Will having a crappy sound card limit me from enjoying music in a HT setup?

[t3h l337 n3wb]

I'm going to be getting a home theater setup soon. I was thinking about these:

Infinity Primus 250s floorstanding fronts
Infinity Primus 150s rears
Infinity Primus C25 center
Infinity PS-10 subwoofer
Pioneer VSX-816-K

The computer and my Xbox will be hooked up to the receiver via RCA audio. Now my question is, will this crappy sound card hold my speakers back from delivering the best performance? If so, what about my Xbox? Would that be any better? If I do need to buy a better sound card, what's the minimum I need to enjoy my speakers?

*EDIT*
Will the receiver be basically doing the same thing as the sound card? In that case, it wouldn't matter if I had a decent sound card or not right?

 

[PurdueRy]

You are definitely a candidate for a Auzentech X-Plosion...check em out.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If you send digital to your receiver then it would pretty much be doing the same thing as a soundcard, but if you're sending it analog already, then the "damage" may already be done

When I was looking for an affordable solution to get music to my receiver I got a Chaintech AV-710 and it worked quite well. If you're looking for gaming though, I would definately be looking at a new card.

With its multichannel input, you could look to X-Fi to connect, or if you want to do digital, the X-Plosion PurdueRy mentioned.

By the way, I'm sure I mentioned this to you already, but no need to get an Infinity sub to match the speakers. I can think of at least one person who got a primus set and isn't very happy with their matching infinity sub

 

[Boogak]

You should connect your Xbox via SPDIF cable and enable Dolby Digital 5.1 in the console, that way you can get the full surround sound instead of stereo through RCA.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

But without the deal with included sub, I only have like $150 to spend on a sub... I'm pretty sure the Infinity sub is better than anything else I can get for $150 right? I think I'll go with the AV-710. It's nice and cheap and has optical out. I'll only be listening to music and watching movies, so it should be fine. Either that or dish out $10 more for the Audigy 2 ZS that PurdueRy's selling...

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: Boogak
You should connect your Xbox via SPDIF cable and enable Dolby Digital 5.1 in the console, that way you can get the full surround sound instead of stereo through RCA.

Would this be better than using the computer and an optical out sound card?

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb

Originally posted by: Boogak
You should connect your Xbox via SPDIF cable and enable Dolby Digital 5.1 in the console, that way you can get the full surround sound instead of stereo through RCA.

Would this be better than using the computer and an optical out sound card?

you should be connecting both via a digital connection

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
But without the deal with included sub, I only have like $150 to spend on a sub... I'm pretty sure the Infinity sub is better than anything else I can get for $150 right? I think I'll go with the AV-710. It's nice and cheap and has optical out. I'll only be listening to music and watching movies, so it should be fine. Either that or dish out $10 more for the Audigy 2 ZS that PurdueRy's selling...

My go to $150 sub would be the Dayton 12", but I'm not sure how it would compare to the Infinity.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Actually, buying the Infinity bundle is basically like buying all the other components and getting the sub for free.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Actually, buying the Infinity bundle is basically like buying all the other components and getting the sub for free.

Which deal is this again? The Circuit City one or the Vanns one? I forgot which one is going on at the moment.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

I don't see an optical out port on the back of my Xbox. Do I have to buy an AV cable that has component and optical out? Or is there a cheaper way to use my current component/RCA audio cable and a seperate optical cable?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

It's the Vanns deal. It's actually not available now since the PS-10 is out of stock. I'm guessing that when they get it in again, the deal should be available.

 

[Accord99]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Will the receiver be basically doing the same thing as the sound card? In that case, it wouldn't matter if I had a decent sound card or not right?

It'll still matter since it's all but certain that the Aureal Vortex will be resampling 44.1KHz audio to 48KHz even on its digital output. You'll need a soundcard like the Chaintech AV-710, A2 7.1 Value or the X-Fi series to have bit-perfect digital output.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Is this the only thing I can use to connect my Xbox to my receiver via coax/optical?

http://cgi.ebay.com/OFFICIAL-XBOX-HIGH-...09QQcategoryZ20385QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem