Hey, just built my new HTPC with the antec fusion case but I seemed to overlook a few things before I purchased my mobo!
On my old PC, I used to use the spdif output to my receiver for DD & DTS decoding of movies. Unfortunatly, the new mobo I have doesnt have spdif, only analogue outputs.
So now im on the hunt for a cheapish soundcard that can passthrough the sounds for my receiver to do all the decoding. I have been looking at some of the budget creative cards that all have digital outs but the all seem to be using 3.5mm stereo jacks for the outputs (is this correct?). Ive then been looking for a 3.5mm to rca cable to that I can use this in my receiver but from what I can tell, these cables do not exist. This has led me to believe that my assumptions on the right cables are wrong and that I need others advice to get things right!
So what cables would I need exactly to do the job? More to the point, what soundcard should I be looking for on a tight budget? As well as movies, I think dvd-audio may be a possibilty in the future. As spdif wont work for this and only analogue, would it be essential to look for a more expensive soundcard?
I hope someone is able to answer these quesions and I look forward to your responses.
Ive went ahead and bought a soundcard but now im having issues. I guess all you home theatre techies may have had issues like this or may be able to help me.
I spent the money and got a refurb Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum with the drive option. I have had 0 problems with setting it up. I plugged in an optical digital cable, ran it to a Sony DA1000ES reciever, set the output to digital optical, turned on the machine...works without a glitch. The card even has 7.1 output which is what I set up my theater with....
if you have an Audigy 2 or similar Creative and the card says 'Digital out' go to Maplin (uk) or Radio Shack (us) and buy a 3.5mm mono - RCA adapter it cost me less than £1 from maplin. It does state this in the manual but I didn't read and and bought the Digital I/O unit from Creative for about £20. If the card says 'digital I/O' then you need the Digital I/O unit (I already sold it on Ebay for £36)
Thanks techstyle, I did manage to find this out by chance on another forum not concerning creative cards. I didnt get a manual because it was oem, but im sure the online manual I read only mentioned the digital I/O adapter.
I had a spare 3.5mm to rca, plugged it in and all is well so I know have digital out once again.
