Computer as a home theater? Is HIFI computer-based sound possible?

[Ogewo]

One day in the future i would like to make a reasonably high-end audio system based around the computer.

It seems like a sound blaster audigy platinum would NOT be sufficient to run a true hifi system. Some home audio systems cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and have goofy compnents that look like benjamin franklin himself invented them (vaccum tubes and bulbs and all sorts of stuff).

Does anybody know if a sound card exists that is designed to be connected to very high quality components?

any comments on the matter are much appreciated,
gew

 

[Mavrick007]

The Audigy has optical as well as coaxial connection and I would use one for a hifi system. I plan on getting a SB Audigy Platinum and hooking it up to my receiver and speakers and then run my dvd out through the tv. I will only be able to use S-Video but that's what I'm using now and it's not bad quality at all. I wouldn't hesitate using one, but if you want something better, there are professional audio cards out that you will be able to use in the same way as the Audigy.

 

[Ogewo]

I guess the professional audio card thing is what i'm getting at. I'm certainly not spending hundreds of thousands on a system but i would like to spend a few thousand one day.

anyone know of some professional sound cards that work for everything like a consumer card but also offer the quality necessary for high end systems?

Here's a link with a list of tons of products for home audio that would be considered hifi. these are what i'm talking about when i'm thinking of what kind of sound card might be out there.

http://users.mcleodusa.net/q/quintessence1/products.html

 

[Stealth1024]

http://www.digitalaudiolabs.com/

http://www.midiman.net/products/m-audio/audiophile.php

 

[Mavrick007]

Check out some of the studio cards here Studiocard SC-22, etc... They are supposedly "professional" sound cards and they cost alot of money. I don't think they would be worth it, but then I am satisfied with the SB series.

Or look at the Zoltrix Nightingale Pro 6. Here's how they describe it:

<< HRTF 3D Extension Positional Audio with 6 Channels 5.1(AC-3) Speakers System
Nightingale Pro 6 professional sound card is designed to generate highest 5.1 audio effect from your computer, which could only be found in a high fidelity Hi-Fi system. Powered by newest C-Media 8738-6CH sound chip, you can enjoy the digital 5.1 audio when watching DVD movies. >>

on this
Zoltrix link

These are just some of the things to look at but I'm sure there are more out there that might satisfy your needs. It really depends on what you are looking for out of the card.

 

[manko]

Echo Audio a friend of mine has a nice semi-pro playback and recording system built around their hardware

 

[Ogewo]

thanks guys, i'll have a look. any recommendations on the audio equipment itself?

 

[WarCon]

Cost is a huge factor for recommendations. I was very happy with my old Onkyo equipment, but even though the reciever cost me $700 is was pretty low end for most audiophiles. You should really specify if you looking to spend $1000, $2000, $10000 or $100000. (J/K on the last one(mostly)..........)

 

[Ogewo]

let's say somewhere in the 10 thousand range.

would 7500 of the 10000 on THISbe reasonable?

gew

 

[tweakmm]

<< would 7500 of the 10000 on THISbe reasonable?
>>


that's a phono cartrage....
why would you need that for your computer?

 

[tweakmm]

If you were going to spend 10,000 on an audio system, you could definetly have a very very nice one.
Are you willing to do an DIY work?

 

[WarCon]

I think that might a reasonable piece in the $100000 system that I mentioned. Oh and for that system speakers aren't included...................

Don't forget these cables at SILVER REFERENCE: $898/one meter pair


Audiophiles can get kinda carried away IMHO.

 

[Ogewo]

haha, i was just joking about the koetsu thing.

anywho, i would love to build it myself but that would mean learning the very basics. any good sites that teach this ( or good forums )?

gew

 

[DSTA]

any recommendations on the audio equipment itself?

Sooo difficult because many questions have to be answered.

Do you want surround sound for a home theatre or a pure 2 channel stereo setup? How big and what shape is the listening room? What music do you like? Want monitor like equipment with next to perfect fidelity or something more flattering the music but less accurate in reproduction?

What I think is best in case you want to spend any serious amount of money (and 10K is a hell of a lot, if well done the equipment will last a decade or two and you wont grow tired of it) is N O T to "buy by review" but to listen, ideally for a few days, in your own home.

Which leads me to the only reccomendation I can really make: don't buy online -- try to find a good dealer that takes his time, someone that shows you round what's available on the HiFi menue. Reviews are good once you know you share the same taste with the reviewer, which will only come by actually listening to suff .

That said, if I had the money to spend right now I'd try a pair of Magnepans and perhaps a T+A amp. I'd keep my cheapo 601S Pioneer CD Player since I'm so used to how it sounds by now. Rest of budget would be spent on a Wink .

 

[Ogewo]

DSTA have you ever heard of a setup like that connected to a computer? I wonder if MP3s would even sound that much better on a pro sound card and a hifi system than on an Audigy and some Bose.

 

[tweakmm]

<< I wonder if MP3s would even sound that much better on a pro sound card and a hifi system than on an Audigy and some Bose. >>


*snicker* bose *snicker*

 

[jteef]

rme audio also makes top notch cards. I am a little skeptical of using sound cards with true hifi.

the best solution would be to just use a digital output connected to an external dac and the rest of your equipment. I dont think the media geared for computers is going to have as good of a resolution as good hifi components, so it might be a real waste to spend a lot of money.

I am not sure how the run of the mill cd rom drive or dvd drive compares to a hifi transport or dvd player. My first inclination is that it isn't even close. My second inclination is that in a double blind test you probably will not be able to tell the difference. I also haven't heard of anybody making a part like that geared towards audiophiles.

my suggestion? dont center the system around your computer. build a regular system and connect the computer to one of the auxillary inputs on your preamp(via xlr pref) or dac as an afterthought.

I think it'd look pretty ridiculous to have your computer desk sitting in the middle of a room with properly placed speakers. dont plan on keeping your wife or girlfriend if you try! Proper speaker placement is (one of?) the most important thing afterall. Most 'hifi' speakers are meant to be placed at some distance from various walls. maggies and electrostats are worst case usually. Their ~12" sweet spot isn't a problem with computers though.

some various diy sites i know of are www.speakerbuilder.net: a good site when money is a concern, www.madisound.com is a retailer of diy components and has a message board with a lot of knowledgable people, www.diyaudio.com is a forum with a lot of knowledgable and experienced people, www.audax.com has a good HT kit, www.sound.au.com has a lot of good articles and projects. www.passdiy.com has some great circuits, articles, and patent descriptions that could be considered a part of the elite hifi genre. The aleph service manuals portray great examples of a world class circuit. users.ece.gatech.edu/mleach also has a few comprehensive projects and good background information on why different decisions were made.

jt

 

[Ogewo]

great post jt. hopefully i can exchange some goods or services for legal tender and get going on a DIY stereo system.

I guess the computer wouldn't be in the stereo room but instead would be connected via ethernet or something of that sort. I wouldn't use the computer as a CD player either, that would definitely be much lower quality than a stand alone component. It's just that a hard drive full of music is quite valuable, especially when attatched to a nice system.

I'll slowly go through those links and maybe even pick up a thing or two. built a computer, next is stereo, then comes car. I think the only thing left after that is spacecraft, i dunno.

 

[ElFenix]

if the digital to analog conversion happens outside the computer in a shielded box it would probably be alright. i don't know why you'd use a computer rather than standard equipment though... a computer CD player is dirt cheap and if you have good enough ears and equipment you will hear it. and MP3s are NOT hifi. i guess a computer is a bit more flexible than any other component you could have, but the quality on other components, unless you have a mixing board or something attached to your computer, is going to be better with standard separates.

 

[Goosemaster]

As for audio component/computer systems, I just finished setting up a system this fall...

It was your basic mid-high-end system. 42inch plasma...dual 200Watt/channel vacum tube amps for front 3 and rear 3 channels. ..750 watt sub...


Anyways, we used an M-audio Delta Series Card...similar, if not the same as this one


It has 8-channel RCA out and optical spdif out. My client mostly uses Digital out so all the equalization..basically any changes to the master signal are done on his expensive equipment. Basically, all the card does is figure out how to mix the audio..as in stereo to Prologic II using power DVD P, or send stereo through eight channel..THe card is basically an editing card that does wonders as your run of the mill consumer playback card. Best of all the card can easy be found for no more than $120 bucks.

I would not recommend you get the audigy for a home theater setup. My reasons are basically anti-frugal based. It would be a big waste of money to get something so extravagant for basically a pass-through situation. However, remember that the Delta card, unlike cheap cards with optical out has TRUE 24/96 Playback AND Recording capabilities.


Basically, good digital out will asure you that the signal isn't tampered with by the immense EM interference that you find in an average computer case.

 

[Goosemaster]

This is a very good choice as well. Inexpensive and prime quality.

Just think of these sound cards as better than all consumer cards and at the level of low-level pro equipment

 

[tweakmm]

I would agree with jteef. You should probably use a digital output and then use a Hifi DAC connected to your stereo. Another possibility are those MP3 stream boxes. I think a couple of those are geared towards high quality audio

 

[bluemax]

#1 - for your sound card, go to a MUSIC STORE that sells keyboards and synthesizers. They'll have pro-audio sound cards for you to experiment with. A half-decent one starts at $100 - a better deal than an Audigy Platinum by a LONG shot! (Better quality, cheaper.)
Good audio cards can be had for $200. You don't need multiple-input recording, just the cleanest possible OUTPUT, that makes it cheaper.

Then start checking out speakers. Studio monitors (at the music store) for musicians, hifi stuff (at a consumer-electronics store) for audiophiles and movie-buffs.

 

[Ogewo]

I wonder how much of an FPS gain i would get in games using an Audigy over one of these delta cards. Doesn't widows let you run more than one and easily switch em in sound properties?

Also, whats the point of a DAC? Why not just keep it digital? Prolly a newbie question thats what I am .

 

[bluemax]

Until your brain can hear in digital, I think we still need analog sound.

And a lot of the pro-audio cards in the LOWER end proclaim to have enhanced windows drivers that should perform equal to or better than SandBlaster.