<£50 to get sound out of a computer

DiG · 30 Nov 2009 at 19:09

Hi,
Right, so looking for a solution, basically getting sound out of a desktop at the best quality for at most £50. I know that isn't much

It will be used to play flacs on my cheap stereo which is a Sherwood Newcastle R-325 Amp with Mission 701's. The system is a stepping stone into the hifi world, and not bad for the £30 I paid for it!
Thanks

Guest2 · 30 Nov 2009 at 19:15

So you need a soundcard? Wrong section of the forum but a xonar D2 is around £50 i think

DiG · 30 Nov 2009 at 21:21

The D2 looks nice, but I can't find it for much under £80? Whats the difference between sound cards and USB DAC's?

I would prefer something usb because then I could use it on my laptop as well when I wanted

Thanks for the advice

Guest2 · 30 Nov 2009 at 22:50

In that case go for something like a beresford 7510 or Valab DAC from the bay

masterluke · 1 Dec 2009 at 16:08

got a spdif out on your motherboard?? if you do you can use that its free and great digital quality!!!

(you can hack up a coaxial digital audio out cable from a cd audio cable and a standard rca audio cable by splicing them together for the ultimate cheapass setup like me

DiG · 1 Dec 2009 at 16:32

Thats interesting, I've had a look, no SPDIF, but there is an optical out which does the same thing right? Just a fibre optic instead. Problem is I guess I still need a DAC to get this from digital-analogue?

Uriel · 1 Dec 2009 at 17:09

Xonar U1. It's a USB fully featured Xonar card.

masterluke · 1 Dec 2009 at 17:32

DiG said:
Thats interesting, I've had a look, no SPDIF, but there is an optical out which does the same thing right? Just a fibre optic instead. Problem is I guess I still need a DAC to get this from digital-analogue?

Digital coax and optical are effectively the same technology. You can either buy an optical header or you can hack up a digital coax line using the same connector.. there should be 3 pins on the mainboard, one is the data line, one is ground, and the other is 3.3v. Optical needs all 3 but digital coax is just the data and ground (makes sense if u think about it as the 3.3v runs the led which creates the light source for the optical).

This does not need a DAC. You can just connect the other end of the cable to the digital input on your amp. This has the added advantage of giving you dts and dolby digital if your amp and source material supports it.

Audiophiles will tell you that the quality from a decent DAC will be a lot better.. but to my ears the difference is rather hard to hear.

EDIT - just looked up your amp - it doesnt have any digital inputs so you will be stuck with RCA cables from a soundcard or DAC sorry!!!