S/PDIF to Phono

[Bunka]

Hi,

I'm looking at getting the best possible sound from my laptop into my amp. My Laptop has an S/PDIF output, so i was hoping that i could plug this into the input on the below soundcard, and then use the phono output of the soundcard into my amp? Presumably it must have some form of inbuilt DAC to be able to do this (It does state in the details that it is "AC-powered for high performance A/D and D/A").

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/AudiophileUSB-focus.html

Does this seem like a good solution without having to go the whole way and get a proper hi-fi DAC?

 

[squiffy]

That'll work. I use one of these, might not be as good USB-digital optical out to my Lexicon, but it still sounds better than onboard laptop analogue outputs! (loads of noise,hum hiss etc)

About a tenner for that

 

[Bunka]

Well i've currently got a Creative usb soundcard. It uses usb to the soundcard and then 3.5mm to phono. So presumably using digital output would be better quality than what i currently have.

I'm only thinking of doing this as I'm looking at buying a new amp, and want a decent source for it.