Difference between 2pin and 4pin cd audio cable?

[brett1]

My GTXP has only 4 pin connects.....but the 2pin connector says it's "digital." Should I use a 2pin or a 4pin?

So what is the difference?

 

[crt1530]

2 pins

 

[brett1]

Ok, so 2pins is better huh? Well then why doesn't my fancy expensive GTXP have the 2pin connector on the board? can the 2pin connector fit inside the 4 pin connect? Because it kinda looks like it will fit...

 

[Blayze]

I dont think that the 2 pin will fit into the 4 pin.

my Santa Cruz has a plug for 4 pin and another one for the 2 pin cable.
are you sure your GTXP doesn't have this?

 

[brett1]

Yes, I'm sure. It's ridiculous. I bought the retail box too...

 

[Sugadaddy]

yep, 4 pin is analog, and 2 pin is digital. Digital is "supposedly" better, but I guarantee you won't be able to see the difference. If you use win2k or media player 7.1 (some other programs do it also), cd-audio sound is all passed through the IDE cable anyways, so you don't need either.

 

[Sugadaddy]

sorry, didn't read the entire question. I also have the GTXP. I'm not sure if you can use the "digital" input for cd-audio, but my guess is yes. But like I said, there really is no difference... I use the 4-pin because my Pioneer DVD only has that.

 

[brett1]

Maybe I overlooked the 2pin connection......I must be somewhere on the card...It HAS TO BE

As for not using a cable at all, i don't want to do that because it used extra CPU to process all the sound and then send it to the sound card

 

[bacillus]

you should also be aware that some cd/dvd drives have a digital out which doesn't actually work when utilised!

 

[Sugadaddy]

hehe, nevermind, you're not crazy. It has analog cd-audio and auxiliary in on the PCI card, but no digital 2 pin. Just use the analog.




<< As for not using a cable at all, i don't want to do that because it used extra CPU to process all the sound and then send it to the sound card >>



I don't know where you got that idea, but I just played an audio CD with my burner (no cd cable), and CPU usage was 0%...

 

[brett1]

Well, alright. *sigh* I just got it in my head that 2pin was superior to 4pin and that 2pin was the only way to get 5.1 channel audio........but I guess I don't know wtf I'm talking about

 

[Sugadaddy]

<< I just got it in my head that 2pin was superior to 4pin and that 2pin was the only way to get 5.1 channel audio >>



the 2 pin is only for CDs, 5.1 sound for DVDs is sent through the IDE cable. Hey, you always have something to learn...

 

[brett1]

Sorry to drag this topic out, but I just read THIS on the hercules site. Would having a 2pin make it play with 4 speakers without using WMP7?

 

[StrangeRanger]

First, Sugardaddy? was right, you probably won't notice the difference in sound by using 2 vs 4 pin connector. And even though like 99% of cd/cdrw/dvd drives have the 2 pin on them, they don't all send signal thru it. Some mfgrs use that as a diagnostics port. Read your drive specs. BUT!, what is nice is that if your drive supports it and your card supports it, it is another input for those of us who have not fully migrated to w2k yet and using the IDE signal (which to me sounds ucky).
As to the CD being &quot;designed&quot; to only play thru the front channel, that is bunk. What is on the CD has nothing to do with that. The number of channels your sound comes from depends on your card and/or amp. I don't know didly about the herc card, but look in your settings for the card AND windows and set things to the apporpriate number of channels. Oh, and no, using the 2 vs 4 pin does not affect how many channels play either.
j

 

[Noriaki]

The 2pin and 4pin connectors are for CD audio only.
They are 2 channel sources, and play two channels.

There is never a situation where you would pass 5.1 channels through it (or even 4). DVD roms have the plug because they are also CD roms. For DVD use you do not use either connector at all.

Don't worry about it, the difference is very very small.

4pin analog is fine, unless you are super audio-phile in which case you wouldn't be using your CDROM for CD playback through a Hercules GTXP.

 

[LocutusX]

<< If you use win2k or media player 7.1 (some other programs do it also), cd-audio sound is all passed through the IDE cable anyways >>



This is not by default. Only if you choose to do so. And some DVD/CD-ROMs don't work with it.

You don't even need Win2K or Wincrap Media Player 7.1. There is a Winamp plugin for CD-DA reading of CD Audio. Check the plugins section of the Winamp site.

 

[Mday]

some general notes:

most drives have this connection. BUT only a few drives can use this interface. that is, the connector is connected to nothing INSIDE the drive.

also, some CD Playing programs use DAE via the IDE cable ;-) so the audio cable may not be necessary either...

 

[MasterHoss]

Yeah, the Hercules website is a bunch of crap as far as 4 channel sound for CDs. At least I got that confirmation from their tech support staff.