best connection to amp from computer

[admin_exported]

Do I need to get a Dac to go between digital out of pc soundcard and line in Nait 5i? If so what interconnects ? and does my soundcard ( Creative SB X FI EXTREME MUSIC ) give me an analogue out ?

 

[Anonymous]

Just had a quick look at that amp and it appears to only have analogue inputs so I would say yes you need a DAC.

Don't use the analogue out on your soundcard it will sound terrible when compared with using a DAC.

There should be an optical or digital output on the soundcard. Get the relevant lead optical/coax and connect that to a DAC (DACMagic or Beresford) and then analogue from that to the Naim.

If you dont have the DAC now then run the analogue from the soundcard for now to the amp. Get the DAC and then listen to the difference.

See PJPro's post about Foobar2000/WASAPI and FLAC very useful.

 

[Anonymous]

To answer your question specifically, no you don't need a DAC as you can just use the analog out on your soundcard and let the computer do the digital/analog conversion. You've got aÿdecentÿadd-on soundcard which means the quality won't be awful, so you simply need to buy an analog interconnect.ÿ

An external DAC will sound better however. I couldn't find the model you mentioned on the Creative website, they have two that sound similar under the music header (X-Fi Xtreme Audio & PCI Express X-Fi Xtreme Audio) and both cards offer a digital out connection which is what you'd need to use to hook it up to an external DAC. The PCI Express model has an optical/Toslink connection and the other model seems to have a SPDIF/Coaxial. Which you choose to use comes down to cost, how close the pc and amp are and if you're after the very best sound quality you can get but they're all personal decisions. No you don't need a DAC though; however, I'd use one personally.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

If you have the 300 odd pounds for a 30 quid optical or digital coax and a dacmagic it would be well spent in feeding your Nait 5i. I've just added a portable dac (an iBasso D10 Cobra) to my MacBook Pro. This feed my Rotel RA-04 amp, which is about 1/3 the price of the new 5i and it has made a huge difference to the quality of the music from both lossless and spotify.

A dacmagic for 230 might be the best option, though there are many other choices. Unless you need a headphone amp maybe look the pure DAC options first, eg the Firestone Spitfire or a Music Fidelity V-Dac.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks to all threaders for their comments . So how do I actually identify the analogue out from the PC ? It's pretty dark behind the base unit !

Yes , it's a reasonable soundcard , so I'll hear the sound the cheaper way first and then make a judgement call.

I have the Naim cd 5i -2 in tow as well. So I'm not expecting miracles from the computer. But some of the claims for Dac are magical and so I'd be intrigued to see at some point if they are hype. To do that properly would involve a music server and a Dac .

 

[Anonymous]

The 2 channel analogue out is the third connector from the bottom (counted from the old style game port) the digital coaxial output is the last connector.

 

[DIB]

I currently run a 5m Toslink cable from the SPDIF Optical out on my onboard soundcard into my Beresford.

I'm pretty pleased with the sound I'm getting, particularly playback of Lossless files.

Would the addition of a better quality soundcard make any difference to what I'm currently enjoying?

My VERY rudimentary understanding of these things is that its a digital signal and a signals a signal whatever the source, so spending £50/£100 on a soundcard would be a waste of money. Am I right or am I way off the mark with my assumptions?

 

[Anonymous]

No, you've got that exactly right. The onboard soundcard idea is really only of benefit if you want the computer to be the DAC and output an analog signal - or if your computer doesn't have a digital out and you need to add one to hook up a DAC. Since neither of those two needs apply to you, buying a soundcard will have no real beneficial effect on your setup.ÿ