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From: Priam on 1 Jan 2010 21:13 On 01/01/2010 05:50 PM, JF Mezei wrote: > Priam wrote: > >> Yep! Cheap better than Mac quality PCs. The absence of the Apple logo >> preaches in favor of a sound purchase. :) > > Since we're talking "sound"... > > IS your cheap PC able to send Dolby 5.1 or DTS surround sound over > optical fibre to a stereo ? The Macs can. Honestly, I don't know much about sound, but I doubt optical fiber will improve 16 bit sampling.
From: JF Mezei on 1 Jan 2010 23:01 Priam wrote: > Honestly, I don't know much about sound, but I doubt optical fiber will > improve 16 bit sampling. Optical fibre allows you to send a large number of separate audio feeds. A copper solution lets you send only left and right audio signals. (you can encode 4 channels in a left-right but those are not fully seperate feeds). Dolby 5.1 has 6 separate channels. And with fibre, you can also send 7 channel audio. None of these can be transmitted with 2 wire copper feeds.
From: Lloyd Parsons on 1 Jan 2010 23:04 In article <0185d3b1$0$24660$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com>, JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot(a)vaxination.ca> wrote: > Priam wrote: > > > Honestly, I don't know much about sound, but I doubt optical fiber will > > improve 16 bit sampling. > > Optical fibre allows you to send a large number of separate audio feeds. > A copper solution lets you send only left and right audio signals. (you > can encode 4 channels in a left-right but those are not fully seperate > feeds). > > Dolby 5.1 has 6 separate channels. And with fibre, you can also send 7 > channel audio. None of these can be transmitted with 2 wire copper feeds. Dolby 5.1 and DTS will go just fine over 2 wire copper feeds from digital connection.
From: Priam on 2 Jan 2010 00:54 On 01/01/2010 11:04 PM, Lloyd Parsons wrote: > In article<0185d3b1$0$24660$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com>, > JF Mezei<jfmezei.spamnot(a)vaxination.ca> wrote: > >> Priam wrote: >> >>> Honestly, I don't know much about sound, but I doubt optical fiber will >>> improve 16 bit sampling. >> >> Optical fibre allows you to send a large number of separate audio feeds. >> A copper solution lets you send only left and right audio signals. (you >> can encode 4 channels in a left-right but those are not fully seperate >> feeds). >> >> Dolby 5.1 has 6 separate channels. And with fibre, you can also send 7 >> channel audio. None of these can be transmitted with 2 wire copper feeds. > > Dolby 5.1 and DTS will go just fine over 2 wire copper feeds from > digital connection. Seems you're right, bu I had to check this. My integrated sound chip specs: 1. Realtek ALC888 codec 2. High Definition Audio 3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel 4. Support for S/PDIF In/Out 5. Support for CD In <http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3096> I must admit I'm surprised it does 7.1. At this price, they usually "only" do 5.1. I couldn't care less about this. I use headphones on the chip's preamp. It doesn't disturb anybody :) "There are no differences between the signals transmitted over optical or coaxial S/PDIF connectors—both carry exactly the same information. Selection of one over the other rests mainly on the availability of appropriate connectors on the chosen equipment and the preference and convenience of the user. TOSLINK cables do not work well (and may even suffer permanent damage) if tightly bended, and their high light-signal attenuation limits their effective range to 6.1 metres (20 ft) or so. On the other hand, TOSLINK cables are not susceptible to ground loops and RF interference, like coaxial cables.[2] Another deciding factor for many is cost: any standard 75 Ω A/V cable can be used for coaxial connectivity, while TOSLINK requires a specific cable which, until recently, was not very affordable." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/PDIF I doubt very much that coax suffers from interference in a house. Mezei, what next? Optical fiber doesn't justify the $2000 extra you paid for your Mac Pro.
From: JF Mezei on 2 Jan 2010 00:54
Lloyd Parsons wrote: > Dolby 5.1 and DTS will go just fine over 2 wire copper feeds from > digital connection. The only copper which tranmsits digital audio are HDMI cables. Normal RCA outputs cannot transmit true Dolby 5.1 or DTS surround sound. They can only transmit stereo (2 channel) analogue sounds. Many amplifiers can synthesize 4 channel audio from 2 channel audio: what is unique to left goes on left what is unique to right goes on right what is common to left and right goes on centre what is common to left and right, but right has amplitude of -100% goes in rear speakers. |