Big improvement from analog sound to digital? When it comes to music that is

For those of you who run a digital connection from your PC soundcard to your speakers - do you notice a HUGE difference as opposed to say running analog cables (the red/white) cables. Im talking mostly for music.

I have a 5.1 set and use it for my 360, but also use it for my PC speakers with music (running PLII), and I get sound from all 5 speakers. It sounds great, but Im wondering if I should still invest in a 5.1 card with an opt. out? I dont watch movies or play games on the PC at all, so if I do get one...the sole reason would be so I can run a digital signal and get rid of this analog stuff. I have nothing against running the red/white cables, they still sound great, but if fibre optic is goin to make the sound that much better, than why not.

Theres no doubt it makes a huge difference with games/movies, but is it really noticeable when it comes to MP3 listening? Is it worth it, or should I just stick with my onboard card. If I watched movies on the PC, sure it would probably be more worth it, but the only reason why I even want one is for the digital connector.

 

The sound will only be as good as the D/A (digital to analog) conversion in your 5.1 speakers. If that implementation is sub par, then a digital out to your speakers will not be an improvement over using the D/A on your current card. It will most likely not be a noticeable difference, unless your speakers have a great D/A converter.

 

I'd say unless you're an audiophile, stick with your onboard card and save yourself some dough.

 

Don't have to be an "audiophile". Just a music lover with a student loan to burn like me

Check out this list of DACs. Your choices also include a sound card + dac or amp + dac. Do some reading though. Wouldn't want you to waste money

 

As someone who's attached a laptop (my Dell) to his stereo system with both analog (headphone->RCA) and digital (S/PDIF through breakout adapter) I can say there isn't much difference. I mostly use digital from my Dell for convenience. The way I have my system setup it's just much simpler and neater to have one coax (I use an old composite video cable) running from the back of my laptop into my receiver.

Granted, my Dell might have had a particularly good DAC, so I dunno if that's why the two sounded about the same.

In general, I've found the quality of the digital audio files on my computer to be more of a limiting factor in listening experience then the interface I use to play them.

ogg >> mp3, for example.

 

The biggest difference beside the DAC is bass management. Most receivers will not apply bass management to analog inputs. If you have small speakers and a subwoofer, this will make a big difference.