best sound out of a laptop ?

[Rothchild]

does my pc have any sound card ? at system information ,all it says is , high definition audio device by Microsoft "

Probably, if you want you could probably just use a 3.5mm jack to RCA (aka 'the most useful cable in the world') to take a feed from the jack output of your laptop in to your amplifier to get you started.

IMO it's best to keep signal chains and stages as short and minimal as possible so pick a device that works, you can afford, offers the features you need etc and keep it simple!

[bobbasrah]

Probably, if you want you could probably just use a 3.5mm jack to RCA (aka 'the most useful cable in the world') to take a feed from the jack output of your laptop in to your amplifier to get you started.

IMO it's best to keep signal chains and stages as short and minimal as possible so pick a device that works, you can afford, offers the features you need etc and keep it simple!

Agreed that a Y cable adaptor can get you going, but you are then reliant on the quality of reproduction offered by the onboard audio, which can vary quite markedly.
If I plug the audio output direct from the laptop (Lenovo Win7) into the headphone DAC/AMP, the difference in quality between the 3.5mm feed and the usb outlet is very obvious through the cans.
There again, that is why there is a market for such usb devices, the decoding etc is done at the DAC... Well worth it...

[star]

I have done my own listening and measurements between TOSLINK and coax and I am happy with my preference for TOSLINK if the design is right. a TOSLINK signal is far larger in amplitude compared to a coax signal. So TOSLINK signals are easier to reclock with a simple schmitt trigger circuit. Supply noise has less of an effect on the actual signal from a TOSLINK socket. The noise would only affect the electronics inside the socket.
A coax signal needs to be amplified first from 0.6V to at least 2.7V. That can be an issue in a design.
There are also no earth loops issues with TOSLINK.

HDMI vs. Optical or Digital Coax.

HDMI gives more clarity and detail ? are better quality ?

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/understanding-the-differences-between-hdmi-optical-coaxial-rca-cables-184572http:url]http://www.avsforum.com/t/1348062/hdmi-vs-optical-or-digital-coaxhttp://www.avsforum.com/t/1348062/hdmi-vs-optical-or-digital-coax[/url]

do I need the s'pdif altogether ??
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...6185928AAdfQVF