[Luker]

Hi Guys,


I'm new to HTPC but I'm in the process of putting one together as follows


AMD 1800+ CPU

Epox 8KHA+ KT266A

256mb DDR Ram

16x DVD ROM

40Gb Hard Disk

GeForce 2 MX 400 64mb

19" Hitachi Monitor

Sound Card ......?


This is the one component I'm unsure of Sound Card!. I need to simply output DD5.1 and or DTS straight to my amp which will do the decoding.


I've heard the Audigy has just come out but I'm concerned that connecting this straight to my DENON AVR 1800 amp will damage it...something to do with the output voltages from the card (SPDIF out I think). I believe the platinum range outputs the standard 0.5 Volts but my budget can only stretch to the Audigy Digital Entertainment. Some say a "daughter card" can help but what are these and are they easy to get in Australia where I'm from


My other choice is to get a Game Theatre XP with Coax and Optical outs...but what is this card like as I know nothing about it and will connecting my amp straight to it result in damage to the amp ??? i.e are the output voltages 0.5 Volts or are they greater and can this card do 5.1/DTS ??


If I simply need to pass out the digital stream can I get away with buying a cheaper card although my preference is still for the SB Audigy Digital Entertainment....if it weren't for the voltage problems from the SPDIF out.


Could someone put me out of my misery please !!!


Thanking you all in Advance

Luke

 

[ScottL]

What OS?


I had the gametheater, but I wanted to run win2k pro and I could not pass DD5.1 or DTS. I then went out and bought a phillips acoustic edge which worked fine. If you are running 98se or me you should be fine with the XP.


Just my 2 cents,


Scott

 

[WildBill]

I can't give you any info on the audigy as to if it's in spec or not. I DO HAVE AND RUN the audigy, although it IS on an older test DSP right now, I have encountered no problems with the line voltage messing up my DSP/reciever combo.


HOWEVER, if you do a search for just AUDIGY, you will see many, many posts to the effect that most people can't (including myself) get it to pass more than dolby digital. I use a GFIII along with an audigy and WinDVD 3.0, and can't get it to pass the DTS signal. I think a few have reported success, but most (videophiles) people don't really like the video quality of WinDVD 3.0, rather they prefer some 2.4/2.8 combo or something.


End result, do some more searches for Audigy and whatever DVD player you wish, that should go a long way towards giving you most of your info.

By the way, other than the DTS issue, which I hope to either find a solution to or get a new driver that fixes it someday, I love the Audigy card. Sounds good, no stability issues...


Best of luck. If you DO get the Audigy and get DTS working, post some info, maybe you can help others out.

 

[Luker]

Hi Guys,


Thanks for your replies. After more research on the forums I have found that most SB cards put out, out of spec voltages, but this can be cured with a Hoontech DBIII Daughter card. Does anybody know if this is compatible with the new Audigy Digital Entertainment card ? Also some posts refer to the "Gamer XP" is this the same as the Game Theatre XP as I believe this card can put out an in spec voltage through its COAX/OPTICAL outputs.


Basically all I'm after is a card that can output a digital stream to my amp with an in spec voltage. The decoding will take place at the amp.


I plan to use Windows 98 and later upgrade to Win 2000 or XP.


Thanks Heaps

Luke

 

[matt4321]

I have a GTXP and am very happy with it. The rack is a very nice feature to have for the digital connections. I have used both coax and optical out of this card and am satisfied with both.


I have only ever had 1 problem with the card and that is when I start a DTS movie and pass the DTS to the reciever sometimes the DTS signal will bounce in and out of play causing digital noise to occur. The DTS led on the reciever will bounce on and off. After pausing the movie and playing a couple of times it starts working fine for the rest of the movie.


I have heard this happening on other sound cards as well including the SBLIVE's. This may be Software player related but I am hoping the new Hercules released drivers (released last night) will help with this issue.


Matt

 

[MF]

I am using a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz outputting to an Onkyo Receiver through the SPdif output and DD and DTS both work fine. The software is a Dell OEM Version of Intervideo's WINDVD. The pc has a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4. I am converting the connection from mini stereo to RCA to Coax RG-6 up to the receiver then back to RCA. The run is about 35'. With all this stuff, I'm getting a picture from my NEC projector on a 100" homemade screen that rivals the 1080i signal from HBO HD and HDNet. It's as good a picture as I've ever seen and not as glossy as the HDTVs in Circuit City.