[sygyzy]

So I did some more thinking and it seems to me like a better solution would be this.

Why don't I get a receiver/DAC just for headphones. I can keep my analog out for my 4.1 computer speakers and output digital out to the headphone receiver. Then listen through that.

The idea is that the onboard DAC is not that great (nForce2 board). Or is it? Anyway, assuming it's not, if you output to digital then into a dedicated DAC, you have the digital conversion as far away from the computer as possible.

Now here is the kicker -

Is there a DAC or receiver that's very small and good quality? It technically does not even need to drive speakers since I will be using it for headphones only. I know there are wireless surround headphones. Would they sell me the base unit seperately? Would it even work?

 

[MirandaX]

sygyzy, what you're looking for is the Grace 901.

Also, you will need a Sonica (or something similar) to get a clean digital output from your computer. Your nForce motherboard may have a digital output already, but it suffers from the KMixer resampling problem. There's not really much point in spending money on a receiver if the digital signal you're feeding it is crappy.

 

[sygyzy]

Can't I use Foobar or an equivalent program and do kernal streaming?

Also, are you sure that if I use digital out, the quality will still be degrded?

Finally, I can't afford a $1400 amp!

 

[lan]

If you can wait, wait for the Headroom Bithead.

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=47851

That way you can keep whatever you have for your speakers and surround movies and use this other soundcard just for headphones.

 

[aphex944]

Most consumer soundcards are limited by the AC97 codec, which resamples all data to 48kHz, there's no way around it.

What you can do is get the Audiophile USB. Basically the same exact thing as a Sonica except with the ability to drive headphones directly.

 

[MirandaX]

Good suggestion about the Audiophile USB! Kills two birds with one stone, and inexpensive too.

There was some discussion briefly on AVSforum about using the M-Audio DiO 2448 drivers with nForce motherboards in order to get bit-perfect digital output. Not sure what the end result was, or if it worked on all nForce motherboards, but the big disadvantage of the replacement drivers is that you lose your analog outputs (!) because the DiO 2448 only has digital outputs, not analog.

Another good and cheap option is to just get a C-Media 8738-based sound card and use the DiO 2448 drivers with it. These cards can be purchased for under $15 if you shop around, and I can personally vouch for them being bit-perfect using DirectSound and the DiO 2448 drivers. (This is not true with the card's original drivers, however.)

 

[sygyzy]

Are you sure the Soundstorm digital out is not bit to bit? How do you test if an output is being affected/degraded or not?

What is the advantage of the Audiophile USB? That it can drive headphones? I can't imagine it's headphone amp is as good as a dedicated one, like my Meta42. Or is it?

 

[MirandaX]

Quote:

Originally posted by sygyzy Are you sure the Soundstorm digital out is not bit to bit? How do you test if an output is being affected/degraded or not?

The easiest way is to borrow a friend's receiver that can decode Dolby Digital, and test it out with a PCM encoded DTS file. (Testing this out with a differently encoded file is meaningless.) There are links to sample files here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=247101

The most relevant section of that link is the paragraph that reads:
Playback a DTS CD (this is NOT the same as a DTS DVD), outputing the bitstream out the SPDIF port and showing that music shows up on your external receiver. If you are not getting bitperfect playback you will get static or noise...

That's the test I use.

Quote:

What is the advantage of the Audiophile USB? That it can drive headphones? I can't imagine it's headphone amp is as good as a dedicated one, like my Meta42.

The reason someone suggested the Audiophile USB is because you asked about a combination external DAC/headphone amp. The Audiophile USB is just that type of device. If you don't like its headphone out, you can use your Meta42.

 

[sygyzy]

And if it passes the test, then it's okay if I just use the digital out of the nforce board?

 

[MirandaX]

Absolutely! In fact, I encourage you to perform this test for yourself.

(I used to believe that all digital outputs were basically the same until I actually tried this personally.)