[tuan]

hello, head-fi community. i am new here, and new audiophilia in general. it's all so confusing and overwhelming to me. right now i'm using a Y-adapter RCA cable from my computer's line out to my analogue-only 1980s receiver. i think my sound card is called 'High Definition Audio Device.' i play FLAC files using Media Monkey. 
 
my first question is, would you be able to help me achieve higher sound quality and fidelity? my computer has S/PDIF ports out (both optical and coaxial) on the back, so i was thinking of plugging an optical cable in and then converting it to an RCA cable to plug into my receiver with this: http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
 
my second question is, would that improve sound quality in any way over my current setup? i know it would if my receiver had an S/PDIF input for a direct connection, but it doesn't.
 
thank you for your time 

 

[nagual]

I´ve got one of these dacs myself (connected through optical cable), and it sounds better than my old SB Live ! 24bit.  It´s so cheap,  you should make a trie.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The Fiio D3 is decent for the price, but there is better.
Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card, used $70 at amazon, comes with the CS4398 DAC chip.
The Xonar DX & D1 come with Dolby Headphone surround sound
might find a used one cheaper on eBay.
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-793II-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-Coax-Optical-Input-Decoder-Headphone-Amp-/110939972633?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item19d489a419
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIFI-NEW-Version-DAC-Decoder-TE7022-CS4398-24Bit-96Khz-USB-RCA-headphone-output-/140751305382?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item20c56e7aa6

 

[nagual]

Quote:

The Fiio D3 is decent for the price, but there is better.
Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card, used $70 at amazon, comes with the CS4398 DAC chip.
The Xonar DX & D1 come with Dolby Headphone surround sound
might find a used one cheaper on eBay.
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-793II-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-Coax-Optical-Input-Decoder-Headphone-Amp-/110939972633?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item19d489a419
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIFI-NEW-Version-DAC-Decoder-TE7022-CS4398-24Bit-96Khz-USB-RCA-headphone-output-/140751305382?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item20c56e7aa6

 
PurpleAngel,
 
the specs of these 2 dacs you have listed  are far better than the ones from my Fiio D3,  wich I like very much,  although they cost under US60,00.  So, why there are other ones that cost many hundreds of dollars  ?  One could hear the price gap ?

 

[TheSurge]

There's nothing wrong with analog connections. Don't do the RCA-to-Optical converter, won't give you an edge. Just make sure you use good quality cables.
 
On the other hand, there's the discussion about the quality of the amplifier and the computer's sound card. To be honest I quite like the color that old amplifiers give to music, but it's a matter of personal opinion.

 

[tuan]

i ended up connecting to my receiver via USB using my Traktor external soundcard.. surely this is better than just the Y-adapter?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

PurpleAngel,
the specs of these 2 DACs you have listed  are far better than the ones from my Fiio D3,  which I like very much,  although they cost under US60,00.  So, why there are other ones that cost many hundreds of dollars  ?  One could hear the price gap ?

Quality and type of the power supply used.
Parts in under $60 DAC could be using generic parts Made in China, but marked as namebrand
Companies like Schiit use Made in the USA discrete parts, so their costs are higher.
No name DAC makers in China have really low overhead, as these companies in China do on have to pay to maintain a business or repair facility in the USA or anywhere else in the world.
So far that's what my brain has come up with, so far.

 

[Roller]

Double post mistake, deleted.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

i ended up connecting to my receiver via USB using my Traktor external soundcard.. surely this is better than just the Y-adapter?

 
Just about all dedicated soundcards/DACs are better than onboard audio chips, and your audio interface does perform better than your (desktop) onboard audio chip.