Using the digital I/O to send mix to monitors?

amonte

amonte

New member
I'm in the process of putting together a small recording setup in my home, and while it will most likely be a while before I can get everything I will need, I am trying not to paint myself into a corner with my gear selections.

I haven't decided on an interface yet (or how much money I will dedicate to the interface), but I've been looking at just about everything from the M-Audio Delta 44 to the LynxOne. I probably wouldn't want to go much higher than the LynxOne in terms of cost at this point. I'm trying to stay away from systems with built in pre's, only because I like the flexibility of being able to use any pre, and to be able to upgrade the pres in the future. I'm also interested in having at least four outputs - two to send to the monitors and two to use for other purposes, such as reamping.

The LynxOne only has two analog outputs on it - but it does have digital outputs on it, and I've started considering using the digital outs to drive the monitors. I'm fairly certain that I've seen some powered monitors with digital I/O, but I'm guessing that would limit my options when choosing monitors. I also noticed there are a couple of cheap DACs that I could use between the digital ouptut of the soundcard and the monitors to go back to analog.

So I guess my question is, of these three options, what would you recommend and what would you avoid? Or would there not be much of a difference?

1) PCI Interface Digital Out - Powered Monitor w/ Digital I/O
2) PCI Interface Digital Out - M-Audio SuperDAC 2496 or similar - Powered Monitor w/ Analog input
3) PCI Interface Analog Out - Powered Monitor w/ Analog input
 
You would want a high-quality DAC if you're using the digital outs of your interface... the ones bundled directly on-board monitors are going to be less than stellar....
 
Thanks for the reply! So you're saying that if I decide to use the digital outs on my card to drive the monitors, I should stick with monitors that have an analog input and use an outboard DAC (like the SuperDAC) to feed the monitors?

I also noticed you said I would want a "high-quality DAC" - I'm guessing that the superDAC isn't of the highest quality, since it seems to be where the range of available DACs begins.

Since money is tight, would you recommend I just stick to cards with an analog out and monitors with an analog in?
 
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