[rlmoss]

I'm feeling clueless. There's a new porta corda USB edition and PortaCorda web site notes "sound improved because DAC clearly better than most sound cards."

But how is the sound card avoided in the path? I listen to NDR's classical music (Nordendeustch Rundfunk) (http://www.ndrkultur.de) all the time and the streaming audio is captured by a "player" on their page or if that doesn't work, RealPlayer. Using Audio Technica Art 700 or ER-6's into a headphone jack.

Would it be the case that the instant I plug in USB audio device the signal path is re-rerouted? I don't get how a motherboard with embedded sound or that matter an external sound card "knows" that now there is a USB audio device taking over the digital / analog conversion.



Richard Moss

Taichung
Taiwan ROC

 

[S_Dedalus]

When you connect the porta corda with a usb cable, the operating system recognizes it as a usb audio device, and loads the driver for a generic sound card. Usually you have to select whatever sound card you wish to use in your, but sometimes the OS will default to the one you're planning on using.
In short, the PC3 becomes a second sound card

 

[breadnbutter]

With the low bitrates of most internet radio transmissions there is little to loose in terms of quality anyway (i.e. even with a better DAC it will still sound pretty cheap). I think the NDR channel you mentioned only streams 44kbps, which is way too low for good quality.

Oh, and greetings from Hamburg by the way, I live less than 1 km away from the NDR offices (it's "Norddeutscher Rundfunk"

).