soundcard to amplifier questions

tooby · 08-29-2006, 03:02 AM

I am building quite the elaborate carpc and have been doing lots and lots of research, but my latest hang up that I'm just not very happy with is a problem with getting my carputer sound to my amplifier

I am currently thinking of going with this soundcard and I will be running it to this amplifier. I dont know what cables I should use to do this, I feel pretty stupid asking this but i've never really dealt much at all with pc audio in the past, I'm a huge pc guy, and a huge car audio guy, but never got into the pc (or home) audio, so I am left a little clueless here. Do I need specific SPDIF to RCA cables, or what?

Thanks for all the help
once I buckle down and have everything decided I will certainly be updating everyone as progress goes on during the installation, though current carputer cost will be about $1850

2k1Toaster · 08-29-2006, 03:05 AM

Just slap on of these:

inbetween and your set. It takes the 1/8" stereo jack to 2 mono RCA plugs. Then just regular RCA's to your amp's RCA's on the back:

tooby · 08-29-2006, 03:25 AM

Just slap on of these:

inbetween and your set. It takes the 1/8" stereo jack to 2 mono RCA plugs. Then just regular RCA's to your amp's RCA's on the back:

is this the same thing as that? or am I going to have to find another product? if so does newegg or another really trustworthy store that you know of carry these?

2k1Toaster · 08-29-2006, 03:47 AM

Yes it does the same thing pretty much. Only difference is that that will take a plug and give 2 plugs, like what would go into your amp. Perfect, as long as your PC is within 6feet (cable length). If you get one that has a headphone plug (3.5mm) to 2 RCA jacks, then you can use a standard RCA cable, of longer length (cheap), to get sound farther.

So the same, just depends on the next step from cable to amp!

2k1Toaster · 08-29-2006, 03:50 AM

Oh, and if you are in the states, radioshack has some for about $3.00

Genesisfactor · 08-29-2006, 08:58 AM

Tooby, i have a whole bunch of them. PM me how many you need. radio shack, around here atleast, sells em for around $5-$6 each. Mine have a right angle 1/8" plug which are neat. They'll be realy cheap, i promise you that!

RedGTiVR6 · 08-29-2006, 09:09 AM

guys - at least warn this guy that he won't be getting good sound this way at all!

because the OP said that he is a big car audio guy, I assume that means that he's interested in some at least simi high quality sound.

going the route you all have mentioned, he will not have a high enough line level voltage going into the amplifier, which means his noise floor will be extremely low which means he will have a lot of room for induced noise, which means poor quality sound.

scott_fx · 08-29-2006, 02:34 PM

yes. you can get a much nicer amp for the same price. go to the elemental designs web site and look at there nine.4 amp. it is 65wrms x4 and will perform a lot better then that pioneer amp. and the soundcard. you could go with a soundblaster live 5.1 pci card and an audio control eq/line driver in conjuction with the kxproject drivers. that'll get you some decent sound from the computer. or you can go with a usb dac (god i feel like a broken record) this will set you back about 100 bucks or more (depending on what you choose) but you'll have closer to 4 volts on the rca output and if you go with the amp i suggested, it'll have a set of pre-outs on the amp that will allow you to add a second amp if you wanted to run a sub off another amp and the interior speakers off the nine.4

if you do go with Elemental designs' equipment, let me know i can hook you up with a 'forum discount price' that they extend to anyone on the icixsound forums. the amp will cost you $185 (and if you want another 400 wrms amp for a sub they have a nine.2 for $175)

2k1Toaster · 08-29-2006, 03:00 PM

I figured that since he wanted to use a sub-$30 sound card, then those should be fine. If you want high quality for competitions and such, then no way! Do as scott said.

jschrauwen · 09-01-2006, 01:36 AM

I think I may have similar aspirations but am an extreme noob to the PC environment. That said, my research and reading on this BB lead me to believe or directed me in a certain direction.
1. I was going to be HU' less.
2. Was interested in a MB that was alittle newer and little more powerfull than the Via line.
3. Was very interested in the prospects of surround sound (5.1).
4. Aside from having a serial cable connection for my Megasquirt EMS, was interested in the ancilliary options available to me - WIFI, GPS, AM/FM, DVD/CD-RW, rear camera, large HDD, etc.

So this is where I've been focusing toward;
1. A MB that has a 5.1 soundcard. As well, it has to have Tos-Link out. As Red GTi VR6 as mentioned, there are better ways to get sound from the PC and to the amplifier. You've selected a 7.1 ch soundcard so it appears your very interested in surround sound. Most recent MB's already have the AC97 codec OB giving you 5.1 already. My Commell LV675D has the 5.1 codec and Tos-Link out and I'll see how that goes initially. The souncard you selected doesn't have the Tos-Link out but this one does;
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_t...terid=1145294/

2. You've selected a 4 ch amplifier. I'm not sure where you're heading since you opted for a 7.1 ch sound card initially. At any rat, it may be a good idea to try and source an amplifier with optical (Tos-Link) input. Preferreably with ProLogic II and DTS decoding, but I believe quite a few do have it anyway.
I opted for the Performance Teknique ICBM 5.1 because it had all of the above mentioned options and I'll only require one amp (I like to keep things simple).
http://www.millionbuy.com/pericbm51.html

Sweet part about the Tos-Link is that there's only one cable running from the MB to the amplifier (keeping it simple) and it's supposed to be about the cleanest way of acquiring sound from the MB itself. Try going through this for 5.1 optical amplifiers;
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=82408
If you prefer to go with the 4ch amplifier, you'll find lots to source here;
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/millionbuy/amplifier.htm
And if you're really into the high end audio scene, perhaps contact "Red GTi VR6". I believe she competes with her CarPC sound system. I imagine a lot will depend on your $$ spending comfort level. Mines kind of taken on a life of it's own and keeps on growing. It will be about $1,100.00 cdn for the carpc once it's finished and I'm up to $1,100.00 cdn on speakers and amp already. I haven't got the wiring, power distribution block or connectors yet, not to mention all of those other little things needed. But it's all good and a lot of fun. Hope this helps,

John

RedGTiVR6 · 09-01-2006, 07:21 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by jschrauwen

The souncard you selected doesn't have the Tos-Link out but this one does;
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_t...terid=1145294/

Just note that this card isn't JUST a pci card, it also includes the 5.25 slot in the picture that needs to be mounted somewhere too.

Quote:

I opted for the Performance Teknique ICBM 5.1 because it had all of the above mentioned options and I'll only require one amp (I like to keep things simple).
http://www.millionbuy.com/pericbm51.html

I'm curios to know how he plans on getting 7.1 in his car period. a 5.1 amp won't do it, and a 4 channel won't do it at all.

jschrauwen · 09-01-2006, 08:37 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Red GTi VR6

Just note that this card isn't JUST a pci card, it also includes the 5.25 slot in the picture that needs to be mounted somewhere too.

Red, Iwas only presenting potential / viable options to him. That's why the link was included - for him to read up on it and see if it would meet his application needs.

Quote: Originally Posted by Red GTi VR6

I'm curios to know how he plans on getting 7.1 in his car period. a 5.1 amp won't do it, and a 4 channel won't do it at all.

I think I've made that specific observation to him already. I realize that the 5.1ch and the 4ch obviously won't satisfy that and I'm sure I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he can also figure that out too.
I offered some alternatives / suggestions / options based on my limited experience. Since it appeared that he was an enthusiast for sound quality, you were the first person that came to mind. I thought perhaps mentioning that you were a stickler for the same, you may be able to contribute in a positive way towards these ends. Not point out more defficiencies and not offer viable/alternative solutions. I'll refrain from making such recommendations for you in the future - my appologies.

"tooby" Red's obversations are valid. If you're intent on 5.1 or greater that you'll have to consider having more than one amp in your system. I'm sure there are a number of ways of approaching that and I'm not one to best make specific recommendations. Perdaps having a look through here may serve you better;
http://www.elitecaraudio.com
http://www.carsound.com
http://www.caraudioforum.com
http://forum.sounddomain.com
http://www.realcaraudio.com
http://www.carstereo.com
http://www.caraudiomag.com
http://www.termpro.com
http://www.the12volt.com
http://www.talkaudio.co.uk
http://www.caraudiosecurity.com
g/l

John

RedGTiVR6 · 09-01-2006, 08:49 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by jschrauwen

Red, Iwas only presenting potential / viable options to him. That's why the link was included - for him to read up on it and see if it would meet his application needs.

I think I've made that specific observation to him already. I realize that the 5.1ch and the 4ch obviously won't satisfy that and I'm sure I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he can also figure that out too.
I offered some alternatives / suggestions / options based on my limited experience. Since it appeared that he was an enthusiast for sound quality, you were the first person that came to mind. I thought perhaps mentioning that you were a stickler for the same, you may be able to contribute in a positive way towards these ends. Not point out more defficiencies and not offer viable/alternative solutions. I'll refrain from making such recommendations for you in the future - my appologies.

no harm no foul man!

I was only pointing out observations on your post, same as you were pointing out observations in general.

I felt that it needed to be mentioned that the card wasn't just a PCI card as many members have mistakenly assumed that that product was JUST a pci card. Nothing more, not cutting you down, not going against you.

I mentioned the issue with the 5.1 amp and him wanting 7.1 because it kinda came across that you were recomending the 5.1 amp to him over the 4 channel. I just wanted to point out and make sure that the OP knew that that amp wouldn't fit his needs if he was going after 7.1, nothing more.

jschrauwen · 09-01-2006, 09:10 AM

No worries