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In Reply to: Re: Streaming audio radio posted by andy_c on September 15, 2006 at 17:01:15:
Actually, I don't have the sound card yet. I just looked at the Creative XFi Extreme that you mentioned in the other thread, but it doesn't appear to have a Toslink output. Is a Toslink output something rare these days? I'd hate to be searching for something that was the equivalent of a 5 1/4" floppy. I have to confess to being a bit of a Luddite when it comes to computers - my main machine is a 4 year old HP Presario with a 1.6 gig Athlon, and it works fine, so I see no need to replace it.
Follow Ups:
Oh, I thought you already had the card.If you're looking for the absolute cheapest solution to try out internet radio, the Chaintech AV-710 can provide bit-perfect Toslink output. There's a thread in the computer audio section of headfi.org on how to set up the drivers for bit-perfect output.
OTOH, I just looked at your system in the posts above, and it appears to be quite good. If you're planning on using the card for anything besides streaming internet radio (such as playing WAV or losslessly compressed files such as FLAC, ripped from CD), then you'll need something much better than this.
There are very few internet radio stations using bit rates greater than 192k, and not very many using 192k either. At 128k, you'll have a huge choice. I have tried some stations with bit rates greater than 192k, and even with my cable internet connection, I get tons of dropouts with them. If you'll be out in the boonies with only satellite internet service, that may limit your usable bit rates also.
P.S: I deleted my previous response to this, which I wrote before I saw your post listing your system. I suspect fmak's reply in this sub-thread was referring to this now-deleted post of mine.
S'all right, Andy. I'd be open to suggestions on a better card as well, although I think it unlikely that I'd be willing to drop a grand on a card even after I'm working. The format itself seems too limited at this time to justify it.For my own reasons, I prefer to avoid satellite radio, and if I can't get the quality of sound available over net radio to equal that of a decent digital tuner, I won't be interested in pursuing the idea. My system is fairly revealing, and if I have to sacrifice fidelity to any significant degree to go with the net radio idea, I'd rather pass until the fidelity improves. I realize that in order to fairly judge what's possible, a better card will probably be required, but it also seems that a fairly rapid speed of transmission would be required for good fidelity, and drop-outs would drive me nuts.
fmak had a good suggestion I'll second. my Digi96/8PAD + WCM MKII has been good to me. i'd recommend it or the Fireface 400/800 in a heartbeat.but if you're looking to spend up to a grand focused on quality DA, check out an Apogee MiniDAC w/USB option.
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/minidac.php
I'm in love with my MiniDAC.
or check out a Benchmark DAC1
http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/dac1/
unfortunately there's no USB for the DAC1, so you'de need to pair it with a decent card, such as an RME. but I hear nothing but good stuff about it, you can check the reviews on that page for yourself to see what i mean. ;)And if you're all about headphones, and have even more cash to drop, this might tickle your fancy
http://www.gracedesign.com/products/m902/m902.htmgood luck choosing. and i'll again second fmak's opinion and plead with you to stay away from Creative like the plague. or any soundcard that forces everything to be resampled internally before hitting the DA. might i recommend this card on the cheap end:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Revolution71-main.html
you should be able to pick one up for less than $100, has decent analog surround outs for movies & games including full acceleration of EAX/EAXHD/A3D/Sensaura/DirectSound. Selectable SRS TruSurround XT (multi-speaker surround) & CircleSurround II (2-speaker surround), and ASIO2 & OSX Core support for low-latency applications. And of course a (up to) 192kHz digital output with AC3/DTS passthrough. This card is a true SoundBlaster Destroyer.
Thanks for the information and suggestions. I was kind of hoping to use the open Toslink input my existing DAC (Museatex Bitsream), and I notice that the M-Audio has no Toslink output. Would I be better served by abandoning that idea? The problem is that my preamp has only three inputs, all of which are in use. Using the Toslink on the DAC sidesteps that issue.
My terretec 2496 has a toslink out. It's a decent $100.00 soundcard. I use one with a modified Assemblage DAC2 into my Magnepans. I've got no complaints. It gives me accurate "bit pure" output.
Unfortunately, I've looked around and this card no longer appears to be available. It figures.....
Don't even touch a Creative if you want good sound without software pollution!RME and Lynx are the way to go.
People in the PC forum seem to think that you can get top sound with a cheap card.
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