Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Processing of Audio. (Read 1672 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Processing of Audio.

So my Logitech Z-2300 2.1 speaker system finally gave up, well not exactly gave up but one channel got very distorted probably something got to do with the sub, anyway I thought I would go the bookshelf route. I had an Sony STR-DB940 amp and a pair of Mission Radius 90HD speakers handy so I connected them up to my PC, both using an analogue cable and a digital cable. I have looked at which is the better option, digital or analogue and the consensus seems to be in this case neither is necessarily better than the other. My question is, in this setup where is the processing done, is it on my sound card, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music or is it in the Sony amp, This is used for 2 channel stereo music mainly, I am not talking surround sound or DD.

Re: Processing of Audio.

Reply #1 –
which kind of processing?
for some definitions of processing, it could be happening in each of these places.
a fan of AutoEq + Meier Crossfeed

Re: Processing of Audio.

Reply #2 –
Quote
My question is, in this setup where is the processing done, is it on my sound card, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music or is it in the Sony amp,
What "processing"?    In some cases there will only be digital-to-analog conversion, and maybe volume control, with no other digital signal processing. 

Otherwise, your audio player software may offer equalization or other effects, and the receiver should have it's own tone controls or EQ, as well as Dolby Pro Logic modes (which you are not using).    Your soundcard utility may also have some effects but they will only (probably) be in-play via the analog output.

Quote
I have looked at which is the better option, digital or analogue and the consensus seems to be in this case neither is necessarily better than the other.
I'd "trust" the digital connection more but if there no excessive noise out of the soundcard the analog connection is just as good.

Re: Processing of Audio.

Reply #3 –
If you tell us all the details about how you play music--the software and setting you use, the file types and the exact type of connections to your amp--then we can tell you where and how the processing happens.  I lean towards sending the signal as far as I can digitally and then letting the amp deal with it.  This avoids some sources of noise and sometimes a second digital reconversion.  There can be other considerations, and either way likely works pretty well.

Re: Processing of Audio.

Reply #4 –
Your audio is digital and an amp needs an analog signal
Hence you need a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter)
If you connect the amp analog to the soundcard, you are using the DAC of the soundcard
If you connect the amp digital (SPDIF or Toslink) to the soundcard, you are using the DAC of the amp.

As a Toslink or SPDIF or RCA cable won’t break the bank, try both connection types.
TheWellTemperedComputer.com

Re: Processing of Audio.

Reply #5 –
Thanks guys, it sounds pretty simple when explained as you did but when reading masses of info online the nitty gritty tends to be glossed over and it is understood by the article writer you know some of these things. Bdunham7, I am using a PC running Win 7U and using Creatives MediaSource Player 5 as the player for Flacc, Ogg and MP3 files, most of my music. For other files .m4b ect I tend to use Foobar2000. While I have tested various software players I have come to the conclusion there is little difference between any of them other than the ability of the type of formats they can handle. My soundcard is a Creative X-Fi Extreme Music that has an onboard dac. As my current hardware setup is newish I have the X-Fi card connected to the amp with both an analog cable, line out on the card to cd in(2 phonos) on the amp a Sony STR-DB940 and an optial cable from spdif on the card to DVD/LD on the amp. I must say I can hear little difference between the analogue or digital.  Anyway as Roseval explains I am using the DAC from either the soundcard or the DAC on the amp depending on which connection I use, analogue(dac on soundcard) or digital(dac on amp), this is what I did not cop initally. You would think the dac on the amp would be superior to the dac on the X-Fi soundcard even if you go by cost but in reality I cannot hear that difference.

Re: Processing of Audio.

Reply #6 –
If everything is working right, you shouldn't hear a difference.  However, the two methods have some differences.

I don't know the specifics of the inner workings of your AVR, as it is an older model.  However, I'll assume that it uses room correction and/or EQ in the digital domain, which means it converts analog inputs to digital for processing (possibly including volume) and then uses the DAC for the final output.

If you use a software player (say Foobar) and the optical link via WASAPI, then your file would be converted as needed and sent out exclusively, unmixed with anything else, over the TOSLINK to the AVR, where it would be processed digitally and then output via the onboard DAC.

If you use your soundcard output in the most normal fashion, your music file is converted and then sent to the Windows 7 audio stack where it is mixed, volume and correction (if any, depends on settings) are applied and so forth.  If other applications or Windows sounds are making any noise, this will be mixed in as well.  Then this final mix is sent to your sound card, where the DAC converts it to analog and that signal goes to the AVR where it is re-converted to digital, processed accordingly and then output via the onboard DAC.

I can't guarantee that everything I just said is correct for  your application, but it gives you an idea of what may be going on and why I advocate simply going digital, preferably via an exclusive connection, as far as possible. 

Re: Processing of Audio.

Reply #7 –
Quote
You would think the dac on the amp would be superior to the dac on the X-Fi soundcard even if you go by cost but in reality I cannot hear that difference.
I'm not surprised.    It's cheap and easy to make a DAC that's better than human hearing.    Well, maybe I should be surprised...   Often, we think we hear a difference but then we can't hear any difference in a proper blind, level-matched, listening test.   ;)

The only thing is, that inside a computers it's a "nasty environment" for analog audio with lots of fast-digital switching signals and usually a (electrically) noisy power supply, and sometimes that noise gets into the analog signal.

Noise is the ONLY thing to worry about.    There are 3 specs/characteristics that can affect sound quality (assuming no major skips & or glitches, etc.).   Those are noise, distortion, and frequency response.   Distortion and frequency response are almost always better than human hearing.