Sound Card Quesion

[RichMayo]

One of the things I'd like to be able to do with my computer sound system is easily connect it to my "real" stereo. I own an Audigy card with this fancy drive bay interface (now sold with the X-Fi):

 

 

 

 

 

It's very sweet and it's festooned with cables, but it only provides digital output, and my stereo is a tad too old for that development. Can anybody recommend a sound card system with RCA-style (analog) outputs that I could run to my stereo (preferable with a similar interface panel I can put in the front)?

 

 

 

Thanks,

R.

[jammin]

Any 3.5mm line out jack will be fine to connect to your stereo. Just buy a splitter cable with the necessary RCA connectors on the other end.

 

If you want actual RCA outs on the soundcard itself, only music creation oriented cards tend to have those and you certainly don't need one of those just to connect to a stereo.

 

Any reason why you particularly want the front panel interface?

It just seems more logical for me to go to the back panel if you are connecting to a permanent output.

Edited November 19, 2006 by jammin

[gotdamojo06]

Well they have a cable that will let you do from 1 output to 2 inputs...

They have this at KMart, dont know what the name of it is, but I used it in my car for my cd players aux, so I could hook my iPod up to my cd player...

I also have a reciever at my house that I had hooked my computer into to play music. With that, you could even use the onboard sound card, it works good, dont see any difference from the onboard to the Sound Blaster Live! (Way old card probably why)

[hardnrg]

Soundcard:LineOut (3.5mm stereo) --> Amp:LineIn (2x phono)

 

 

the LiveDrive is supposed to be for instruments and portable audio devices like MiniDisc players, microphones, MIDI equipment like synths and drum machines, etc etc

 

[RichMayo]

Soundcard:LineOut (3.5mm stereo) --> Amp:LineIn (2x phono)

 

the LiveDrive is supposed to be for instruments and portable audio devices like MiniDisc players, microphones, MIDI equipment like synths and drum machines, etc etc

 

 

It's very easy to connect a 3.5 mm (Sony?) output to an RCA input -- I've done that to connect a small amp to my wife's PC to give her a volume control knob and convenient head phone jack. Also, I have a LiveDrive on an older PC in the house (love it too, even painted it...), but it doesn't have a fixed-level analog (RCA) output. The newer one on my PC has two fixed-level outputs, but both are digital...

 

I'm concerned about overdriving the stereo's input -- the spec on RCA jacks is 1 volt peak-to-peak. Naturally, if I had a meter I'd have no worries, but I don't. (I know, I know -- get one, ya whiner!!) Anyway, I ASSUME any decent system will have some sort of built-in protection against exactly this sort of thing, but I just consider that sub-optimal.

 

Finally, (and strangely) I recently went shopping on Newegg for sound cards and I saw SEVERAL (well, 3 or 4 anyway) non-Creative Labs cards with sweet drive bay interfaces -- professional grade brands, too. And then when I checked again later, nothing -- hence this thread.

 

 

 

 

I'll keep looking,

R.

 

 

BTW, nice rack-mount PC you've got there...

Edited November 20, 2006 by RichMayo

[Verran]

I have been using 1/8" to RCA converters to run my PC sound into my Sony reciever for almost 10 years now. No signs of trouble. $3 converter at Radio Shack, or $100+ dollar sound card "upgrade".... I know what my choice is.

[RichMayo]

I have been using 1/8" to RCA converters to run my PC sound into my Sony receiver for almost 10 years now. No signs of trouble. $3 converter at Radio Shack, or $100+ dollar sound card "upgrade".... I know what my choice is.

 

Fair enough -- one more whiny question:

 

Which analog output do you send to the stereo?

 

The obvious answer would be "The Front Channels, doofus", I suppose, right?

 

 

 

 

R.

[Verran]

The Front Channels, doofus

 

Yeah, I use the front channel port. The main speaker out off my card. But it will kind of depend on how you configure your port outputs too. I used to use normal PC speakers but also my stereo, and I didn't want either to be set up as a rear channel (so that either could work standalone). The only way to do that was to set the card up for front output on port one, then use a splitter to send that signal to both. There's plenty of options depending on exactly what you want to do, though.

 

I know that the 1/8" out is an amped signal, and audiophiles will complain that you shouldn't send an amped signal to a line level because double amping will cause distortion, but I consider myself pretty picky, and I think it sounds great. As far as any technical issues with sending the amped (higher voltage) signal to the line level, I think any decent reciever should handle it just fine.