The best way to connecting a PC to a Hi-Fi?

[Thrang]

Hi all

I’ve been browsing through some of the threads here (and on other Forums) to try to get some pointers into using my PC as a source for digital music files. There are plenty of “interesting” threads but none seems to answer my specific questions. Sorry if I’ve missed something bleedin’ obvious, if I have please just point the way!

My basic question is:-
I have a PC with an assortment of music files on (mostly FLAC) and a respectable Hi-Fi which includes a separate DAC (Meridian 563) and I’m just looking for some pointers as to the best way to connect the two up.

I’m guessing some sort of soundcard with a digital output is the way to go but which one? What about a SoundBridge or is this pointless given that the DAC is about 2m from the PC?

How much does one need to spend before the law of diminishing returns kicks in? I’m not looking for state-of-the-art. Most of the files I have are bootlegs downloaded from DimeaDozen etc so something the equivalent of an entry level CD player might be fine, although I’d be interested to hear from anyone with something better to decide if it is worth paying a little extra.

Which software is best for playback? (I currently use WinAmp)

Some things to note:-

1) Please don’t say “Buy a Mac!” as this is not an option. I have a PC with all the general software (Word, Excel etc) on it which I need so changing to a Mac would be unrealistic.

2) I have no interest in multi-channel playback or any form of Wi-Fi set up, just a simple “plug the computer into the stereo Hi-Fi” arrangement.

I’m sure I’m not the only one in this sort of boat.

Thanks in advance for all contributions.

Regards

John

[Beechwoods]

Try Foobar2000 for playback. Highly customisable and support for loads of lossless formats. It's free, and it's got some great features.

Get yourself a soundcard with a SPDIF output; preferably coaxial rather than optical, assuming your DAC has got a coaxial in. You'll be able to get a 3 or 5m coaxial to run between the two.

Rob (Filterlab) may have some recommendations as to best soundcard. I have a Mac (sorry) and use the stock card, but my computer listening is non-critical. I don't know much about the best or latest PC 'cards.

If you really get into using your PC as your main source, you may want to consider getting a dedicated machine so it's not competing with all the other stuff running on your PC, but see how you go and think about that down the line.

Don't worry about wireless music straight-off. It's only useful if you want to be able to stream music around your house to a number of different locations. Otherwise it's overegged and probably likely to be less reliable than a wired connection.

[John]

Hope this link point you in the right direction
http://www.aqvox.de/Asio-USB-Audio-installation-e.htm

[nat8808]

Hi,

It depends on the age of your computer, but if you are still using XP or Win 2000 even then I would look out for an old semi-pro (i.e. home studio) digital soundcard on ebay. You can get a good one a fair few years old on ebay for £5 - £45.

Keep an eye out for:

Frontier Wavecenter (PCI)
SEK'D
RME
Marian

I can't recall all the different models so the last 3 are just manufacturers so check that they are digital only (puts people off as they normally want some analogue out).
I bought an SEK'D Prodif Plus for £24 and a Frontier Wavecenter for £40 about 3 years ago on Ebay so surely cheaper now. These are 24bit/96k, have reclocking, 110 ohm AES/EBU too (still out of the RCA sockets), can ignore copy protection, some have fully routable 'patch bays' in software so you can use the computer to route a CD transport directly to a DAC for example.. more too I guess. RME and Frontier still update their drivers for older cards.

P.S. just checked ebay and this is EXACTLY what I'm talking about:

Ebay auction - RME 96/8 for £21! Even Vista drivers are available for it..

[nat8808]

Just to complete my thoughts -

Get a dedicated PC like this to put it in:

Hush PC

Completely silent and the old ones that look like the one in the link, circa '03 still fetch £200 or so on ebay when they turn up (current versions with Core2 etc are about £1000 + VAT)

[Tony Moore]

SqeezeBox 3 or Duet?

[Filterlab]

Well, you could buy a Mac and get MS Office for it (it runs better than on PC), but realistically you need a simple sound card with a digital output. The Asus Xonar D2 is a surprisingly decent sound card for silly money (£125) and is of fine quality provided it's used for its digital output (TOSLink in this case) into a decent DAC. It will work fine with an XP based machine too.

[nat8808]

In my experieince, consumer/gaming orientated soundcard's (or anything for that matter: scanners, printers, videocards etc) drivers can really mess around with the set-up of your PC, eventually clogging it all up with tens of unwantaed utilities automatically loaded up on start-up and no obvious way to uninstall them and eventually clogging up Windows, slowing down your computer, even worse when Windows itself wants to get involved with the installation! - hence why many prefer Macs.

A pro/semi-pro card manufacturer like RME understand that a computer has to run smoothly to let their soundcard shine and for music to be recorded/played back reliably time after time after time without crashing or glitches. They make their drivers very concise, unobtrusive and very simple to use. You do have to check that your chosen music software is savvy enough to use the good drivers, the Asio 2.0 drivers, so it can talk directly to the soundcard (else you are then forced to let Windows have some of the control with Direct X or whatever it is these days - aargh!).

For a reliable performance, I would always recommend certain old pro soundcards over any new consumer card, for simple digital output at least.

Here are some more digital only soundcards to consider both at €1 (75p) so far (on German ebay - none on the UK site at the moment):

RME Digi 32 - €1, 2 days to go

RME Digi 32 - €1, 7.5 days to go

I doubt either will go for over £20 ish and RME provides XP drivers for them on their site - RME Digi 32 drivers

It's what I use so must be good! Ahem..

P.S. Filterlab - Do you have any idea why the forum keeps logging me out? By the time I've written a reply and submit it, I've been logged out.. Are there any settings in Firefox 3 I should check? I'm having to copy and past the reply so I don't loose it.

[Yomanze]

http://www.hagtech.com/hagusb.html The HagUSB is supposed to be highly regarded, and I'll be picking one up soon. It plugs into a USB port and provides a very clean, reclocked SPDIF signal (RCA or XLR versions). Loads of good information about it on this page (schematics etc.) so should be able to see the potential.