[Pulse14]

I swear this forum is like alphabet soup sometimes...

Well I'm on the warpath to upgrade my computer setup. I'm running out of an Asus X83V to an MS1i, currently on the headphone out. I'm stuck from here on.

Quick question, my headphone jack says "S/PDIF" and has a headphone symbol, and regardless of my searching, I can't seem to find a simple answer on what SPDIF means.

Now, for the worst of it. I'm stalled between a Little Dot I+, a usb DAC, or an external or internal soundcard. And, just to make sure, a usb audio device would bypass the internal soundcard, right? But as for the former problem, advice on which should be targeted first would be great. Price range is similar to the Little Dot I+, $150ish.

Thanks.

 

[adriankeith]

I believe the Little Dot I+ you mentioned is simply an amp. A USB DAC would bypass the sound-card as per the reading I've done here on HF. I can't recommend any devices as far as internal/external sound-cards but the Icon uDAC seems to be repeated throughout most threads for those of us looking for a DAC under the $150 mark. There have been a few other mentions but a simple search would reveal those other results.

I've been reading for about two weeks on the forums trying to find out what I need. I recently stumbled on my brother's Total Bithead and found out it was an Amp/USB DAC! Anyways I hope this helps a little. I'm still learning a whole lot here. Every time I pull up a search on terminology or on USB DACs I get so many results and end up reading for hours.

There's a wealth of information here so I hope my time spent reading has helped a little! Haha, good luck!

 

[transient orca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pulse14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quick question, my headphone jack says "S/PDIF" and has a headphone symbol, and regardless of my searching, I can't seem to find a simple answer on what SPDIF means.

SPDIF is a protocol for digital audio signal transfer. The signal is transferred through either coaxial or optical cables. Your headphone jack most likely also works as a SPDIF mini optical out.

 

[FallenAngel]

Read primer in signature, might help.

 

[lxxl]

You should look it up, could be optical or coaxial for SPDIF. First one is optical and second one is coaxial, from a 3.5mm adapter, you can also find cables with these ends.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pulse14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I swear this forum is like alphabet soup sometimes... Well I'm on the warpath to upgrade my computer setup. I'm running out of an Asus X83V to an MS1i, currently on the headphone out. I'm stuck from here on. Quick question, my headphone jack says "S/PDIF" and has a headphone symbol, and regardless of my searching, I can't seem to find a simple answer on what SPDIF means. Now, for the worst of it. I'm stalled between a Little Dot I+, a usb DAC, or an external or internal soundcard. And, just to make sure, a usb audio device would bypass the internal soundcard, right? But as for the former problem, advice on which should be targeted first would be great. Price range is similar to the Little Dot I+, $150ish. Thanks.

S/PDIF is defined as Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format. As Sony and philips were the main engineers of this specification. This is a common interconnect on everything from PC onboards to console gaming systems. The good news is, if you get a S/pdif input DAC you can use it with ANY device that has a S/Pdif output such as Playstations, your PC...etc. The original spec is laid out for stereo PCM audio it has since been adapted to carry multi-channel audio.
DDL and DTS-C are the main encoders for these routines but without getting into it too much, using S/pdif to transmit these standards requires compression and it is lossy in both cases.

If you have a jack labeled with a headphone symbol and has the "S/pdif" label chance are it is just a simple combo jack these are becoming more and more common on onboards and add in cards as sizes get smaller and I/O gets larger. I am sure you will get some great recommendation about what DAC to go for just one note to be mindful of a USB DAC as some of them are limited to 16/48 because of the S/Pdif receiver chips.
Hope that helps.

 

[Pulse14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif S/PDIF is defined as Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format. As Sony and philips were the main engineers of this specification. This is a common interconnect on everything from PC onboards to console gaming systems. The good news is, if you get a S/pdif input DAC you can use it with ANY device that has a S/Pdif output such as Playstations, your PC...etc. The original spec is laid out for stereo PCM audio it has since been adapted to carry multi-channel audio. DDL and DTS-C are the main encoders for these routines but without getting into it too much, using S/pdif to transmit these standards requires compression and it is lossy in both cases. If you have a jack labeled with a headphone symbol and has the "S/pdif" label chance are it is just a simple combo jack these are becoming more and more common on onboards and add in cards as sizes get smaller and I/O gets larger. I am sure you will get some great recommendation about what DAC to go for just one note to be mindful of a USB DAC as some of them are limited to 16/48 because of the S/Pdif receiver chips. Hope that helps.

Thanks alot, realy helpful.
My first question is what would you recommend, an SPDIF or usb intput DAC (I'm aware the uDAC does both, but which would be better?).

Second, the jack on my computer is a 3.5mm jack (because its also the headphone out). The conversion plugs ive seen seem to be, typically, a mono 3.5mm to RCA. My question is will this mean that the audio will be only on the left channel, or played on both channels in mono, or by some magic occurance still played in stereo?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[transient orca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pulse14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks alot, realy helpful. My first question is what would you recommend, an SPDIF or usb intput DAC (I'm aware the uDAC does both, but which would be better?). Second, the jack on my computer is a 3.5mm jack (because its also the headphone out). The conversion plugs ive seen seem to be, typically, a mono 3.5mm to RCA. My question is will this mean that the audio will be only on the left channel, or played on both channels in mono, or by some magic occurance still played in stereo? Thanks for all the help.

The uDAC only has USB input and spdif output. Check their website.

As for your second question, spdif carries multiple channels in a single cable. If by RCA mono you mean a RCA coaxial output, then you will get stereo or better depending on you audio files and receiver/DAC.

 

[4khris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lxxl /img/forum/go_quote.gif You should look it up, could be optical or coaxial for SPDIF. First one is optical and second one is coaxial, from a 3.5mm adapter, you can also find cables with these ends.

Hello, lxxl you know if Mac osx,can use this coaxial mini adapter?
Thx in advance

 

[lxxl]

Depends how old is your mac, if it's 2 to 3 years old, chances are they have optical out, you should be able to find the specs of your model.

I personally own a white macbook, 2ghz version, and the headphone out is also a optical out, by using the optical adapter (first one in the picture) I can manage to hook it up to my audio rig.