Any good quality amps with SPDIF input?

gordonf238

I'm trying to come up with the best way to play music from my computer on my speakers.

I bought a crappy 5.1 Altec Lansing system with my computer, which has an SPDIF input. The beauty of this is, that my sound card (which has SPDIF output) works great with it. The signal is not pre-amped (as is the case with analog line-out) and the end result is considerably less noise and more clarity.

Problem being of course that the Altec Lansing system is all interconnected. The SPDIF decoder is built into the subwoofer unit and I have no way of hooking up my pair of polk bookshelf speakers into it.

So I was looking around for a good amp that would directly accept SPDIF input, but no luck. Parasound, Adcom, they all run on analog connections, and the last thing I want is buy some cheap $100 Sony pre-amp/amp for this.

The main reason for using SPDIF is because the standard line-out from my sound card is pre-amped (and god knows what **** circuitry creative uses in their products), and so I'd really prefer that digital decoding and amplifying is done by a good quality product.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!

phuz

Look into getting an integrated amp, which is basically a pre-amp and amplifier together in a single unit. I don't think you'll find just an amp with a digital input, and if you do I doubt it would sound better than what you have already.

Most companies make them. Adcom, parasound, Rotel, NAD, Arcam, etc.

Dennis Gardner

Originally posted by gordonf238
I'm trying to come up with the best way to play music from my computer on my speakers.

I bought a crappy 5.1 Altec Lansing system with my computer, which has an SPDIF input. The beauty of this is, that my sound card (which has SPDIF output) works great with it. The signal is not pre-amped (as is the case with analog line-out) and the end result is considerably less noise and more clarity.

Problem being of course that the Altec Lansing system is all interconnected. The SPDIF decoder is built into the subwoofer unit and I have no way of hooking up my pair of polk bookshelf speakers into it.

Welcome to CP Gordon!

The 5.1, 2.1 etc. is decoded in the soundcard, not the amp. The SPDIF is only the delivery for the digital bits. The amp does have a decoder of sorts in it, but it isn't Dolby,DTS, or Stereo encoded, it is only a Digital to analog converter.

The SPDIF is preamped otherwise the volume on the card wouldn't work. The volume on the sub amp only controls the sub balance/volume.

Hook your Polks into the Subwoofer speaker connections. You just need to put RCA connectors on your speaker wires to connect.

I have the ADA-995 you are working with and find it to be adequate for the small distances that a computer desk presents. If you need a farther soundfield, then other speakers work better.

I have used all types of setups with this system, different speakers, run the signal through a receiver and only use the amp for the sub, etc.

Lots of flexibilty, just be creative. The only 5.1 computer system that I like better is the Klipsch, since it has the control pod with volume controls.

Cheers,

DG

madmax

I'm as ignant as many others are on this subject so I have a question about the sp/dif outputs on a sound card. Can you hook directly to a standard audiophile quality DAC and feed into an amplifier for stereo only?
madmax

Dennis Gardner

Using a better DAC than your soundcard has is common. SPDIF carries any signal regardless of the number of channels, up to a certain bandwidth. Hi-Res audio like DVD-a or SACD require more bandwidth than SPDIF can handle though.

The components in some of Creative cards (Audigy) and other pro sound cards aren't too bad, but you can do better with the seperate higher $$$ models.

gordonf238

Hey Dennis, righ on. I have the ADA-885 myself.

Altec Lansing ADA-885 is a 4.1 system, with a subwoofer (which also houses all the inputs and outputs), two front and two rear speakers.

The issue with that is that the two front Altec Lansing speakers use proprietary connections (since the controls are mounted on one of the front speakers). Therefore, I cannot connect my polks to my Altec Lansing system, unfortunately.


I would still prefer to have a higher quality pre-amp/amp. The use of subwoofer is of little need to me since most of the music I play off my PC is classical/piano, and my current amp is a **** Radio Shack brand rated at 25w/channel and often clips.

I'm looking at Rotel and Parasound units, and it seems like they offer separate pre-amp and power-amp items. Do you suppose I really need a pre-amp? I suppose I could control the volume from my computer where I also have equalizer controls. I guess my question is, could I connect my line-out from the sound card directly to a power-amp? Say a Rotel RB-1050 which is rated at 70w/channel at 8ohms? Or is there any significant benefit to running the signla through a pre-amp?

Originally posted by Dennis Gardner
Welcome to CP Gordon!

The 5.1, 2.1 etc. is decoded in the soundcard, not the amp. The SPDIF is only the delivery for the digital bits. The amp does have a decoder of sorts in it, but it isn't Dolby,DTS, or Stereo encoded, it is only a Digital to analog converter.....



....I have the ADA-995 you are working with and find it to be adequate for the small distances that a computer desk presents. If you need a farther soundfield, then other speakers work better.


DG

Dennis Gardner

I'm not familiar with the 885 model, the 995 I have doesn't have any volume pot at all other than the sub balance.

My Altec speakers just measured 8ohms across the plug FYI.

Cheap solution #1: You might be able to improve the sound of your setup by splicing the Polks into the speaker cables of the Altecs. A little searching in the cabs should let you know what wires to tap. This would allow the volume pot to remain.

Better solution: Run the spdif or analog into a receiver
and run whatever speakers you choose. Sell your Altecs to defer costs if needed. I like my computer sound to be top shelf if possible also. Classical piano is tough for good systems to replicate, let alone soundcards.

Good Luck,

DG

gordonf238

Yeah no kidding. I have a 200 watt 8-speaker system in my car (optional equipment), and while I can play pop music with plenty of bass on them, classical piano always clips them at moderate volume. I have found solo piano music to be the most difficult kind of sound across all speaker types. And you'd think it would be just the opposite since it's just one instrument!