Pass my sound to my amp via HDMI from my Nvidia 570 or via optical from Asus Xonar Essence STX?

nightrider1470 · 4 Apr 2012 at 23:51

Just wondering which I should use for bluerays and games?

paradigm · 5 Apr 2012 at 07:39

Obvious answer is that it seems rather pointless owning the Xonar if you are going to use HDMI audio for the bulk of your usage.

Why not try both and see if there is a noticeable difference in sound quality?

95thrifles · 5 Apr 2012 at 08:04

as above, pointless having high end card if youre not going to use it, though with that being said not sure how many games will be able to make full use of it, so games may sound same over both, but for blu-rays and music then the STX is no brainer

Buchanan0204 · 5 Apr 2012 at 08:40

Always choose HDMI over Optical where possible.

shadow_boxer · 5 Apr 2012 at 08:47

Depends on the quality of your AV Receiver to be honest. Even a basic AVR will probably be better than the soundcard so would go with pass though the GTX570.

paradigm · 5 Apr 2012 at 08:47

Buchanan0204 said:
Always choose HDMI over Optical where possible.

:/

That's entirely subject to the equipment in use.

shadow_boxer · 5 Apr 2012 at 08:50

paradigm said:
:/

That's entirely subject to the equipment in use.

What I was thinking. No point using hdmi if your receiver is ****. Test it out but I suspect the AVR will give you better quality. Also what's your setup? 2.1, 5.1?

Buchanan0204 · 5 Apr 2012 at 11:27

paradigm said:
:/

That's entirely subject to the equipment in use.

It's one less cable for a start. I thought Optical couldn't carry lossless audio and HDMI could? Or have I got it wrong?

AMMUT · 5 Apr 2012 at 11:34

From reading the specification of the card, it has a s/pdif internal connector for passing to a graphics card for output via HDMI. I would say very few graphics cards have this compatibility though.

http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_Essence_STX/#specifications

J.B · 5 Apr 2012 at 11:50

Buchanan0204 said:
Always choose HDMI over Optical where possible.

Why?

Soundcard is the logical choice to be handling the audio signal

shadow_boxer · 5 Apr 2012 at 11:53

J.B said:
Why?

Soundcard is the logical choice to be handling the audio signal

Unless the audio processing is better in the amplifier. Need to test it out ideally.

Dave0w · 5 Apr 2012 at 12:04

i found when used the hdmi sound on my evga gtx460 it game a buzzing sound when the gfx fans go up in speed. so i would always go for the sound card.
+ thats a very nice sound card you have so the quality would be better when set up right then the hdmi sound

413x · 5 Apr 2012 at 12:47

I vote hdmi, got rid of my sound card for lossless hd audio to a receiver

Buchanan0204 · 7 Apr 2012 at 18:41

J.B said:
Why?

Soundcard is the logical choice to be handling the audio signal

DTS Passthrough is always going to be better via an AMP than whatever a soundcard can do.