So I'm curious if anyone can tell me if there is going to be an audible difference between using the digital out of a soundcard (say a decent $100 card from M-Audio or SoundBlaster) to the digital in of a receiver vs. using a receiver with an Ethernet port and adding that receiver as a client (such as with
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=451033&CTID= )
The soundcard itself will be the biggest wildcard, I suppose, which is a point in the favor of using a network connection...but I don't understand the fine points of information transfer over coaxial/optical audio lines vs. raw data transfer over CAT5 copper. Or whatever.
I'm seeing more and more of these LAN connections on receivers popping up on cheaper and cheaper models, and I'm assuming in a few years time it will be a standard 'input'. So at some point it will no longer be a matter of whether or not I want to spend the money for the feature--since *both* will be standard--rather a question of which is better. Right?
