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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: audBall on July 08, 2008, 04:25:44 PM
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Is this common on most motherboards?
http://tinyurl.com/5w9gkg
If so, why do we need soundcards with digi ins/outs? Assuming my motherboard has this, could I simply run PC > DAC ?
I could be waaay off base here...
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We need soundcards because mobo-based S/PDIF in/out was uncommon, historically. It's becoming more common, though I wouldn't go so far as to say widespread. All else being equal, PC w/ mobo-based S/PDIF output > DAC would work just as well as PC / soundcard with S/PDIF out > DAC. But I'm guessing all else is not equal - if it matters to you, find out if the mobo-based S/PDIF in/out resamples on the board you're considering. I suspect it does, while most soundcards tapers elect use do not.
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if it matters to you, find out if the mobo-based S/PDIF in/out resamples on the board you're considering.
That is definitely a concern of mine. I guess I was more curious as to why I didn't hear more about this.
Thanks for the response, Brian!
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whats equally important is how the software/ OS is setup
windows up thru XP has a nasty habit of resampling everything that goes through kmixer.
the only way to know is to test. if you have a known good 24-bit recorder you should be able to record the stream and end up with EXACTLY the same bits. (ask me if you dont know how to check this, there are a few ways). Apart from resampling, if you are able to control the volume from the software or windows mixer, i can guarantee you aren't bit accurate, because you are essentially doing on-the-fly normalization
if it matters to you, find out if the mobo-based S/PDIF in/out resamples on the board you're considering.
That is definitely a concern of mine. I guess I was more curious as to why I didn't hear more about this.
Thanks for the response, Brian!
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... Apart from resampling, if you are able to control the volume from the software or windows mixer, i can guarantee you aren't bit accurate, because you are essentially doing on-the-fly normalization
if it matters to you, find out if the mobo-based S/PDIF in/out resamples on the board you're considering.
this is very helpful information. thank you!
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fyi, the last two computers i built had onboard spdif, which sucked compared to a good soundcard.
kmixer is a bitch, onboard audio drivers are usually very lacking
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fyi, the last two computers i built had onboard spdif, which sucked compared to a good soundcard.
less than a year ago I built my first pc. I got the MB b/c of the onboard SPDIF. it was horrible! I installed my audiophile 24/96 about a week after I built.