Output sound to external DAC

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  1. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Home Premium
       #1

    Output sound to external DAC


    Hello all,
    I am new to the forums and my laptop.However I have one question about my sound,

    Is it possible to take the sound from my laptop without is passing though my laptops DAC (Digital to Analauge converter) and feed the sound into the DAC on my Cyrus CD player 6XP (2010 Edition) and then onto my amplifier, so I can experenice the higher quality from the CD players DAC rather than my computers.

    The ports I have on my laptop are:

    1x Headphones out
    3x USB
    1x Card Reader
    1x Microphones In
    1x VGA out
    1x Network out



    Thanks


    Harry Cross
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,170
    XP Pro SP3 X86 / Win7 Pro X86
       #2

    HAWC145 said:
    Hello all,
    I am new to the forums and my laptop.However I have one question about my sound,

    Is it possible to take the sound from my laptop without is passing though my laptops DAC (Digital to Analauge converter) and feed the sound into the DAC on my Cyrus CD player 6XP (2010 Edition) and then onto my amplifier, so I can experenice the higher quality from the CD players DAC rather than my computers.

    The ports I have on my laptop are:

    1x Headphones out
    3x USB
    1x Card Reader
    1x Microphones In
    1x VGA out
    1x Network out



    Thanks


    Harry Cross
    Short answer ... probably not.

    However, there are some high quality dacs on the market that will connect to your computer by USB or Firewire and deliver mind blowing good sound... There's a lot of them and at a very wide range of prices, so do some google searches....

    But do let me caution you... unless you have exceptionally good audio gear the audible improvements are likely to be lost to plastic speaker boxes, weak power supplies and poorly designed sub-woofers....

    DAC vs Soundcard on high end gear such as McIntosh Audio... "WOW"
    DAC vs Soundcard on $199 home theater in a box... "Why did I waste my money".
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1,506
    W7 Ult. x64 | OS X
       #3

    If you want a decent laptop sound card, grab a Sound Blaster X-FI USB 5.1. It may not be able to do what you want but it made my sound go from ugh (Realtek) to nice (SB).

    Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 SB1090 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz USB Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

    Stats:

    Channels: 5.1
    Sample Rate: 96Khz
    Digital Audio: 24-bit
    SNR: >100dB
    Ports: Line In, Line Out (5.1), Headphones, Mic In, TOSLINK SPDIF Out
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1,170
    XP Pro SP3 X86 / Win7 Pro X86
       #4

    notsograymatter said:
    If you want a decent laptop sound card, grab a Sound Blaster X-FI USB 5.1. It may not be able to do what you want but it made my sound go from ugh (Realtek) to nice (SB).

    Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 SB1090 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz USB Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

    Stats:

    Channels: 5.1
    Sample Rate: 96Khz
    Digital Audio: 24-bit
    SNR: >100dB
    Ports: Line In, Line Out (5.1), Headphones, Mic In, TOSLINK SPDIF Out

    As DACs go that one's pretty good for the price ($60)... but like all creative products it has some frequency response issues in the low-bass range. (i.e. they tend to cut off at 100hz, not the audio standard of 20hz)


    If his amplifier has TosLink or SP/Dif inputs he could try this guy...
    http://www.hdtvsupply.com/pc-toslink...converter.html

    I've not seen it in action but since it's digital to digital I don't see where there'd be a problem.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #5

    RE:Output sound to external DAC


    Am I better just taking a lead from the headphones on the laptop to a Cyrus amp.

    I ahve some pretty good speakers (£500+)
    Last edited by HAWC145; 08 Apr 2010 at 13:26. Reason: add info
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,170
    XP Pro SP3 X86 / Win7 Pro X86
       #6

    HAWC145 said:
    Am I better just taking a lead from the headphones on the laptop to a Cyrus amp.

    I ahve some pretty good speakers (£500+)
    Well, that's a way to check it out... You may find the sound is better than you expect... I've got two machines here feeding amps through the speaker jacks and it's plenty good enough for these old ears.

    One word of caution, though... a lot of these computer jacks output a rather high level signal... use the AUX jacks and you should start with your Windows mixer volume control at about 1/4 and bring it up very slowly... you are looking for full output without overdriving the amp.

    EDIT: I just looked up the product pages for Cyrus ... VERY nice equipment.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 908
    Windows 7 Home Premium
       #7

    CommonTater said:
    EDIT: I just looked up the product pages for Cyrus ... VERY nice equipment.

    Heh, I did that as well, even the low end stuff is fairly high end.


    I was going to post that the Cyrus 6XP looks to be amplifier rather thana CD player and that the best digital solution was to get an external USB audio device/interface with digital outand run it directly into the amp. But everyone (including Dr. Spud ) covered that right off.

    Ap
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,170
    XP Pro SP3 X86 / Win7 Pro X86
       #8

    Aphelion said:
    (including Dr. Spud)



    Seriously, though... I'd like to find a Canadian dealer for that gear... I'd love to try the 6XP on my Cerwin Vegas....
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Canada Cyrus


    Seriously, though... I'd like to find a Canadian dealer for that gear... I'd love to try the 6XP on my Cerwin Vegas....
    Well,
    I have had a look on Cyrus's website and the ONLY dealer in your country is:

    Europroducts Marketing Ltd

    720 Sixth Street
    Suite 386,
    New Westminster
    British Columbia
    V3L 3CS
    Canada

    Phone No: 001 604 5226168
    Fax: 001 604 6776263

    Emaileuroproducts@shaw.ca
    Websitehttp://www.europroducts-canada.com/
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1,170
    XP Pro SP3 X86 / Win7 Pro X86
       #10

    HAWC145 said:
    Seriously, though... I'd like to find a Canadian dealer for that gear... I'd love to try the 6XP on my Cerwin Vegas....
    Well,
    I have had a look on Cyrus's website and the ONLY dealer in your country is:

    Europroducts Marketing Ltd

    720 Sixth Street
    Suite 386,
    New Westminster
    British Columbia
    V3L 3CS
    Canada

    Phone No: 001 604 5226168
    Fax: 001 604 6776263

    Emaileuroproducts@shaw.ca
    Websitehttp://www.europroducts-canada.com/

    And they're only 1400 kilometers away...

    Bummer.
      My Computer


 
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