Advice please - options for connecting PC to Onkyo 515

[admin_exported]

I listen to a lot of radio, and especially through the BBC's iPlayer portal on my old computer. Currently I use a QED JP2 cable to connect from the headphone socket to the RCA imput of the Onkyo. For speech this is fine, but listening to music it doesn't sound to my old ears as good quality as I can get over DAB. My Onkyo also has a Toslink digital in, presumably connected to the 24bit integrated DAC, but my computer, alas, does not have any sort of digital out. I have, however, found plenty of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RCA-Stereo-To...ltDomain_0?hash=item3a4c94da07#ht_3121wt_1161 marketed by various companies on the web, which, presumably would enable me to use the digital imput on the Onkyo. They all seem to be the same 48KHz 16bit Burr Brown converters with 2 phono to toslink connections.

Two questions, therefore, for you learned people, if you would be so kind. First, am I looking at the right solution, as an alternative to using analogue, and, second, are these particular ADCs any good? In other words, will this set up deliver audio, and will it be of a better quality than I'm getting using my QED cable?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Andrew Everard]

If you use one of those, you're still using analogue, just converting it to digital and then back to analogue again.

There's no way it's going to sound better than the connection you have now, and it will probably sound worse.

You could try something like this, which will take a USB output from the computer and convert it to a Toslink optical feed to go into the Onkyo, but I can't guarantee it'll bring huge improvements.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that, Andrew. One born every minute, as we know. Will stick to what I have, methinks, and learn to like it.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Would seem to be the most sensible route to take...