Hello,
I would like your opinions on how to go about connecting up a PC to my
pre-amp. The computer is in a different room from the amp and at the moment
I have simply connected a minijack plug from sound card (SB5.1) to din
socket on amp in next room.

I would like to improve on this and have come up with a few options and
would like your comments.

1. Get new sound card with digital out and feed coax/optical to next room
feeding Meridian 203.

2. Get new sound card with digital out and feed coax/optical to Meridian 203
then phono leads to pre-amp in next room.

3. Get new DAC with USB (Beresford?) and feed USB cable from PC to next room
feeding DAC.

Which of these do you think would be the best route or do you have any other
suggestions?

Thank you

--
David
www.waterfalls.me.uk

"David" wrote in message
...
Hello,
I would like your opinions on how to go about connecting up a PC to my
pre-amp. The computer is in a different room from the amp and at the
moment I have simply connected a minijack plug from sound card (SB5.1) to
din socket on amp in next room.

I would like to improve on this and have come up with a few options and
would like your comments.

1. Get new sound card with digital out and feed coax/optical to next room
feeding Meridian 203.

2. Get new sound card with digital out and feed coax/optical to Meridian
203 then phono leads to pre-amp in next room.

3. Get new DAC with USB (Beresford?) and feed USB cable from PC to next
room feeding DAC.

Which of these do you think would be the best route or do you have any
other suggestions?

Thank you


No doubt at all in my mind, use option 1. SPDIF is far more robust on
longish runs than USB.

David.

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:44:41 -0000, "David"
wrote:

Hello,
I would like your opinions on how to go about connecting up a PC to my
pre-amp. The computer is in a different room from the amp and at the moment
I have simply connected a minijack plug from sound card (SB5.1) to din
socket on amp in next room.

I would like to improve on this and have come up with a few options and
would like your comments.

1. Get new sound card with digital out and feed coax/optical to next room
feeding Meridian 203.

2. Get new sound card with digital out and feed coax/optical to Meridian 203
then phono leads to pre-amp in next room.

3. Get new DAC with USB (Beresford?) and feed USB cable from PC to next room
feeding DAC.

Which of these do you think would be the best route or do you have any other
suggestions?

Thank you

The first question must be: what is wrong with the sound from your
present setup? I see a couple of potential problems, but is there any
ACTUAL problem? If not, you might find your more hi-tech solution
sounds exactly the same!

"David Looser" wrote in message
...
No doubt at all in my mind, use option 1. SPDIF is far more robust on
longish runs than USB.

Thank you.
Any recommendations on sound card?

David

In article , David Looser
wrote:
"David" wrote in message
...
Hello, I would like your opinions on how to go about connecting up a
PC to my pre-amp. The computer is in a different room from the amp
and at the moment I have simply connected a minijack plug from sound
card (SB5.1) to din socket on amp in next room.

I would like to improve on this and have come up with a few options
and would like your comments.

1. Get new sound card with digital out and feed coax/optical to next
room feeding Meridian 203.


No doubt at all in my mind, use option 1. SPDIF is far more robust on
longish runs than USB.

I'd agree. However ideally you should also take care to check that the
correct sample rate is being used and that no needless 'conversions' being
done - e.g. to alter the waveform amplitude - before it can reach the 203.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

"Laurence Payne" wrote in message
...
The first question must be: what is wrong with the sound from your
present setup? I see a couple of potential problems, but is there any
ACTUAL problem? If not, you might find your more hi-tech solution
sounds exactly the same!

Good point. No there are no problems at all. I just wanted the best
quality I can get and assumed that the Meridian would be better than the DAC
on the Sound Card.

I've not actually done a blind test with my Cyrus or my Micromega as CD
transport and the Meridian DAC against the PC hard drive and the Sound
Blaster DAC with the same material. But even if I do try this, could it not
be down to the hard drive being better than the CD transport?

"David" wrote in message

Hello,
I would like your opinions on how to go about connecting
up a PC to my pre-amp. The computer is in a different
room from the amp and at the moment I have simply
connected a minijack plug from sound card (SB5.1) to din
socket on amp in next room.

I would like to improve on this and have come up with a
few options and would like your comments.

1. Get new sound card with digital out and feed
coax/optical to next room feeding Meridian 203.

USB audio interfaces with bit-perfect coax digital outputs literally grow on
trees. As Mr Looser says, coax is the proper way to to move digital audio
over the kinds of distances that are involved with room-to-room connections.

USB is has a design limit of 15 feet.
Toslink (optical SP/DIF) has a design limit 30 feet.
Coax SP/DIF can easily reach 100 feet or more.

2. Get new sound card with digital out and feed
coax/optical to Meridian 203 then phono leads to pre-amp
in next room.

A properly-working digital connection is far less vulnerable to interferance
and the other kinds of sonic degradation that can happen accedentally in the
analog domain.

3. Get new DAC with USB (Beresford?) and feed USB cable
from PC to next room feeding DAC.

USB is limited to 15 feet, unless you get involved with more expensive and
complex cable extenders.

Which of these do you think would be the best route or do
you have any other suggestions?

Many models of the SB 5.1 have digital coax outputs. Doesn't yours?

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
news
USB audio interfaces with bit-perfect coax digital outputs literally grow
on trees. As Mr Looser says, coax is the proper way to to move digital
audio over the kinds of distances that are involved with room-to-room
connections.

USB is has a design limit of 15 feet.
Toslink (optical SP/DIF) has a design limit 30 feet.
Coax SP/DIF can easily reach 100 feet or more.

Many models of the SB 5.1 have digital coax outputs. Doesn't yours?

Thank you for this Arny.
I'll have to double check on my SB5.1 but I have checked in the past. I'm
sure I remember it having a digital input (that looked similar to an S-video
socket) but not ouput. It is very very old.
If it doesn't then I'll pick one up with a Coax connection as they are dirt
cheap and give that a go.
Do you think it will be any better than my current set up (about a 5m cheap
minijack lead direct from SB5.1 to amp) ?

"David" wrote

I'll have to double check on my SB5.1 but I have checked in the past. I'm
sure I remember it having a digital input (that looked similar to an
S-video socket) but not ouput. It is very very old.

The socket you refer to is an output, intended for connection to a Creative
"digital amplifier". You will probably find that one of the 3.5mm sockets is
an SPDIF output, you will need an adaptor to connect a phono plug to that.
You won't have a digital *input* on an SB card unless you have an add-on,
such as the "Live Drive" module.

David.

"David" wrote in message

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
news
USB audio interfaces with bit-perfect coax digital
outputs literally grow on trees. As Mr Looser says, coax
is the proper way to to move digital audio over the
kinds of distances that are involved with room-to-room
connections. USB is has a design limit of 15 feet.
Toslink (optical SP/DIF) has a design limit 30 feet.
Coax SP/DIF can easily reach 100 feet or more.

Many models of the SB 5.1 have digital coax outputs.
Doesn't yours?

Thank you for this Arny.
I'll have to double check on my SB5.1 but I have checked
in the past. I'm sure I remember it having a digital
input (that looked similar to an S-video socket) but not
ouput.

According to vendor specifications, the SB 5.1 has a digital output.

It is very very old. If it doesn't then I'll pick one up with a Coax
connection as they are dirt cheap and give that a go.

The SB 5.1 is supposed to be out of production, and for several years.

Do you think it will be any better than my current set up
(about a 5m cheap minijack lead direct from SB5.1 to amp) ?

Probably not, if you are talking about sound quality. If you're talking
about sensitive measurements with test equipment, then perhaps some
improvement in technical performance if you use a Meridian DAC in place of
the DAC in the SB 5.1.