Question about what output to use on my soundcard (Essence STX)

kissenger · 26 Dec 2013 at 20:11

I've been playing audio from my PC either through a pair of headphones, through the dedicated headphone out on my STX, or through my standalone amp/speakers, by way of my GPU's HDMI output.

I want to bypass my GPU and output to both sources from my STX but I'm not sure how to connect my amp to my STX, and I know you can cause some damage if you connect it to the wrong output. So what should I be connecting it to?

Easiest way would seemingly be the L/R outs, but the manual specifically states they have a built-in amp "to drive headphones". But that could just be a typo. I would use SPDIF to be safe but my amp is fairly minimal and doesn't have SPDIF.

Uncle Petey · 26 Dec 2013 at 20:53

Use the red/white RCA sockets to your amp and use the 6.5mm socket for your headphones

Just switch between the two using the software.

kissenger · 26 Dec 2013 at 21:35

Thanks mate. That works nicely.

Marsman · 26 Dec 2013 at 23:09

The headphone amp only affects the headphone output and the front case audio connection, not the RCA output. Even if you were to connect the headphone out on the STX to the speaker amplifier, no harm would come of it, it would just be that little bit louder. Sound cards themselves don't have enough amplification to do any damage to headphones or speakers.

Strange that your receiver amp has HDMI input but no SPDIF. Not that it matters though in this instance, as you're probably better off by using analogue connection from the STX, as the sound card will be converting the digital data into sound not the receiver. As SPDIF is digital, the receiver would be doing the conversion. Sound is analogue not digital.

kissenger · 27 Dec 2013 at 01:54

No, it actually doesn't have HDMI. The way I had it set up was the HDMI was going into my monitor, which has a headphone out, and that was connected to my amp. Bit crap, I know, but that was how I had to have it with my old sound card unless I wanted to plug/unplug things every time I wanted to go from headphones to speakers.