[Trax416]

I am a computer guy, every setup I own, revolves around a computer. Though I have a home entertainment center, it gets little use when I am not with family or friends.

I have recently jumped into the world of hifi headphones(and audio for that matter), and as someone who has to wear headphones 12 hours a day (cheap ones until now), I am very used to the feel and sound.

Here is my issue.

My main media rig has a 32 inch Sharp Aquos 1080p HDTV connected to it, professionally calibrated connected via DVI to HDMI. The main point of this rig was for me to watch Blu Rays/media and listen to music. the Mobo I am using is an EVGA 750I FTW and currently only have integrated audio, exiting the rig into my Onkyo receiver via Optical connection(Toslink)

I recently purchased a Zero Amp/DAC (reviewed in the amp thread) and I am planning on using that instead of the receiver with a quality set of cans.

My questions are as follows. I know Blu Rays support specific codecs and certain quality. How do these codecs work with a pair of stereo headphones?

I do not own a soundcard, and I plan on using the Zero's DAC, which from what I have read, would be better then a soundcard. Would I still benefit from purchasing a soundcard and running the audio via optical connection into the Zero? Or will it bypass my Zero's DAC and use it exclusively as an AMP.

Since the Zero DAC/AMP can't decode Dolby Digital, DTS etc... how will that effect the sound of the movie? If I bought a soundcard, would that do the processing then send the signal to my Zero, which will improve it even more before it hits my cans?

I am very confused on how all of this will work. I am trying to get the best sound possible with my current setup, and I am willing to purchase a soundcard if that will help. I am not really sure how external DAC/AMP's and the aftermarket soundcards interact, or if any one in particular is by-passed, making it useless.

Thanks for any help.

 

[xxbaker]

if you add a sound card that outputs to the zero via optical (or coax, doesn't matter) the sound card with essentially do nothing. no decoding is done. the zero receives digital signals only so there isn't a reason to get a sound card. and yes, the zero will sound better than a sound card.

never tried sending dolby to the zero but if you've read that it can't decode it then that means that it won't understand the signal it's receiving and you will hear nothing.

you might be able to configure your video program to output only stereo sound in which case your computer should decode and then combine the channels into 2.0 wav then send that over to the zero. but i'm not really sure about that part.

 

[xerikx]

to break it down easy, if you want any dolby 5.1 etc in the future to go with your movies the Zero DAC can't handle that.

you would need a soundcard to push that to your reciever and your receiver to recognize it. the DAC is good for audio listening, but not good for a home cinema setup where you may be watching movies in 5.1 etc.

 

[xxbaker]

when i watch movies that have 5.1 dolby sound and i'm outputting sound to the zero via optical, i get sound.... not sure exactly what it's doing but thought i'd point that out. it works

 

[Trepid!ty]

Sounds like you want an Auzentech Prelude, it'll handle the decoding and pass the stereo signal along to your amp.

My testing with the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds bluray left me accidently watching the entire thing again, instead of just the one track I meant to A/B test with...

 

[Infoseeker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trepid!ty /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds like you want an Auzentech Prelude, it'll handle the decoding and pass the stereo signal along to your amp. My testing with the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds bluray left me accidently watching the entire thing again, instead of just the one track I meant to A/B test with...

Thats the X-Fi CMSS-3D; right?

 

[Trepid!ty]

It has those features yes. Capable of everything the Creative XFi's can do but with much higher quality op-amps and other components.

 

[Infoseeker]

Anyone know how well the Dolby Headphone system is in comparison in the Xonar U1 external sound card?

Some useless reviews of the Xonar online.
Reviews | Asus Xonar U1 (Page 1 of 5) | APH Networks
ASUS Xonar U1 Dolby USB Sound Card - Review, Specs, Prices
http://www.futurelooks.com/asus-xona...tion-review/3/