soundcard for listening to music

[kgiessler]

Hi,

I am an audio and computer enthusiast. I just finished building a nice
midrange soho/gaming computer, and am looking to include my computer as part
of my stereo. I figured this would be a good place to go to get info on a high quality computer sound system.

Here is background information:

Stereo:
-Infinity Delta 40 speakers (pair) or Restored AR3A (pair) (I switch every
once in a while)
-Denon DRA-775RDS (STEREO, not multichannel...I'm a 2 channel guy)
-Yamaha CDC-502; needs to be upgraded...I know
-Sennheiser HD580 headphones
-Custom Cables
-No Room Treatments or Tweaks.

Computer:
-Athlon 650
-Asus K7V without onboard sound
-128MB RAM
-Win2000 Pro
-4 USB Ports open, 3 PCI slots.

As you can see, I have a fairly decent stereo, and would like my computer
source to parallel the quality of my stereo. I think something in the $200-$300 range is good; and I don't mind buying used/refurbished. It is to my understanding that
the first step to high quality sound out of a computer is to not have the
final analog signal inside the box with all the high frequency digital
signals flying around (correct?). Therefore, I am assuming an external DAC box is in
order (for high quality sound).

Other than listen to my immense mp3 collection, I would also like to take
old LP's (and other analog sources) and burn them on to CD. Therefore, I
need high quality analog to digital conversion also. So, I'm guessing an
outboard ADC is also in order. And finally, I would also like to use
internet talk functions (like AIM, nothing too high fidelity); so I'm guessing a MIC input is in order
also.

This is really my first venture into digital audio, and I dont understand
much. I'm almost sure that I'm going to need to buy a soundcard with
digital IN/OUT to do what I want (IF I'M WRONG TELL ME!). I dont know what
the types of connections are (TOSLINK, SPDIF, Coaxial digital, optical) and
which ones I should want to use. I don't know much about DAC's or ADC's,
but its important to me that I get some that are good for music/audiophile
quality. I need to learn what the important qualities are to look for in
DAC/ADC's (they range from $50 to like, $10000).

A few general questions about computer audio:
-Why is MIDI important at all? The only midi I have ever experienced sounds
like someone playing songs through an electronic keyboard. Can it be used
to produce actual music? Do I need it to listen to music that is already produced?
-Why do sound cards have multiple voices? What does that mean?
-Can I get a soundcard without all the
multichannel-simulated-3D-experience-DSP-crap? I hate that stuff...I just
want clear music; through 2 speakers. (anyone else out there share that
opinion too?)
-What does a 'word-clock synch' (sp?) do? Some told me it was a great way
to get rid of jitter; but he didnt really explain how it worked. Is it
worth it? What is it anyway?!?!

Any responses or referrals to information that will me help with my purchase
are greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for reading that long-ass post.
Thank you in advance for any help.

Kurt

P.S. You can respond to either my email account, or the bboard. Thanks
again.

 

[Track Rat]

From what it sounds like, you won't need any midi capability and the word clock is for digitally syncronising external studio recording gear (this is an over simplification). What you will want is something with high quality DA/AD's. Something like a Gina is under $400 and will have S/PDIF in and out for digital I/O. A lot of consumer gear will have the TOSlink I/O. I suppose you need to know what kind of formate your equipment will use and choose your sound card accordingly. My DAT recorder has S/PDIF coax in and out and TOSlink but my Mini Disc only has the TOSlink. You can see where this is going. Bottom line is, a decent card with quality converters that will support 24 bit recording and some digital I/O is going to run anywhere from $300 to $800. The thing to remember is, There IS a very audible difference between consumer and semi-pro cards.

 

[kgiessler]

The Gina seems like a very nice option...definitely. I see a couple used on ebay for around $250, which is in my range. I notice that the Gina has an outboard box. Does this contain the ADC/DAC's? If so, then buying another DAC isnt necessary.

My only concern is its outputs (Unbalanced 1/4") How would I hook this up to my receiver, which has RCA inputs?

Also, I see that Event makes a Darla; which appears to have RCA outputs. Any comments on this?


Thank you very much for your reply.

Kurt