[Necroist]

Hi guys,

I've own a nforce2 motherboard with soundstorm onboard. I've been running on analogue output since I bought my motherboard more than 6 months ago.

I heard that in order to fully utilise SS, I should use the digital output.

What do I need in order to do that? Do I need to get a amp in-order to get any sound out of it? Cause when I plugged my speaker input into the Digital Out jack, no sound comes out.

 

[RationalBeing]

I have nVidia sound on my board as well. I don think theres a digital out on my board tho, to be honest. But in order to get digital out, you have to change the output in the nvidia software. Its just a check box to send out via digital as well as analog.

My mobo is about 18 months old now tho, so you prolly have a newer system but the software/drivers are the same.

 

[breez]

What speakers are you using? Assuming some computer speakers, do they support digital signal (S/PDIF)?

 

[Necroist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by breez What speakers are you using? Assuming some computer speakers, do they support digital signal (S/PDIF)?

I'm using altec lancing 45.1 (very old model) and my senns hd-497.

From the audio output, they are splitted out two ways. One goes to my speakers, the other goes to my headphones.

 

[breez]

Ok, that speakerset doesn't seem to support digital so if you want to use the digital output of the Soundstorm, you need new set of computer speakers (or DAC, but those things are quite expensive and overkill for those speakers). An amplifier/receiver with digital input + speakers for it works too.

 

[Necroist]

Is the quality of Digital Audio really that good?

 

[Mr.Radar]

Because it's digital it isn't affected by RF interference, and most speakers that have digital in have better DACs than onboard audio.

 

[breez]

Correct and especially many Nforce2 Soundstorm solutions suffer from badly implemented analog side. I myself switched from Soundstorm analog (using Realtek ALC650 dac) to Chaintech av-710 and the difference in clarity was great.

 

[Necroist]

But is the digital output of the Soundstorm really that good? Or is it just average?

 

[Mr.Radar]

It's average, but in reality with consumer/prosumer level equipment you won't hear very much of a difference between it and the digital outputs on a $200 card like the EMU 1212m. SoundStorm is also the only consumer level sound system that includes a Dolby Digital encoder.

 

[Budley007]

I use Logitech Z680 with Soundstorm digital out. Works great for a low budget solution. Music is "decent", but I'd recommend a higher quality source for better-than-average listening.

 

[Necroist]

If I ever got a mini hi-fi, is it possible to connect from SS's digital output to the hifi for playback?

 

[Mr.Radar]

What do you mean by mini hi-fi? If you mean receiver/amp then yes you should be able to.

 

[Damage]

Assuming your mainboard is MCP-T or Soundstorm equipped (the difference between the two is that the latter conforms to certain output specs dictated by Nvidia. All MCP-T nForce2s are technically capable of digital output if the mainboard makers decide to use this feature. Mainboard will have a COAX/toslink output on the mainboard itself or will include a header connection and an output panel):

1. Open up your NVMixer (the nVidia logo with speakers in your system tray) and check whether or not you have digital output enabled. If not, check the little checkbox for digital output. Also check Dolby Digital Encoding if you're planning to use Dolby Digital decoder with your speakers/ minisystem/ HT/ whatever. If not, uncheck Dolby Digital Encoding, just to be certain that's not causing any issues. Run the speaker test. If that fails:

2. Before you do any driver installations and what not, check whether or not you have your digital connection properly plugged in. It sounds like you do. After you check your cabling, check the speakers again using NVMixer. If all else fails, we may have to get a bit drastic.

3. If all else fails you may have to:
Update your mainboard drivers before doing anything else. This will involve learning how to use System Restore, uninstalling the drivers, and installing the new set. For any and all help of these matters, I'll refer to you to http://www.nforcershq.com . In particular, their forums are set up to specifically deal with your mainboard's maker and its particular issues. Run NVMixer again (the little nVidia icon) and run the testing after you've enabled digital output.

As a side note, not all SoundStorm boards behave the same. The Shuttle SFF PC (SoundStorm) does transfer trackmarks properly (at least from one report I've read) while my model (MSI n7G-ILSR) does not.

The newest drivers from nVidia includes ASIO support for AC97 codec as well. Just as a thought.

 

[sygyzy]

Is it worth the extra money to add a DAC between the digital nForce out and an amplifier? Or would I noticed little improvement over an analog nForce out to amp?

What DAC would you guys recommend?