[SupaZang]

Hi, so this is my question: 
 
I have a recently aquired a FiiO E17, I originaly connected this device to my pc via USB, i encountered HORRIBLE popping noises (imagine lisening to a beautiful serene song while being kicked in the balls) 
 
Had abit of a panic considered RMA'ing the thing, then i tried it on a freinds pc with zero problems! turns out my motherboard is crap/ or some combination of devices/drivers are interupting the usb data stream.
 
so blah blah i have just recieved my optical cable i ordered so i didnt have to use such a flawed interface (and get the full 192k from my DAC/AMP) and now the part of my block of text which is the actual question, should i plug this optical cable directly into my motherboards SPDIF or into my Xonar DX audio card which i use for my 5.1!
 
I am unsure which way will give me the truest audio, I appreciate the help! I am new to high(er) end audio but my new k701's have sure got me into it
 
SupaZang 

 

[nagual]

1- Disable the onboard audio in bios
 
2- Disable all inputs in Xonar
 
3- Connect optical cable in Xonar
 
If the noise persists, maybe it comes from Fiio´s power source.

 

[SupaZang]

I just read back my post and i now realise it is abit missleading, the first part was me rambling on about how usb is crap xD it was the USB giving the noise issue, however the optical cable now means i dont have to pass the audio through the usb hense popping noise being solved!
 
it was more a question of is there a difference between the 2 optical outputs? because as far as i can tell i want the audio to be as untouched as possible by my computer before it gets to my E17 via the optical cable.
 
Im also trying to find information on how i should be playing my audio files, seen suggestions on asio pluggins for my media player and stuff but i should probly ask this on a differnt thread

 

[chewy4]

If you want the sound to be untouched than either will do as long as all the effects are off in your sound cards control panel. I would just hook it up to your sound card so you can turn the effects on when you want them.

 

[wilyodysseus]

it was more a question of is there a difference between the 2 optical outputs? because as far as i can tell i want the audio to be as untouched as possible by my computer before it gets to my E17 via the optical cable.

Unless you have some sort of processing or EQ on one of the interfaces, it shouldn't matter which one you use.

 

[Zerofaith]

Since it's digital out, it won't matter as far as SQ is concerned. Going optical out of  your Xonar will bypass its DAC/amp, so you may want to experiment to see which you even like better. One thing to remember with the E17, I'm fairly confident it does not process 5.1, they recommend you using it in Stereo.
 
I've got an E17 myself... Optical out from my zune for while I'm at work, It's a great piece of hardware for the price.

 

[SupaZang]

Thank you for the replies that cleared it up nicely! i was fairly sure it was going to be the same thing so cheers
 
i have been messing arround with these asio plugins etc because somone told me winamp is bad for the music quality however after lisening to several flac albums between winamp and foobar2000(with the asio if i installed it correctly) and i personaly cannot notice any obvious difference! so unsure what that is all about.

 

[chewy4]

Quote:

Thank you for the replies that cleared it up nicely! i was fairly sure it was going to be the same thing so cheers
 
i have been messing arround with these asio plugins etc because somone told me winamp is bad for the music quality however after lisening to several flac albums between winamp and foobar2000(with the asio if i installed it correctly) and i personaly cannot notice any obvious difference! so unsure what that is all about.

Winamp is fine, people are trippin.
 
It has an ASIO plug in. Claims that one bitperfect media player is better than another bitperfect media player in sound quality are ridiculous. Everyone is just in love with foobar here.