Sound Quality w/ HU?

**ouikikazz** · 07-16-2006, 10:14 AM

So i was thinking, if i ran the carputer off the aux in of my HU wouldn't the SQ degrade? Or would it be better since all my speakers would be amped?

On that same level, if i was running it to the aux in of my HU would it matter (SQ wise) to get a USB soundcard or use onboard is fine? If that was the case though, would a 5.1 sound card matter? would i not be fine with just stereo out usb sound card (http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...3&ParentId=114)

**-zip-** · 07-16-2006, 11:06 AM

It depends on the quality of your H/U, speakers and sound card. You can run amps with or without a H/U. How does the Roland sound? Some USB cards can take up considerable CPU cycles. What type of computer will you be using and manufacturer of H/U and speakers.

**scott_fx** · 07-16-2006, 11:08 AM

you have some reading to do sir. welcome to the forums though. you are going to have get an amp if you go w/o a h/u so your speakers will be amped regardless. I guess the degradation of sound would ultimately rely on what h/u you chose. and yes, all you would need would be a two chan soundcard or better yet a usb dac.

**ouikikazz** · 07-16-2006, 10:34 PM

seems you guys may have misread...i am using an amp regardless.

so you are saying that the H/U will degrade sound quality? I was planning on using the newest top of the line Alpine unit 9857 i think the model is. My comp setup would be the new Via 13000cn setup (once it is readily available i will be buying) with 512mb ram etc etc i will be running Alpine SPX-177R components throughout the car, i am thinking about using the DIYMA tweeters and midbass with a Dayton midrange setup for the fronts tho but i haven't decided yet. As for amps i will be using Zed Audio Draconia amp for the speakers with the burr brown chipset. I plan on using that for now until i really want to go all out and get the alpine h701 in the future since it'll plug right up to my Alpine H/U and in which case i'll upgrade the sound card to a M-Audio Transit unit.

I am trying not to use a PCI sound card tho because of space constraints, i'm trying to use the ampie case and really don't want to go bigger. But if it will cause a HUGE difference in sound quality i may reconsider.

Let me peg on another question, would a firewire sound card be better? Would that be less strain on the CPU? It definitely will be more strain on the wallet tho ;P

**scott_fx** · 07-17-2006, 12:44 AM

not any h/u will degrade sound quality, i said that the sound quality would depend on the h/u. i would strongly suggest looking into some of the mid level usb dacs if you are going to be going with a h/u and only stereo input. Do some searching around and you'll find there are a few options out there...even some people are making there own audiophile grade usb dacs. i've heard one hooked up to a headphone amp and a nice set of headphones and i was taken back by the quallity and seperation of sound that the usb dac produced. It had me sold. I think it was around $300-$400 and i can get the model name if you are interested...but it is one of the more popular ones around.

**ouikikazz** · 07-17-2006, 01:00 AM

Originally Posted by scott_fx

not any h/u will degrade sound quality, i said that the sound quality would depend on the h/u. i would strongly suggest looking into some of the mid level usb dacs if you are going to be going with a h/u and only stereo input. Do some searching around and you'll find there are a few options out there...even some people are making there own audiophile grade usb dacs. i've heard one hooked up to a headphone amp and a nice set of headphones and i was taken back by the quallity and seperation of sound that the usb dac produced. It had me sold. I think it was around $300-$400 and i can get the model name if you are interested...but it is one of the more popular ones around.

if you could thatd be great, it seems the EB01 is the most popular one out there. now i need to know whats one of the better ones out there

**scott_fx** · 07-17-2006, 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by ouikikazz

if you could thatd be great, it seems the EB01 is the most popular one out there. now i need to know whats one of the better ones out there

eb01 is popular around here because of the price.

the one that i listened to was this one:
http://www.headphone.com/products/he...-micro-dac.php

the downfall is that it doesnt have a pre-amp output so it may not help in our situation.

**scott_fx** · 07-17-2006, 02:09 AM

do some info on this usb dac:
http://www.scott-nixon.com/dac.htm

**ouikikazz** · 07-17-2006, 09:04 AM

i was also looking at this, any feedback on this? http://www.stereo-link.com/Static/1200Desc.html

**wuzzaap123** · 07-17-2006, 12:31 PM

Im currently running a turtle beach audio micro ( a cheap usb souncard) into my alpine 9856 HU. I a jl 300/2 for my front cdt speakers, and alpine powering the rear cdt speakers and one jl 500/1 w/ 12w6v2. I would say the sound is pretty amazing already with the micro soundcard. I had to spend a lot of time adjusting it, there a lot of sound features on the alpine HU, but overall the pretty good. I originally had a kenwood ddx-7015 HU and I would have the say the sound quality is just as good if not better. I will try to upgrade to a sb audigy nx and see how much better it is already.