Music quality discussion (2 Viewers)

[LasseL]

Can anyone tell me about the difference between "HDA Digital X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect",,, and "HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold/ Dolby Digital Live",,,,,,, from a HTPC sound quality perspective....

 

[rtv]

Most "older" Cirrus logic DSP driven cards do an excellent job just passing S/PDIF signals through.

You may find e.g. these ones cheap on ebay:
Terratec X-Fire 1024
Hercules Fortissimo
Hercules Game Theater XP
Videologic SonicFury
Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

 

[rtv]

X-Mystique 7.1 Gold/ Dolby Digital Live",,,,,,, from a HTPC sound quality perspective

You'll only need this card if you can't go for digital cableing (e.g. because you own cheap speakers with active amplifiers).

If you'd like to pass the sound to your home stereo then choose fiber cable save your money and get rid of crosstalk noise due to long analog cables..