[spenny91]

Hello my name is Spencer,
 
 
I currently have a HD 650 that I use for mainly music and games, maybe the odd movie. 
 
now these are my PC specs
 
i7 4770k 4.6GHz| Gigabyte GTX 970 | WD Black 1TB | 16 GB RAM 2133Mhz | corsair TX 750M | Samsung 840 pro 256GB |H100i |CM Stryker |ASUS Maximus Formula VI 
 
Currently I am using optical out on my motherboard to my schiit modi 2 uber, then the Magni 2 Uber, then the HD 650.
 
Now my question is I currently have a sound blaster Z that I have sitting around the box is unopened. I was reading on this forum
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/734642/buying-creative-sound-blaster-z-for-optical-out-use-only
 
TheFastCat said that it would be possible to use the sound blaster Z to enable the virtual surround processing, which I believe i cannot currently do on just the modi. So going from optical out through the sound blaster Z into the Modi then the mangi into my 650, would this benefit me in any way or am I confused.
 
I feel like the surround will benefit me, if this is possible. The other possible benefit that i can see myself using this setup for is the fact that I get the crystallization and SBX pro software features.
 
Sorry if im not making too much sense as I am a little confused, still trying to grasp my head around this kind of setup.
 
thank you in advance and I appreciate any help given.

 

[GREQ]

Optical out from your Mobo to the Modi is just the raw data which the Modi then translates into the analogue signal. (which is good!)
 
Sending a processed signal from the soundcard DAC to the Modi DAC to be processed again renders the Modi redundant as you're putting the sound through two DACs before it reaches the amp.
Go with one or the other. Not both.
The more you process a signal the lower the quality gets. Although TBH with two good pieces of kit I doubt anyone would notice the signal degradation, but I'm sure everyone will agree having an extra DAC is totally redundant. 
 
Or use the Soundcard for gaming and the Modi for music.
Still overkill IMO. 
I just use simple stereo external DACs for gaming, and the in-game audio processing done by the game is enough for positional cues on a stereo headphone. 
I'm never spending money on an internal soundcard ever again.

 

[spenny91]

Optical out from your Mobo to the Modi is just the raw data which the Modi then translates into the analogue signal. (which is good!)

Sending a processed signal from the soundcard DAC to the Modi DAC to be processed again renders the Modi redundant as you're putting the sound through two DACs before it reaches the amp.
Go with one or the other. Not both.
The more you process a signal the lower the quality gets. Although TBH with two good pieces of kit I doubt anyone would notice the signal degradation, but I'm sure everyone will agree having an extra DAC is totally redundant. 

Or use the Soundcard for gaming and the Modi for music.
Still overkill IMO. 
I just use simple stereo external DACs for gaming, and the in-game audio processing done by the game is enough for positional cues on a stereo headphone. 
I'm never spending money on an internal soundcard ever again.

Thanks for the response, that's what I thought it would be kind of redundant. I'm trying to sell the card since it's not needed. There wouldn't be any benefit of the added features of the blasters software ?

 

[billybob_jcv]

So - try it! If you like what it does, great! If you don't like it, or can't tell the difference, then great! Let your own ears be the final judge.

 

[spenny91]

So - try it! If you like what it does, great! If you don't like it, or can't tell the difference, then great! Let your own ears be the final judge.

True I shall do that thanks

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
Sending a processed signal from the soundcard DAC to the Modi DAC to be processed again renders the Modi redundant as you're putting the sound through two DACs before it reaches the amp.

 
How. A digital to analogue converter outputs analogue, so how can the next DAC in that series put an analogue signal through another digital to analogue conversion process? It would have to run through an analogue to digital conversion first. The thing is, how can an analogue signal even leave the soundcard via optical, much less enter the Modi via optical? It just can't happen that way.
 
What the soundcard does through its optical connection is just run the signal through its DSP chip - like for surround sound - and then sends out a digital signal bypassing the DAC in the soundcard. The Modi then decodes that signal. For gaming he can enable virtual surround processing, then when he listens to music he can disable all DSP functions on the soundcard suite.

 

[spenny91]

   
How. A digital to analogue converter outputs analogue, so how can the next DAC in that series put an analogue signal through another digital to analogue conversion process? It would have to run through an analogue to digital conversion first. The thing is, how can an analogue signal even leave the soundcard via optical, much less enter the Modi via optical? It just can't happen that way.
 
What the soundcard does through its optical connection is just run the signal through its DSP chip - like for surround sound - and then sends out a digital signal bypassing the DAC in the soundcard. The Modi then decodes that signal. For gaming he can enable virtual surround processing, then when he listens to music he can disable all DSP functions on the soundcard suite.

This is what I thought it would originally do

 

[davidsh]

^exactly my thoughts. Just go ahead and do it