Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Do you need a preamp with a soundcard as your source?

I wouldn't recommend going from your anolog out of your soundcard to a power amp. To many tics and hiss will be produced. Try booting down windows with that in place just as you shutdown a loud pop could eminate from your speakers. It did it with my Bryston amps and Maggies. Its pretty scary. It is better going SPDIF out of your soundcard to your receiver or preamp/processor which is connected to a power amp.

Saturn

I'll turn off the soundcard before I turn off or boot up the computer. Frankly, getting a $600 preamp or so just doesn't seem worth the money just to not have tics and hissing. Most preamps at that price, which are out of the question for budget reasons anyway, don't have spdif input, just the receivers do, and the quality there is definately not the same as I'd expect from a good amp. I've also never seen an integrated amp with the spdif inputs either.

I think I'll just go for the amp and the soundcard, except connecting a subwoofer in the future would appear to be tricky with this kind of setup.

I have an M-Audio Delta 410 and I connect it directly to an amplifier. I guess some people just luck out where electronic noise is concerned because I haven't had a problem in that area. Honestly, though, if you already have a preamp or a receiver, it might do some good to compare the sound using each possible configuration. There are quite a few people at the avsforum who stand by the pre/pro capabilities of an HTPC, but the software isn't always there depending on what soundcard you buy. So, in summary:

* You can use the analog outs and decode multichannel audio from your HTPC using software or hardware (depending on the capabilities of your soundcard -- the Delta 1010 and the SB Audigy 2 Platinum Pro offer external hardware that make EMI concerns inside a computer moot).

The drawbacks here include possible electronic noise/interference (for those cards with no external hardware) and lackluster software.

* You can use the digital out and decode multichannel audio with a preamp or a receiver.

The drawbacks here include added cost and the fact that your home theater will take up more space.

- David

Ok, so if I went this route, all I'd need to know is how I would add a subwoofer later? Is there anything I could get inbetween the soundcard and the amp to send the signal to the speakers and the subwoofer? That's one of my planned upgrades down the line, maybe in a year or two. I'd prefer to send the signal to both the sub and the mains, but I don't need to. I've heard about external crossovers, yet I'm not exactly sure how that works.

Thanks a lot for all the help!

A lot of subs will allow you to pass through the signal to your mains - ie. you go from your amp to your sub, then from your sub to your mains. If you buy other external sound cards (such as the Audigy or Extigy) they have a channel for the sub.

Sean

Thanks!

Would that allow bi-wiring?

**waits for claims that it does nada**

(hey, with a spool of 100 feet, using just 20 seems like a waste)

In reply to:

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Would that allow bi-wiring?

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GET ME MY SHOVEL!!!

Bren R.

You and your damned shovel... I was just asking because it'd be something worth trying when I had 80 feet of wire left over. 100 feet for below $40 12 guage is a damned good deal.

Does anybody here know about external crossovers, which one'd usually put between the preamp and the amp to split the connection between the amp to the speakers and the sub? How much do these run, and could I put the signal to both the speakers and the sub this way?

Not sure why you'd want to but you could.

Sean

So I feel like I'm not wasting an extra 80 feet of wire. And placeabo is by far cheapest upgrade.

Anyway, so I'd plug the amp to the sub then out to the speakers - and use the sub's crossover? So the power would go through the sub to the speakers. Sounds about right. Except how would the sub know what goes to it? It'd be getting, for example, a 60 watt signal, would it have to deamp it then amplify it again with the sub amp?

How about external crossovers that go inbetween the soundcard and the amp? Where would I find these, and how are they used?

Thanks again for putting up with these questions.