Question1 only for pure 2.0 audio purposes
how much would the SQ differ between the PC based system with the Asus STX soundcard and WDTV/hard disk + an exteranl DAC ?
i ask since both are HDD solutions where music would travel in digital form from HDD to either the soundcard DAC or from HDD to WDTV optical out to an external DAC (consider the dac of the Asus soundcard and the external DAC to be of similar quality)
Moser, I am taking the liberty of answering these questions.
Magma, the Asus sound card is one of the best in the world currently with a SNR that crosses 118dB. No other system can claim that in the market. In addition they have a THD that is as low as 0.0004%. The Asus uses 24-bit Burr-Brown PCM1796 *4 (123dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit) for D-A, and Cirrus-Logic CS5381* 1 (120dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit) for A-D conversion. These are the industry standard for DAC and ADC.
In addition, it is becoming more and more clear that if you rip a CD well into a lossless format, during playback, the PC audio file provides better sound stage than the original Redbook CD. For one, since there is no transport and the data is purely digital till DAC and pre-amplification, there is less jitter as compared to a CD Player. Secondly, irrespective of how many times you play the song, there is no loss of data whatsoever.
There have been some concerns about the noise introduced by the SMPS of the PC. Modern PCs, if assembled with the power supply of a good company such as Silverstone, Coolermaster, etc, will introduce literally no noise in the audio circuit. In addition sound cards have noise filters built in.
Though the WDT is good for storage and playing of media, sounds cards such as the Asus are far ahead in terms of the internals needed for accurate rendition of audio. As I said they beat the original CD itself.
Since these cards themselves provide top of the line DAC processing, the need of an external DAC becomes meaningless. Unless you have one more source, you may not need an external DAC at all. Yes, many of us were looking at an external DAC for using the DVD Player as a transport. But a PC based CD Player or even a DVD Player is just 2000 today. And that can provide better solution than a dedicated CD Player. Why look at using a DVDP as a music transport at all?
The only issue you will have is about an hour of your time for a CD to rip it. But this is compensated by a file that you can use a 1000 times or more.
Question2
if i manage to connect an external soundcard to my laptop via usb or IEEE port and output an signal from there (the soundcard) would it be the same as using a dedicated HTPC with an internal soundcard?
i ask because i read somewhere that the on board soundcard of a basic lappie is not upto the mark. however this doubt has arisen because i thought if we connect an exteranl soundcard i thought we bypass the MOB so the matter of infereier mob doesnt come into play at all am i right or wrong in assumin the above.
This depends a lot upon the specification of the external sound card. If the specifications are the same as using an internal card, yes it may sound the same, or should I say near the same.
But this reminds me a lot of the questions raised by people like Spiro sometime ago. If I buy a inexpensive DVDP and attach a external DAC, can I beat a dedicated CD Player. Remember the more steps you attach to the chain, the larger is the chance of noise. In addition, a laptop has limitations in HDD size. Plus when you are using it as a dedicated media source, it stops being a laptop altogether.
You certainly have an option. You can use a dedicated HTPC, or a laptop with a external sound card. You just have to ensure you get a card that is as good as internal cards that are there in the market today.
Cheers.
hyeah:
!I had even bought an external Turtle Beach Soundcard for digital pass through via my friend from the US. Ultimately I ditched the idea of an HTPC. Now with WD TV coming up with its neat looks and features it is something exactly what I wanted.
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