Amp or Sound Card?

[Omnomnom]

Looking at getting a sound card to resolve my inteference issue from the GPU.

Thinking about a Xonar D2X but just wanted to ask a few questions first.

My current amp is only an entry level Yamaha RX-V363, would it be better to let the sound card do the processing or run a co-ax cable and let the amp process?

Secondly I only have a set of 2 Kenwood satelites that I am using in a stereo setup along with a DSE sub, these are only meant to be temporary and my question is; (keeping the sub) would spending $400 on a set of passive bookshelves be worth it (I have a feeling that my amp wont do them justice), or would I benefit more from getting rid of the amp and replacing it with a set of Audioengine 5's?

Thanks for any help in advance.

[Piroteknik]

Frist of all, i doubt you will get a Yamaha amp that wont "Do them justice" as long as the Power and resistance is right. Yamaha make good gear.

As for the bookshelf speakers, you can get lots of different things for that price range, you need to specify a little more.

[Omnomnom]

Originally Posted by Piroteknik

As for the bookshelf speakers, you can get lots of different things for that price range, you need to specify a little more.

As to what I will be using the speakers for?

Alot of metal, some gaming, and blu-rays.

[thaFunkster]

Well, if you are interested, check out Dream Acoustics on ebay.

I got myself 5 speakers, two bookshelves, one centre and two big floorstanders, that have a mid, a tweeter, and two woofer cones, all for $120 + $150 shipping.

THey sound pretty sweet too.

[Omnomnom]

Originally Posted by thaFunkster

Well, if you are interested, check out Dream Acoustics on ebay.

I got myself 5 speakers, two bookshelves, one centre and two big floorstanders, that have a mid, a tweeter, and two woofer cones, all for $120 + $150 shipping.

THey sound pretty sweet too.

In a ~5 x 3.5m room I think a nice 2.1 setup will suffice. Thanks for the reference though.

[Drubbing]

Originally Posted by Piroteknik

Frist of all, i doubt you will get a Yamaha amp that wont "Do them justice" as long as the Power and resistance is right. Yamaha make good gear.

Yes, they do, but horses for courses, he needs to check what decoding capability the yam has - power and resistance won't be the issue for that.

Amps are built for a primary purpose of amplification, and given this is an entry level receiver, a decent aftermarket sound-card could cack all over their ability to do DAC. If that is the case, best not let it do it.

But if its just to fix interference, it might be all he needs.

[thaFunkster]

Chances are, imo anyway, that it will be pretty hard to tell the difference.

I have a lot of trouble picking difference between decoding via Z-5500s or my Xonar DX. With some material, the difference is obvious, but for others it is incredibly subtle.

[Omnomnom]

I had a look at the amp's specs and found that it uses 192Khz/24-bit DAC's on all channels, thats all I can find about them.

[thaFunkster]

So does just about everything though..So Im not sure exactly what that means if anything in terms of sound quality.

[toolsncorpses]

Does the amp necessarily do all the processing? At least some processing is left to the card in coax mode, because on my X-Fi I can still enable crystalizer and CMSS, and there's a big sound difference if I enable bit-matched playback...

When you change the output quality in windows it has to test if the receiver can do it first...

[ICEW0LF]

Originally Posted by thaFunkster

Chances are, imo anyway, that it will be pretty hard to tell the difference.

I have a lot of trouble picking difference between decoding via Z-5500s or my Xonar DX. With some material, the difference is obvious, but for others it is incredibly subtle.

the difference is alot easier to hear on decent speakers


Omnomnom i use my A5s for pretty much the same things (metal, gaming and movies) and would highly recommend them. Since you already have a amp though i would be somewhat inclined to suggest you spend the $400 on some passives as you should get better passives then actives for the same money. You can always upgrade the amp later if you need to. Passives are wide and varied so you really need to take 2 or 3 tracks you know really well and go listen to a bunch of different speakers to find some you like.

Then again the A5 + S8 combo makes for a clear and easy upgrade path and means you dont have to have an amp sitting on your desk. The yamaha as you mentioned is entry level and also packs in alot of features that you arent going to use in a 2.1 setup as its really more suited to a surround sound home theatre setup (A5s plus DSE sub on the PC till you can afford the S8 and Yamaha plus passives + DSE sub in your lounge room perhaps )

If you want to save some money run digital from you onboard to the amp but if you are happy to grab a soundcard anyway then you can always try both digital and analog out and see which you like the sound of more. If you are going to only be running 2.1 then you may as well get the STX rather then the D2X and in that case i would definitely run analog out to your amp as the STX DAC and opamps are very good (even the D2X DAC should surpass the yamaha)

A5s will fill a room that size easily and sound good even without the sub (i havent heard the DSE sub so i cant comment on the quality)

[Omnomnom]

Originally Posted by ICEW0LF

the difference is alot easier to hear on decent speakers


Omnomnom i use my A5s for pretty much the same things (metal, gaming and movies) and would highly recommend them. Since you already have a amp though i would be somewhat inclined to suggest you spend the $400 on some passives as you should get better passives then actives for the same money. You can always upgrade the amp later if you need to. Passives are wide and varied so you really need to take 2 or 3 tracks you know really well and go listen to a bunch of different speakers to find some you like.

Then again the A5 + S8 combo makes for a clear and easy upgrade path and means you dont have to have an amp sitting on your desk. The yamaha as you mentioned is entry level and also packs in alot of features that you arent going to use in a 2.1 setup as its really more suited to a surround sound home theatre setup (A5s plus DSE sub on the PC till you can afford the S8 and Yamaha plus passives + DSE sub in your lounge room perhaps )

If you want to save some money run digital from you onboard to the amp but if you are happy to grab a soundcard anyway then you can always try both digital and analog out and see which you like the sound of more. If you are going to only be running 2.1 then you may as well get the STX rather then the D2X and in that case i would definitely run analog out to your amp as the STX DAC and opamps are very good (even the D2X DAC should surpass the yamaha)

A5s will fill a room that size easily and sound good even without the sub (i havent heard the DSE sub so i cant comment on the quality)

Thanks for the info, the sound card is a neccessity at this point in time as the onboard is receiving inteference from the GPU. I wont have a problem with replacing the AMP as there are plenty of places I can use it around the house.

I think I will end up getting a pair of A5's and use the DSE sub until I can afford a nice one.

As for the sound card, I think I will end up getting a D2X (for possible future 5.1 setup). How does the D2X compare to the STX when used for stereo only or headphone use? Does the STX outperform it based on the fact its purely a stereo card?

Cheers

[supernerd]

Originally Posted by Omnomnom

I think I will end up getting a pair of A5's and use the DSE sub until I can afford a nice one.

That's not what he recommended though. If you only have $400 to spend - it's a no brainer, get a pair of passives. The speakers are the most important part of the system because that's where there is the greatest disparity between input and output. The vast vast majority of your budget should be spend on the speakers. It's a principle that's almost universally accepted.

[Omnomnom]

Originally Posted by supernerd

That's not what he recommended though. If you only have $400 to spend - it's a no brainer, get a pair of passives. The speakers are the most important part of the system because that's where there is the greatest disparity between input and output. The vast vast majority of your budget should be spend on the speakers. It's a principle that's almost universally accepted.

Ok, would JB be a good place to start trying out a few pairs of passive bookshelves? Any other places to try out or even some recomendations on a few models of speakers to look out for?

[ICEW0LF]

Originally Posted by supernerd

That's not what he recommended though. If you only have $400 to spend - it's a no brainer, get a pair of passives. The speakers are the most important part of the system because that's where there is the greatest disparity between input and output. The vast vast majority of your budget should be spend on the speakers. It's a principle that's almost universally accepted.

well i was kinda suggesting a bit one way a bit the other. I am a big A5 fan since i got mine and at their current reduced price($400) its hard to ignore them. they were a good buy even at $600 so its hard to speculate how much you would have to spend on passives to match them