Can you recommed a sound card for true optical 5.1?

[SkScotchegg]

Hi there, please can you help me find a sound card?

After researching the web I've been trying to get my head around optical on PC sound cards for home cinema setup.

From what I have read my sound card wont output 5.1 with optical but instead it just outputs 2 channels because it's SPDIF through PCM.

I found some articles which say this:

Then if you want to output 5.1 using SPDIF you need a sound card with DD Live or DTS Connect support (DD/DTS realtime encoders) and enable it ofcourse. SPDIF does not support more than stereo in PCM, and no game would include its own DD/DTS encoder since it costs money and most users (those who use line outs or HDMI) dont need it

and

PCM is uncompressed/original audio waveform. SPDIF provides enough bandwight for only 2 channels in PCM. Thats why you have to use encoded/compressed audio formats like DD/DTS if you want 5.1 through SPDIF.

Game would output 5.1 as soon as it will see 5.1 set for your current (default) audio device in the windows control panel. With most sound cards you actually need to make your line outs (not SPDIF) the default device, set 5.1 for line outs and then enable DD Live for SPDIF. Refer to your sound card's manual.

Simply enabling DD/DTS (not DD Live or DTS Connect) in SPDIF wont do the trick for you. This setting controls build-in Windows decoder. When you disable any of this Windows will decode DD/DTS and output it as stereo PCM. But games arent movies, you dont have DD/DTS in them. You have to encode game's own 5.1 PCM into 5.1 DD/DTS using DD Live or DTS Connect. Not all sound cards support this.

So can you guys please recommend a sound card that has optical out with true 5.1 and all the right decoders etc?

Thanks in advance.

 

[SkScotchegg]

Sorry, I think I might have answered my own question because I just found someone on another forum looking for the same thing as me and he got told to buy the "Creative Sound Blaster Z" because apparently that does everything I'm looking for so unless you guys know of a better card or can suggest other options I reckon I'll just buy that one?

Also can you tell me, is what I am trying to do the best option or is there other options? Like is there anything wrong with wanting 5.1 optical from PC? I heard optical is really good for surround sound and I had issues using HDMI sound from my graphics card which is why I went down this route.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rj49]

Just to clarify, SPDIF is only capable of outputing 2 channels of uncompressed PCM audio. Outputting in 5.1 requires DDL or DTS encoding (which use lossy compression).

If by "true" 5.1, you mean all 6 channels are sent, rather than virtual 5.1 generated from 2ch, DDL or DTS will be fine.

Many sound cards support encoding one/both of those. What is your budget? And, what are you using as a reciever (as that may only support one of the compression methods)?

As for other options, HDMI audio is one (perhaps you'd elaborate on the problems you had with that?), a multichannel USB DAC would be another (if your receiver takes analog inputs), or you could just go to full analog off a soundcard (potential problems with EMI, but you need either bad internals or very expensive HiFi to hear it).

 

[SkScotchegg]

Hi there, sorry for no replying for a while, I posted this issue in the graphics forum but no look yet either, this is a copy and paste from my other post:

Hi there, please can anybody assist me with your expertise, I don't know if I should be posting in the sound forum or the graphics forum as this kind of applies to both.

Basically I've had a setup for years on my current PC that has always worked until recently. My setup is I have a gaming PC that plugs into my AV receiver and my AV receiver plugs into my projector.

For years using windows 7 and using the shortcut Key "Windows-P" to set the display output I have always been able to just select either "EXTEND" or "Computer Only". Anybody who has ever outputted to two displays or had two monitors connecting to one graphics card will know what I mean by this.

Basically the problem has come now that since building my new PC and reinstalling a fresh install of windows 7 onto my SSD. I now find that I have to have the output set to "Duplicate" in order for my AMD graphics card to output the sound to my AV receiver speakers.

If I have the output set to "Computer only" there will be no sound, if I have the output set to "Duplicate" there will be sound but there will be screen tearing on my monitor as its 60hz but before I never had to use duplicate I just always left my computer on "Extend" for years, even if the projector was off I could play games on my PC with one monitor and have sound and no screen tearing and everything was perfect. So this is very annoying.

Basically I need to know if there's some way I can get everything back to how it was before? Can I somehow force my graphics card so output sound when I set my desktop to "Extend" or "Computer only" ?

As of right now if you set the computer to "Computer only" and then go to "Playback devices" in windows the HDMI sound device disappears, only when I choose duplicate will it return.

Thanks in advance for all your help and I hope I've explained this annoying problem ok.

EDIT: I think if I cant resolve this problem because it annoys me so much I might have to buy another sound card that has HDMI slots so I can output the sound that way. I have a separate standalone sound card at the moment that has optical and I plugged that into my AV Receiver but that only outputs 2 channels so that's no good either.

 

[SkScotchegg]

Just to clarify, SPDIF is only capable of outputing 2 channels of uncompressed PCM audio. Outputting in 5.1 requires DDL or DTS encoding (which use lossy compression).

If by "true" 5.1, you mean all 6 channels are sent, rather than virtual 5.1 generated from 2ch, DDL or DTS will be fine.

Many sound cards support encoding one/both of those. What is your budget? And, what are you using as a reciever (as that may only support one of the compression methods)?

As for other options, HDMI audio is one (perhaps you'd elaborate on the problems you had with that?), a multichannel USB DAC would be another (if your receiver takes analog inputs), or you could just go to full analog off a soundcard (potential problems with EMI, but you need either bad internals or very expensive HiFi to hear it).

Also to answer your earlier questions, I'm using a Yamaha RX-V373. I believe it's a pretty good one, it has lots of HDMI slots on the back and other things and has optical etc I've only had it about a year now and got it was Tannoy 5.1 speakers.

I'm starting to think I'm never going to be able to resolve my problem and it might just be easier to find an easier solution? Which is why I came to the idea of buying another sound card that either has optical 5.1 or HDMI?

What do you reckon?

 

[Marsman]

If you're having issues getting audio to output via HDMI to your surround speakers when using the projector, then using optical out from a sound card is the next best option. You could get a Xonar HDAV for HDMI, but personally I think they are expensive for what they are given that in most cases HDMI output from a GPU will work fine. I know the HDAV is more aimed at HTPC use with Blu-ray playback, but again a low profile GPU will do the same and for less money.

It would really only make sense to get a Xonar HDAV if you have 7.1 speakers connected to the receiver or use the PC for Blu-ray. For 5.1 and gaming, SPDIF is more than good enough.

What's your current sound card?

 

[SkScotchegg]

If you're having issues getting audio to output via HDMI to your surround speakers when using the projector, then using optical out from a sound card is the next best option. You could get a Xonar HDAV for HDMI, but personally I think they are expensive for what they are given that in most cases HDMI output from a GPU will work fine. I know the HDAV is more aimed at HTPC use with Blu-ray playback, but again a low profile GPU will do the same and for less money.

It would really only make sense to get a Xonar HDAV if you have 7.1 speakers connected to the receiver or use the PC for Blu-ray. For 5.1 and gaming, SPDIF is more than good enough.

What's your current sound card?

Hi, thanks for your help so far, my sound card is a "Sound blaster X-Fi 5.1" with an optical out slot, it has the normal 5 holes as well, dont know what you call them. It's only a cheap card, think it cost me between £30 and £50 when I bought it around 2 years ago maybe. But this sound card only outputs 2 channels through optical which is a shame.

EDIT: I was reading on google on other forums people that were asking the same questions as me and having the same problems. They got told that if they bought a "Creative Sound Blaster Z" which only cost £50 this will work and with optical and apparently it has some kind of onboard decoder so it will basically give me true 5.1 surround sound through all my speakers using optical? Is this correct?

 

[Marsman]

Sounds like it could be an X-Fi Xtreme Audio that you have, which doesn't have the necessary Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect.

Yeah a Soundblaster Z, will do what you want. Has both Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect.

Both encode direct 5.1 audio with Dolby Digital or DTS, and the receiver will decode it just as it would if you were playing a DVD for example with a 5.1 Dolby Digital track.