should buy one with an Optical out or not?
 
 
My current setup: ( I hope not to confusing)
 
I have connected my PC with my TV.
So my TV recieves audio through the HDMI from my GPU.
Since my Tv also has an Optical out, i  connected it to the Optical in from my Fiio e9k/e17.  ( i hope you know what i mean)
So now i can listen to the audio with my Q701.
 
My Question is now:
 
1) Should i buy a Motherboard which has a Optical Out to directly connect it to my Fiio?
   or
2) Should i keep my current setup so that i have HDMI as a "middle man"?
 
3) Is there a sound degeneration when i go from Hdmi to Optical?
   Is it better to go directly from Optical out to Optical in?
 
 
If there is anything confusing please let me know

 

[MrKazador]

You can buy a sound card or USB adapter with optical out for $20. No need to limit yourself to only motherboards with optical.

 

[Bombaman]

You can buy a sound card or USB adapter with optical out for $20. No need to limit yourself to only motherboards with optical.

I was going to build a new Pc. That is why i wantetd to know
 
So is it Sound Quality better ( or same ) if i go
optical---> Optical 
or
Hdmi--->Optical---->Optical

 

[MrKazador]

I have no idea. I would guess a dedicated optical adapter is best but its all digital till it gets to your Fiio. Most likely there would be no audible difference.

 

[Bombaman]

i see.
 
What are you other guys thinking?

 

[Alou]

Best think to do is buy a USB DAC or get a usb to SPDIF module.
You dont have to go hi-end for start,you can get a lower cost usb dac fro around $50-60 and move up your sound.
There are motherboards with optical out but you wont get ASIO drivers.
I dont think any of the late-test motherboards add the optical out anymore.

 

[Roseval]

IMHO it makes no sense to talk about the sound quality of HDMI or Toslink.
You don’t hear HDMI or Toslink, you hear the implementation.
In the past HDMI had a very bad reputation in the jitter department.
HiFi News measured values up to 7660 ps in 2009.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/KB/HDMI.htm
Haven’t seen more recent measurements.
The jitter level of Toslink is as good as the clock driving the spdif header allows for.
When implemented right this can be low but again, it is completely dependent on the implementation.
Your best bet is to have both and compare them in a listening test.

 

[Bombaman]

So in theory there should be no sound  quality loss?

 

[Ari33]

Its not likely that there will be any audio quality loss using a convertor judging from user reviews of such devices.
Sound latency may or may not be an issue with a convertor but I find its nearly always best to simplify things unless you have no other options, so if you can find a motherboard with an optical out that suits all your needs perfectly, personally I'd just go for it,,, its one less device to fail/break in the chain with reduced clutter and less cables etc etc..