[genzeleam]

I'm planning on buying an upgraded ZERO off eBay and I'm wondering what source I should use for optical out. I use an Auzentech Prelude for gaming, wouldn't mind shelling out some more for another card (internal, external) that'd be more suited for a Zero and ATH-A900s exclusively for listening to music.

Any suggestions, comments?

 

[Rinshin]

Your soundcard should have both optical and coaxial digital out and you will be able to connect it directly to the Zero. So no need to get more equipment =D

 

[genzeleam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rinshin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your soundcard should have both optical and coaxial digital out and you will be able to connect it directly to the Zero. So no need to get more equipment =D

This might be a newb question but would there be anything I'd need to do to make my soundcard work correctly with the Zero? Wouldn't I want the information to go straight to the Zero without the card or any of the software doing anything to it?

I'm kinda confused about how all of this works.

 

[Mitchell.lax]

There is very little computer interference using the optical output of your soundcard as a digital source. That is, the computer outputs the source relatively unmodified through the optical port to the DAC. It may not output it bit perfect without an ASIO driver, but I didn't notice a difference with one.


*The above is my opinion only.

 

[Rinshin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitchell.lax /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is very little computer interference using the optical output of your soundcard as a digital source. That is, the computer outputs the source relatively unmodified through the optical port to the DAC. It may not output it bit perfect without an ASIO driver, but I didn't notice a difference with one. *The above is my opinion only.

Mitchell is right, the digital signal coming out of your soundcard is relatively unmodified, the only thing that really affects it is Windows Kmixer. You can bypass than by using an ASIO driver OR if you have Windows Vista, use Foobar and use "WASAPI : (your optical out from your soundcard)" as your output device, WASAPI option is found within Foobar.

 

[genzeleam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rinshin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mitchell is right, the digital signal coming out of your soundcard is relatively unmodified, the only thing that really affects it is Windows Kmixer. You can bypass than by using an ASIO driver OR if you have Windows Vista, use Foobar and use "WASAPI : (your optical out from your soundcard)" as your output device, WASAPI option is found within Foobar.

Sweet. I'm using Vista and Foobar at the moment anyway.

So, just to clarify, if I had an Auzentech Prelude and an ASUS Xonar D2 both using the options you said, they would both sound the same with this setup?

Edit: I had to download the WASAPI component. Under "output device," would I select "WASAPI: Speakers" or "WASAPI: SPDIF Out" for optical out?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Rinshin]

In theory they should sound the same, since it should be outputting 0's and 1's and your Zero will be doing all the work to convert that into an analog signal. You would select "WASAPI: SPDIF Out." I hope everything works and you enjoy your music!

 

[JamesL]

Quote:

In theory they should sound the same, since it should be outputting 0's and 1's and your Zero will be doing all the work to convert that into an analog signal.

Just because it's digital doesn't mean it's not getting altered.

The one thing that "may" affect the signal output is any kind of digital processing.
The prelude I believe supports eax, crystalizer(?), cmss-3d, and other algorithms that are designed to improve the sound quality.
It's all done in the digital realm, but I'm not sure if it applies to s/pdif output as well.
In either case, it's designed to improve sq, and if you don't want it.. you can disable the options.

 

[Rinshin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesL /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just because it's digital doesn't mean it's not getting altered. The one thing that "may" affect the signal output is any kind of digital processing. The prelude I believe supports eax, crystalizer(?), cmss-3d, and other algorithms that are designed to improve the sound quality. It's all done in the digital realm, but I'm not sure if it applies to s/pdif output as well. In either case, it's designed to improve sq, and if you don't want it.. you can disable the options.

JamesL has a valid point and you should make sure that your hardware isn't doing any processing on signal coming out. I was writing from the perspective that that the OP was simply asking if the the digital signal coming from either of the sound card will be of the same quality which, as I stated before, should be the same since the card will not be doing any digital processing. The digital "enhancements" should be disabled if you want to hear what the track "naturally" sounds like.