Pc interface to existing DAC

[Wayne Powell]

Hi All,

Had a quick look on the forums and could not quite find the answer but please point me at the relevant post if this question has already been asked.

I have a Krell KAV-300i amp mated to a Chroma 396 DAC and Audiolab 8000CDM player. TDL studio monitor speakers

Question I have are

1. Can i use the DAC to interface to my computer? If yes what would the best PC card be to get the digital signal out.

2. what is the max length between source and DAC as my HIFI is a little ways from my pc.

3. If i go the PC/DAC or sound card route which do you folks recommend?

Thanks

 

[cheeseboy]

Looking at the dac, best bet is probably the optical spdif connection.

you'll just need a usb to optical conversion box. Usb from the pc to the conversion box, then optical from the box to your dac.

USB 2 tops out at about 5m, but optical is good for, well, it's fibre optic, so just depends on the strength of the signal being outputted from the device, but generally tops out at 80-100km, so you should be fine

 

[jjbomber]

you'll just need a usb to optical conversion box. Usb from the pc to the conversion box, then optical from the box to your dac.

Turtle Beach Micro II

 

[andyjm]

USB 2 tops out at about 5m, but optical is good for, well, it's fibre optic, so just depends on the strength of the signal being outputted from the device, but generally tops out at 80-100km, so you should be fine

Undersea fibres are a single strand of mono-mode ultrapurity glass driven by matching laser diodes. S/PDIF TOSLINK optical cables are a bundle of plastic multimode fibres driven by a LED. While it would be fun to try running an S/PDIF TOSLINK fibre 80km, Wikipedia says:

"TOSLINK cables do not work well (and may even suffer permanent damage) if tightly bent or squashed by, say, a misplaced foot. Their high light-signal attenuation limits their effective range to 6.1 metres (20 ft) or so"

 

[cheeseboy]

USB 2 tops out at about 5m, but optical is good for, well, it's fibre optic, so just depends on the strength of the signal being outputted from the device, but generally tops out at 80-100km, so you should be fine

Undersea fibres are a single strand of mono-mode ultrapurity glass driven by matching laser diodes. S/PDIF TOSLINK optical cables are a bundle of plastic multimode fibres driven by a LED. While it would be fun to try running an S/PDIF TOSLINK fibre 80km, Wikipedia says:

"TOSLINK cables do not work well (and may even suffer permanent damage) if tightly bent or squashed by, say, a misplaced foot. Their high light-signal attenuation limits their effective range to 6.1 metres (20 ft) or so"

doh! hehehehe, you are indeed correct sir, my bad

 

[jcbrum]

A UCA202 will do the job, and provide both analogue and toslink optical outputs from a usb port. Typical cost £25 plus another £5 for a toslink cable.

Job done.

JC

 

[Wayne Powell]

Thanks guys! I work in coms so know all about the distance runs for fibre and they can certainly travel some distance as long as you dont bend em too much

 

[damonster]

How about pc to usb converter to coax bnc to dac .musical fidelity v-link ll and a few other converters support bnc coax.Thats If your dac does.I think you can run longer lengths of coax than with usb.

 

[EvPa]

2. what is the max length between source and DAC as my HIFI is a little ways from my pc.

As others have said, it depends on the connection type, AES3 over 110Ω XLR cables can safely reach 100m (~330ft) and can still work perfectly over twice that distance.

For AES-3id over 75Ω BNC cables you are looking at up to 1km (3300ft).