PC to AVR connection question

Hi Jeff - What you likely need for that combination is a USB to S/PDIF Optical (Toslink) converter. I tried to find the specs for your laptop but was unable to determine what ports you have available. If you have an optical S/PDIF port available you'll just need a cable to connect the laptop to the receiver.

You are absolutely correct you want to use the Denon's DAC.

See Chris: I said this was a frequently asked question! (Well I said connecting to a DAC).

Eloise

Chris,
With this connection is the sound card in the laptop still in use, or can you configure around it?
Thanks Russ

Thanks Chris. The PC doesn't have a digital out only USBs'. I came across this device http://www.audiophileproducts.com/usbtospdif. Have you or anybody else heard of it or had experience with it? It claims it converts the USB signal into a digital signal which I could then input into my receiver via a SPDIF RCA connection. The "conversion" kind of concerns me. What's happening to the signal or the SQ? What kind of signal is coming out of the USB port? Another option I came across is a HP docking station that connects to the expansion port 3 on the PC which includes a digital audio out connection. The dock might provide the most direct path, without the conversion of the other device. The device is a little cheaper and smaller plus. If, and it's a big if, if the signal isn't being corrupted in the conversion I might be persuaded to the device.

Get a SqueezeBox Touch to plug into the optical or coax input on the Denon and connect it to the HP via Ethernet or WiFi. There are ancillary benefits with this.

Kal

That converter will work without corrupting any data. It's pretty inexpensive and you'll get what you pay for. It likely doesn't support high resolution like the Bel Canto device or the Halide Design Bridge. The Halide is one of the best USB to S/PDIF converters.

If you only play CD quality music and want an inexpensive solution to get you started the the converter you found will work just fine.

P.S. There must be a conversion since your receiver doesn't have a USB input. Even then there is an internal conversion to I2S, but that's beyond the scope of this thread.

With a device like this no internal computer sound card is needed.

Hi Kal, Besides providing for the connection between PC and AVR what else does the SqueezeBox Touch offer? I'm not interested in wireless. You mentioned ancillary benefits but I'm not seeing them. Please explain. This could be my and many others solution. Thanks.

In that there appears to be solutions to this connection problem and as in everything else there are pluses and minuses, pro and cons to consider. I don't want resolution limitations on play back. I'll just buy a Oppo 83 and be done with it. But I'm not ready to give up yet. Any thoughts on a "decent reasonably" priced usb to spdif converter without any play back limitations. Let's use the Oppo as a cost standard. I don't want to turn this topic into a player vs computer discussion because computer audio is such an elegant solution. Thanks again.

Hi Jeff - I'll include a link to my Squeezebox Touch review incase you're interested. I'm not sure what you consider reasonably priced.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Logitech-Squeezebox-Touch-Review

There is a device called the M2Tech HiFace which is plugged into the USB port on any Windows or Mac OS computer to provide an SPDIF connection to allow you to connect it to any DAC (or AVR) with a spare co-ax SPDIF input. The cost is around £100 (GBP) / $150 (USD).

Other similar devices are available but the tend to be limited in either facilities (the HiFace supports upto 24/192 audio) or sound quality (simple devices use off the shelf chipsets which are lower quality) or are significantly more expensive (i.e. Chris's mentioned Halide Bridge is $450).

Using this with good quality rips on your HP laptop will give you sound which should equal or exceed digital output from your Oppo player. To get the best quality you'll need a play back application which supports WASAPI Exclusive mode or Kernel Streaming. The Computer Audiophile site's recommended player is J.River Media Center, but alternatives include Foobar 2000 and Media Monkey.

Eloise

Chris, Eloise, Kal thanks for your suggestions. I think I have enough information and options to get over this first hurdle. I'll keep you posted as I'm sure I'll have many more questions. Jeff