[nismohks]

I have a x-fi fatal1ty with the stupid ram or whatever and was wondering if the card has a decent optical output for use with an external dac?

My version does not include any internal/external drive bays, so was wondering if there was a built in optical on the card or do i really need the drive bay for optical?

Also does the optical output down sample the signal at all?

Cheers

 

[tru\head]

x-fi is ideal. as for sampling changes, just use a media player like foobar that supports bit perfect output from kernel or ASIO and your sound card should be compatible.

 

[darkswordsman17]

It will be a little bit of a hassle if you want to use CMSS-3D stuff for games/movies, as you'll have to be in Creation mode to get it to do bit-perfect output. I could very well be wrong, but I believe this is true even when doing ASIO.

 

[nismohks]

well i wouldnt be using the setup for gaming at all, so dont have to worry about all that other stuff.

i will be using existing speaker setup for gaming.

so is the optical output via the digital i/o module better, or using a 1/8 to rca spdif cable?

 

[infinitesymphony]

1/8" to S/PDIF cable. Direct connection is best.

 

[jiiteepee]

Optical + Bit-Matched output.

jiitee

 

[Redo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkswordsman17 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It will be a little bit of a hassle if you want to use CMSS-3D stuff for games/movies, as you'll have to be in Creation mode to get it to do bit-perfect output. I could very well be wrong, but I believe this is true even when doing ASIO.

That is the case, Audio Creation mode for all things bit-perfect and ASIO.

 

[nismohks]

excellent, looks like i can save some $$ from getting the digital i/o module, if you guys say a direct connection is best with the 1/8 to spdif

can anyone give me a brief rundown about ASIO? does it run in parallel to existing xfi drivers, or is it just a plugin?

 

[nismohks]

also, anyone know of a place which sells the 1/8" to single rca cable for the digital in of a DAC?

i cant find any for sales

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nismohks /img/forum/go_quote.gif also, anyone know of a place which sells the 1/8" to single rca cable for the digital in of a DAC? i cant find any for sales

Blue Jeans Cable can make one if you ask, RAM Electronics has one, or ask a fellow Head-Fier to DIY. The RAM Electronics page defaults to 12' length, but you can make the cable cheaper by ordering a shorter one.

 

[Redo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nismohks /img/forum/go_quote.gif excellent, looks like i can save some $$ from getting the digital i/o module, if you guys say a direct connection is best with the 1/8 to spdif can anyone give me a brief rundown about ASIO? does it run in parallel to existing xfi drivers, or is it just a plugin?

ASIO is a way to bypass the entire windows mixer and let the software talk directly with the sound card. This was really designed around recording applications, but bypassing the windows mixer via ASIO also provides bit-perfect output if your sound card allows this. No forced resampling, no kmixer taking off the last bit, but rather an untouched bitstream.


Quote:

Originally Posted by nismohks /img/forum/go_quote.gif also, anyone know of a place which sells the 1/8" to single rca cable for the digital in of a DAC? i cant find any for sales

Radioshack will have 1/8" stereo to RCA (red/white). This will work flawlessly.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Radioshack will have 1/8" stereo to RCA (red/white). This will work flawlessly.

Thanks for the info... I often wondered about that as a possibility. So, he'll just use the white left-channel connector to plug into the DAC, right?

 

[nismohks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif Blue Jeans Cable can make one if you ask, RAM Electronics has one, or ask a fellow Head-Fier to DIY. The RAM Electronics page defaults to 12' length, but you can make the cable cheaper by ordering a shorter one.

wow Ram electronics sell the cable, but shipping will be $62US to australia, for a $18US cable

So the cable i am looking for, specifically the 1/8" plug, must be mono, correct?

 

[nismohks]

at this rate, with buying custom cables and all, i might just buy the stupid i/o module and use an existing optical cable i have

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nismohks /img/forum/go_quote.gif at this rate, with buying custom cables and all, i might just buy the stupid i/o module and use an existing optical cable i have

If Redo's right, you can just buy a typical 1/8" stereo to two RCA Y-adapter (sold in most local stores) and use the white plug. The signal itself is mono, so it will only be traveling down the left channel.