how to connect a HTS to a computer

[techhippi]

My HTS receiver has optical in and out apart from the usual component, S-Video and A/V. I would like to connect my computer's sound card to this receiver. Any suggestions on how this would be possible?

The Mobo of my computer has SPDIF, but I see only the standard line in and out on the backside of the case.
Any help will be highly appreciated.

 

[vaporize]

sorry, i dont know much about computers but i might be able to help you if i knew what HTS and SPDIF mean?

 

[Boogak]

Which motherboard is it? Since your receiver has a optical input, you just need a soundcard (or bracket card if it's integrated sound on a mobo) that has optical output.

 

[lameaway]

If your computer has only coaxial S/PDIF out and you need optical, you can use one of these.

 

[techhippi]

Its an Epox 8K3a+. It has integrted 6 channel sound on it. It has a SPDIF connector on the mobo but no optical out. I think Boogak's suggestion about a bracket card will work. Any suggestions on where to actually procure one from? It seems to be real difficult to find a vendor for this stuff. Newegg, nutrend, googlegear etc dont have it.

btw, since vaporize asked:
HTS - home theatre system
spdif: Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: techhippi
Its an Epox 8K3a+. It has integrted 6 channel sound on it. It has a SPDIF connector on the mobo but no optical out. I think Boogak's suggestion about a bracket card will work. Any suggestions on where to actually procure one from? It seems to be real difficult to find a vendor for this stuff. Newegg, nutrend, googlegear etc dont have it.

btw, since vaporize asked:
HTS - home theatre system
spdif: Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format

What type of audio are you planning on sending to the HTS? If you want to pass AC3 (Dolby Digital) onto the HTS, then you'll need to connect using an optical or RCA spdif cable. If your board truly does have a SPDIF connector (which I didn't think the 8K3A+ did), then you'll need a 3.5mm (minijack) to RCA cable. They make "special" RCA SPDIF cables, but a regular RCA connector should do in a pinch. If you're board doesn't have a SPDIF out, you can get a cheap card with optical out at Newegg.

If you're not going to be passing AC3 onto the HTS, then a minijack-->dual RCA cable is what you want. You simply plug it into the regular Audio Out jack on your mobo.

 

[thraxes]

I can get the needed bracket from my local distributor, but it won't do you any good since I am on the other side of the pond.

It's called EP-SPDIF and has optical In and Out. Perhaps send a mail to Epox and ask from where you can obtain it?
Alternatively you can get a soundcard with SPDIF already onboard. Check out Hercules and Philips

 

[techhippi]

Epox 8k3a+ indeed has spdif out and it would have been great had they supplied the adapter for it and an optical cable. But, in all fairness the mobo package was worth the money even w/o it.

Anyways, right now I am going just with the minijack-split RCA cable option. While I was picking this cable up from a local store I noticed that even a cheaper version of the optical cable was around 17 bucks. On the other hand, the newegg link that chocoruacal provided has the soundcard w/ spdif out and an optical cable for about 23$. So, given that I dont even have the EP-SPDIF bracket and procuring it seems a long and painful process (I did find a fax form for the stuff from the EPOX website), I am just going to buy a new soundcard when I decide to go for the quality of the optical out.

Thanks to all who participated in this discussion.

 

[techhippi]

fellas -
problems galore. I tried hooking up my computer soundcard output using the 3.5 mm to 2 RCA cable, but the siund quality is royally screwed to saythe least. The subwoofer has a lot of noise and the output isnt 5.1 but just stereo. None of the surround and the central speakers work.
Is it cause of the type of connection or is the system that I have a bad one or else ...
Any thoughts?

 

[Boogak]

RCA is analog and thus you won't be getting 5.1 sound out of it. The subwoofer noise could be interference or electronic noise being passed thru to your receiver (a PC is a _very_ noisy electronic item), that's why I prefer a straight digital connection.

 

[techhippi]

Makes sense. Thanks dude.

 

[JonTom]

Originally posted by: Boogak
RCA is analog and thus you won't be getting 5.1 sound out of it.

Not necessarily true. You can send a digital signal over an "RCA" cable; it is commonly refered to as co-axial.

The subwoofer noise could be interference or electronic noise being passed thru to your receiver (a PC is a _very_ noisy electronic item),

This may be true. You may have the soundcard set to output an analog signal instead of digital (any cards can do either from a shared port). Check in the control panel...

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Originally posted by: JonTom

Originally posted by: Boogak
RCA is analog and thus you won't be getting 5.1 sound out of it.

Not necessarily true. You can send a digital signal over an "RCA" cable; it is commonly refered to as co-axial.

The subwoofer noise could be interference or electronic noise being passed thru to your receiver (a PC is a _very_ noisy electronic item),

This may be true. You may have the soundcard set to output an analog signal instead of digital (any cards can do either from a shared port). Check in the control panel...

Huh? You can send a digital or analog signal over various mediums, but placing a digital signal through an RCA connection would not be considered "co-axial". Coaxial is a type of cabling...one with a center conductor surrounded by dielectric insulator and a conductive mesh or braid(usually copper). This in turn is covered by insulation.

 

[JonTom]

Originally posted by: ST4RCUTTER
Huh? You can send a digital or analog signal over various mediums, but placing a digital signal through an RCA connection would not be considered "co-axial".

Not true. Many (most?) digital cables are billed as coax and have RCA connectors, or occasionally miniplug. See Monster Cable for an example - I hate using them to prove a point, but they came quickly to mind...

Coaxial is a type of cabling...one with a center conductor surrounded by dielectric insulator and a conductive mesh or braid(usually copper). This in turn is covered by insulation.

This is technically true, I believe. It is certainly how I always thought of it; like TV coax. But in practice, coax seems to refer to an electrical connection as opposed to optical in Digital Interconnects.

RCA refers to the connector, not the cable.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

When I say RCA connection I am referring to the connector...not the cable. When Monster Cable brands their M1000D as "coaxial" they are referring to the construction of the cable (which is truly coaxial), not the application. You can use any cable to transfer digital or analog signals but some cables are better for this than others. The characteristics of coax make it a more desireable choice than traditional audio cabling with RCA connectors. I suspect that techhippi is suffering from poor sound quality due to mismatched output/input levels from the soundcard to the receiver, a ground, or electrical interference of some kind.

 

[Mday]

Originally posted by: techhippi
fellas -
problems galore. I tried hooking up my computer soundcard output using the 3.5 mm to 2 RCA cable, but the siund quality is royally screwed to saythe least. The subwoofer has a lot of noise and the output isnt 5.1 but just stereo. None of the surround and the central speakers work.
Is it cause of the type of connection or is the system that I have a bad one or else ...
Any thoughts?

did you use one "3.5mm to 2xRCA" adapter, or 3?

--

spdif is a protocol, it's transmitted through rca+coax cable or optical (toslink) in home theatre applications.

coax refers to the fact that the inner conductor and outer braiding\shielding have the same "axis" or they are concentric if you take a cross section.

rca generally refers to audio cables, but is extended to mean the type of plug\connector used. rca is not explicitly coax. there are rca cables that use 2 wires instead of coax cabling.

rca, optical, and coax do not refer to any protocol whether digital or analog or magic.

 

[a2k]

I've got an old Soundblaster MP3+ sound card with a SPDIF output. I used a 1/8 inch to RCA adapter, and ran an RCA/coax cable to the coaxial in on my reciever. I had to upgrade the driver for my soundcard and go into a special configuration tool to turn the digital output on. If you are having trouble getting a digital output from your PC, you might see if there's an option to turn it on with the driver.

FYI - I wasn't able to bipass any of the creative "preamp" stuff, like MP3 decoding, EQ, etc., so it really isn't a pure digital signal. My reciever (Harmon Kardon AVR 525) has an onboard MP3 decoder, so I has hoping to use that.

I know it's totally different hardware, but I thought I'd chime in just in case...

Good luck.

a2k

 

[JonTom]

When Monster Cable brands their M1000D as "coaxial" they are referring to the construction of the cable (which is truly coaxial), not the application. You can use any cable to transfer digital or analog signals but some cables are better for this than others. The characteristics of coax make it a more desireable choice than traditional audio cabling with RCA connectors.

I agree with pretty much everything above. My only point was that you can send a digital signal through a RCA connection, and that you would use the co-axial connection to do so. You can even use a traditional figure eight "RCA cable" (even if it isn't optimal, as you say). You don't have to use TV coaxial cable, which was my first impression. Imagine my confusion when I didn't find one of the screw-on nipples on the back of my CD changer!

By MDay's definition above, wouldn't an RCA connector be co-axial, in that it is concentric in cross-section? Or is the outer connector a conductor and not merely a shield and therefore inappropriate?