Need help connecting a simple HTPC's audio out to an amp

(I hope this is the right forum for my question. In any case, my ignorance of PC surround sound output has become apparent. )

I just purchased a Dell Inspiron Desktop 531S. It's my intention to use this small PC as a simple Home Theater PC by connecting it to the entertainment center in my family room.

My entertainment center includes a Sony STR DE-875 surround sound (5.1) amplifier which has an overwhelming (to me, anyway) number of inputs. My existing A/V components' audio connections to the amp are via Toslink (for a DVR and an Xbox 360) cables and via a coaxial (for a DVD player) cable. The A/V components' video connections go directly to my HDTV.

In my haste to purchase this PC, I neglected to give thought to how I would connect the audio to the amp. The PC came with an integrated sound card that supports up to 7.1 output; however, this support is through three (for 5.1--front, center/sub, rear) or four (for 7.1--front, center/sub, rear, side) patch cables--not Toslink or coaxial.

Is this type of PC audio output compatible with standard amplifiers--including my own? How do other forum members connect their PCs to their entertainment center?

BTW, I noticed that Creative Labs has a compatible (i.e., low-profile) sound card that supports SPIDF; however, their web site indicates that an add-on is required for digital output. I don't necessarily need digital output; I just want to be able to connect this PC to the amp and get decent sound.

Thank you, kamui and Ratman! I appreciate your responses. I'm also glad to learn that I asked this question on the right forum.

I wouldn't call myself an audiophile. I have a decent Klipsch 5.1 speaker system connected to the Sony amp mentioned earlier. It sounds great with DD/DTS content whether from DVDs or the HD DVR.

I'm hoping to use this PC to be the primary means of playing my large MP3 collection in my family room--where my family and company spends the most time while in the house. I'm also hoping to use this PC to play AVI (mostly DIVX) movies and TV shows that I've acquired, MPEG files I've created, and DVD content that I've converted (i.e., ripped).

If you were in my place, would you simply connect the integrated sound card to the amp....or go with a sound card?

From your exchanges, it seems as though a dedicated sound card would be required in order to hear any properly-encoded DD/DTS content to play back properly--is that the case?

Here's an added wrinkle: The Dell Inspiron 530S is a "low profile" PC--meaning that it can't house full-height cards. I went with this model because the case--lying horizontally--fits well in my entertainment center...as opposed to a normal profile PC. The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer that Dell recommends is a low-profile card. OTOH, that card may not add much over the integrated sound card and/or may be a bad sound card choice. In any case, I'm nearing the end of Dell's 21-day return period, so if I'm going to return this PC and go with a normal profile model, I need to do it soon.

Perhaps the simplest thing to do is to 'connect three pairs of analog audio cables from the [integrated sound card's] audio outputs to the "MULTI CH IN" on the back of the receiver' and then see how well/poor it sounds. (Thanks for pointing me to the appropriate page number in the amp manual, Ratman.) It's not clear to me, however, what the interface is for the MULTI CH IN ports on the amp. Are they 1/8" stereo plugs? RCA? Coaxial? Also, the MULTI CH IN section has *six* inputs--FRONT L&R, REAR L&R, CNT, and (I believe) SUBWOOFER. How do I convert three 1/8" stereo outputs from the integrated sound card to these six inputs? The people at my local Radio Shack and BestBuy (PC and HT sections) didn't know...nor did they have much in stock that looked like it work. Creative has a HT Cable Kit that might do the trick--but their disclaimer indicates that the kit is only for use with their sound cards.

Thanks again for your help!

I'm confused by these two paragraphs; please bear with me. Will my onboard card, by itself, using analog cables, provide DD/DTS if the source content is encoded that way? If so, what is the advantage of a digital (optical or coaxial) connection over an analog connection? And what is the advantage of the signal coming out of the Creative or Auzentech over the signal coming out of the onboard? A better quality of signal, primarily?

Thanks for the pointers to the items at Radio Shack. The second item (6-Ft. Y-Adapter, 1/8" Right-Angle to Two RCA Plugs) looks the simplest. I would need one of these for the Front and one for the Rear; but how is the sub/center handled? Do I use a third one of these adapters to split the onboard's Center/Sub signal into the two inputs on the amp?

Thanks. My local RadioShack has plenty of the Y-adapters that you mentioned. I'm headed there now to buy three and will then try it with my system.

I've never used the MULTI CH IN interface on this amp. I'm hoping it won't be too much of a challenge to configure it to use that input.

If the sound is less-than-stellar and I end up having to purchase a sound card, the Auzen X-Meridian sounds like a good choice. Do you have a source for it? NewEgg lists it as discontinued and no longer available.

Creative's card is low-profile; do you know if any of Auzentech's are, too? If they aren't, then my options are limited: go with the Creative and try to figure out their interpretation of 'digital out'...or exchange the PC for a normal profile model so that it can house a normal profile card like the Auzentech.

Thanks. Good to know.

I wasn't really looking to 'build my own' media center / simply HTPC, but that's the way it might turn out to be!

Thanks. I'm not looking to enhance the audio of any of this content; however, I would like to be hear the content in its native sound, whatever that might be.

kamui: May I ask what method you use to connect your Auzen to your amp?

I've been looking more closely at my amp and now wonder whether I have enough digital inputs. The digital ports on my amp are listed as OPTICAL DVD IN, OPTICAL TV/SAT IN, OPTICAL MD/TAPE IN, and COAXIAL DVD IN. There's also a OPTICAL MD/TAPE OUT port. So it appears that there are only *three* digital inputs, with the DVD input being either optical or coaxial.

My DVD connects to the COAXIAL DVD IN, my DVR connects via the OPTICAL TV/SAT IN, and my Xbox 360 connects via the OPTICAL MD/TAPE IN. So even if I were to go with a sound card that has digital output, I don't think I'd be able to connect it to this amp.

OK, I'm currently listening to the results of using the onboard's analog outputs with the MULTI CH IN ports on my amp--using the Y-adapters.

It took a bit of work to figure out how to hear the audio. Up until now, I've always used the amp's FUNCTION knob to cycle through the various audio sources; however, that doesn't seem to provide a means to access the MULTI CH IN signal. Near that knob is a small button labeled "MULTI/2CH A. DIRECT". When I press this button, it mutes whatever audio source was previously selected via the FUNCTION knob and then cycles between "MULTI CH DIRECT" and "2CH ANALOG DIRECT" settings. The audio from the sound card is only heard when I select "MULTI CH DIRECT".

The audio sounds fairly good; however, nothing seems to be heard from the center channel or subwoofer--whether playing MP3s or videos. I verified all of the cable connections. When I use the onboard's test utility to send a signal to all five speakers and the subwoofer, audio is heard from all of them. When I use Vista Media Center's speaker configuration tool, select "5.1 speakers", and then perform a speaker test, sound is heard from all five speakers, but not the subwoofer; however, it's not clear whether the subwoofer is actually included in that test. In any case, for both the onboard test and Media Center's test, I can hear sound from the center speaker.

Is it normal--with my configuration, as described--to *not* hear audio from the center speaker? I'm stumped as to why the *tests* produce sound on the center speaker and subwoofer, but no content seems to produce sound there.

Thanks, Brian. Definitely helpful advice! Hopefully, other newbies and/or people with the same kind of configuration find this helpful, too.

I can understand the lack of output to the center speaker. What *really* stumped me, however, was the lack of bass / output from the subwoofer even when just playing MP3s. It's almost as though the subwoofer channel wasn't getting much / any signal. I tried WMP11, also; however, I don't believe there's a place to select a speaker configuration. There is the "SRS WOW Effects", which include "TruBass", but this didn't seem to have any effect.

I tried various settings on the amp before giving up last night. This morning, I noticed that even my DVR wasn't generating any bass. I went through the settings again and noticed that I had somehow stumbled upon a setting that had resulted in very limited bass! After correcting this mistake, I had bass again with my DVR....and with my PC, also!

I'm listening to MP3s now while I work in the other room. IMO, the sound--while decent--seems a bit muffled. I'm not sure if that's due to my being in the other room, that the signal is coming out of a lowly integrated sound card via analog cables, or whether it's just my imagination--perhaps influenced by the comments in this thread.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Is it possible that with the analog cables the full signal range is not being passed through to the amp? I ask because the bass seems very weak. In addition: My subwoofer is configured to automatically shut off after five minutes of inactivity. When watching DVR and DVD content, the subwoofer never turns off; when listening to MP3s, however, the subwoofer turns off unless the amp's master volume is fairly high.