Noob question about sound cards & Amp

corleone Vito · 3 Sep 2011 at 20:09

Noob question shooting ahead i am planning on getting an amplifier i have a set of B&W speakers - will installing a new sound-card improve the quality of how i listen to my CD's?

Schizo · 3 Sep 2011 at 20:29

depends on what your using now and what you want to get.

corleone Vito · 3 Sep 2011 at 20:41

well... i dont know may get a cambridge sound probally 70watt-80watt amp and i have two b&w 100 watt each speakers...

i just like my music and building a system should i just use the onboard msi sound or get a sound card?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18313116 This is my build

rarryawn · 4 Sep 2011 at 00:03

If the amp you're planning on getting has an optical or coaxial digital in, then I would 100000% recommend using that.

Most motherboards have an optical out and the quality will then be influenced by your amp, not by your computer. Analog outs (the 3.5mm jacks) from your PC will always have a lot of noise / humming to them.

Using a dedicated PCI sound card will make no difference if you are using digital optical / coax compared to using it on your motherboard, as you will have already reached the pinnacle of audio quality

Hope this helped!

Razor-BladE · 4 Sep 2011 at 00:20

^ Amps don't have digital inputs. They amplify an analogue signal. Before an amp it needs to go through a DAC (digital to analogue converter) which are what onboard sound or sound cards are. You can get DAC/amp combos but separately will be generally better.

A sound card will make an improvement over onboard, but it will depend on your ears whether you notice a difference or not.
External DACs are the best option as you're not limited to space and less electrical interferance but they are more expensive.

rarryawn · 4 Sep 2011 at 00:43

Razor-BladE said:
^ Amps don't have digital inputs. They amplify an analogue signal. Before an amp it needs to go through a DAC (digital to analogue converter) which are what onboard sound or sound cards are. You can get DAC/amp combos but separately will be generally better.

A sound card will make an improvement over onboard, but it will depend on your ears whether you notice a difference or not.
External DACs are the best option as you're not limited to space and less electrical interferance but they are more expensive.

Yes, everything you say is correct, but I am using the word "amp" in the consumer sense of the word, not in the "professional" sense, as I believe the OP was also.

A Cambridge audio "amp" will most likely have a digital input. (That "amp" will then contain a DAC and amplifier circuit). Talking in an applied instead of theoretical sense, with the amount of money available and the lack of balanced connections between an external DAC and seperate amp, there will be less noise if you place the DAC within the metal enclosure of the "amp", as the Cambridge Audio "amp" does

As an example, Focusrite pro 40 firewire sound card -> Cambridge Audio amplifier on pass-through (phono, unbalanced, direct to amp mode, no dac) vs digital optical straight to the "amp", the digital optical has a noticably better noise floor.

So back to the point, if you buy a Cambridge Audio unit which has a digital optical/coaxial input, then don't bother with a sound card, use the optical/coaxial digital output from your motherboard.

james.miller · 4 Sep 2011 at 08:54

rarryawn said:
A Cambridge audio "amp" will most likely have a digital input.

not if it's a stereo amplifier, it wont. if the OP could clarify whether he want's a stereo setup or a surround setup, that would help.

save the few exceptions, 'amps' have no digital to analogue capability. 'av-amps' do.