[Paulo Eudardo Neves]

I want to improve the sound quality of the mp3 songs I play in my computer. I want to be able to connect the computer to my receiver and to a couple of desktop active monitors. It should be play to both outputs simultaneously.

I'm thinking to buy a DAC, and the M-Audio Super Dac looks like a good one. It has a RCA output, that I'd connect to the monitors, and optical and coaxial connections that I'd use to play in my receiver. As a bonus, I'd have a headphone amp.

I'm not sure, but my understanding is that it will send an uncompressed PCM signal to my old receiver coaxial input.

Would it really upgrade my sound quality? Are there better options?

It looks like there is a Super DAC II product, but the messages here is this forum are at least 10 years old.

 

[buke9]

Well if your playing mp3's there can be no uncompressed output. Period. MP3 is a lossy format and it can not be made into lossless. There are lossless formats as in flac that do have some compression if you like. Depending on the source a dac might make MP3 sound better but you can not make a lossy file lossless period.

 

[Paulo Eudardo Neves]

Well if your playing mp3's there can be no uncompressed output. Period. MP3 is a lossy format and it can not be made into lossless. There are lossless formats as in flac that do have some compression if you like. Depending on the source a dac might make MP3 sound better but you can not make a lossy file lossless period.

Sure, I just want to understand better where each processing happens. Here is how I understand:

1. Computer software decompress MP3 file and sends it to operating system driver. Probably uses some library like LAME.
2. With and digital output, DAC will convert the computer commands to a PCM uncompressed digital format, that is, just a digital representation of the audio wave.
   
3. My receiver will convert the PCM signal to the analogical signal that will play in my speakers.

When I connect the DAC to an active speaker through a RCA cable, it would convert the signal to analogical.

My receiver is more than 20 years old, I believe that the DAC would improve the sound, but I need confirmation.