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I've been googling around but haven't really found a concrete answer. I'm hoping someone here can provide some advice. Is it worthwhile to buy an updated audio card, when I'm using fibre optic cable to a decent stereo receiver for my computer's sound? To make things slightly interesting, my workstation uses Ubuntu. I suspect using the motherboard's onboard fibre connection is sufficient. I figure my stereo is doing the DAC work. I don't currently see how any signal going through the fibre cable would be improved in any way by the introduction of a fancy audio card. My onboard audio chipset does do 7.1, while my stereo does 5.1 - and THX and DTS sound processing. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Note, this is primarily for doing freelance and personal video editing work.
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Jul 5, 2016 07:34
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no
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Jul 5, 2016 07:36
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Thank you, I thought as much.  Do you have anything to add or am I on the right path of thinking?
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Jul 5, 2016 07:41
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Do you have your speakers hanging from the ceiling so the floor vibration doesn't interfere with sound quality? Did you spend over $200 per speaker, and did you fine-tune each one for the most accurate and premium audio? If yes, please post a picture of your computer setup. If no, don't bother with a better sound card. If you can hear the sound and 5.1 works, you will be chasing the white rabbit through the hole in your wallet trying to achieve an appreciable improvement.
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Jul 5, 2016 14:51
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Your thinking is correct. With digital audio, if the bits are moving correctly you don't have anything to gain by changing out equipment. If you want to spend money for better audio quality, look into a better DAC or better speakers. If your stereo is already an excellent DAC and your speakers are great, find something else to spend money on. I picked home air purification! E: You're/your 
Alereon fucked around with this message at 20:02 on Jul 5, 2016 |
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Jul 5, 2016 16:42
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The point of a digital signal is that it's digital, it's basically either connected and working or it's not. Rephrase your question to another type of digital signal, like USB - "if I have USB 3.0 on my motherboard, should I also get a USB 3.0 addon card"? So no, not unless you need more than one optical output or your motherboard has latency issues or something weird like that. Unless you have a specifically definable need that it's not filling, your motherboard's output is just as good for the general use-case. Paul MaudDib fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Jul 6, 2016 |
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Jul 5, 2016 19:37
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You can overclock fiber ray frequency with a soundcard though , which eliminates fluctuations. Afaik only works with coldplay though
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Jul 6, 2016 03:00
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Thank you everyone for your feedback. I did spend more than $200 on my speakers, they are Klispch studio monitors and my stereo is from harman/kardon. I'm not posting any pictures because my workspace is a mess. I do truly appreciate everyone's validation of my thought process that buying a better audio card would do nothing except make me poorer. Apologies if the question sounded dumb. I've spent the last 20+ years in corporate IT, where sound fidelity was never an issue. edit: I've spent more time reading about the intricate details of hard drive technology over the last 2 decades than most of you have probably spent even thinking about them. Sorry, being a defensive old IT guy knowing my time is coming to an end. Men Toes fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Jul 6, 2016 |
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Jul 6, 2016 04:52
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No I was just being mean sorry lol. You know there are $10,000 fiber audio cables out there if you want a chuckle
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Jul 6, 2016 05:35
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Oh Dog House, I know you were making GBS threads me  I have the equipment and know-how to make many different types of cables from my workshop. When I have to buy a cable I cannot make, I'm very frugal in finding a source.
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Jul 6, 2016 05:49
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