Will I need a DAC if using AV reciever for audio only from my Laptop?

[admin_exported]

I thought I was quite tech savvy but this situation has been confusing me completely. Due to my entire system being wiped out I am looking at starting again and have got this totally round my neck.

I know how to set up an AV reciever and looking at buying one of the Yamaha Aventage series probably the RXA 1010 hooked up to a decent sized Plasma TV and 5.1 speaker system and Boxee Box that's all pretty straight forward.

But then I want to listen to Spotify/Napster and also music from my large collection which will be coming from a NAS which I will build myself as I assume it can't be that much different from building a PC.

Toying with using my decent high end ish Samsung Series 7 (RF711) Laptop which has I assume has a decent sound card installed as it claims to produce HD audio?

It also has HDMI port to connect to AV reciever my main question is can I use this to connect for music playback if so will HDMI deliver good audio quality or will I need to use some sort of adaptor and a DAC.

Surely both the laptop and AV reciever have a good DAC in them (ok technically a sound card isn't a DAC but they do the same job?) so why use another one?

Secondly why would I need a media streamer looking at Stream 6 or NP30 if my AV amp is a reciever won't that do much the same job and with my Iphone or Galaxy Note it can be all controlled through the apps?

You are going to have to excuse me if some of my understanding is fundementally flawed as I know PC's and also HT stuff but never tried using a PC or Laptop for audio other than through headphones but it seems the way to go in this day and age.

Looking for best solution to get as good quality audio from a decent AV amp without buying more equipment just to look like an audiophile (been on the upgrade trail before but don't have the budget anymore) quite happy to have a techy system I can build myself if it helps deliver the goods.

Wasn't life so much simpler with Vinyl I sure do miss my LINN but thats a whole new story for another day.

 

[MajorFubar]

I wouldn't automatically expect the laptop to have a decent DAC in it, and by decent I mean it won't be as good as a standalone DAC nor probably as good as the integrated DAC in your receiver (I assume your receiver has one...I'm out of touch with modern amps and receivers).

 

[Andrew Everard]

Hi

If you're going to store your content on a NAS, then you won't need a DAC or a computer to play it back. The Yamaha receiver you mention, in common with many modern receivers, has streaming capability built-in – you just have to connect it to the network on which the NAS is sitting, and away you go.

 

[Anonymous]

Thats good news I also find out the Laptop has Intel® High Definition Audio built in so looks like I just saved myself some cash and can buy a better speaker system instead. I assume there is some sort of interface on the app you use with the amp to view content on the NAS.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I assume there is some sort of interface on the app you use with the amp to view content on the NAS.

Yes, there is.