Computer to amp

[neonplanet40]

Hey guys i have recently bought an Onkyo 605 amp and im wondering on the best way to connect it to my x-fi fatality for the best sound?

I have it going through optical at the minute.

thanks guys

Neon

[dave87]

Optical is probably the best, no quality loss regardless of the cable used to connect the two.

If you do it by standard phono, the quality of the cable is a lot more important, but if you have already got it setup via Optical, then that is probably the best method.

[neonplanet40]

ok mate thanks for the help. just wanted to make sure i wasnt missing out on something better

Neon

[chrismox]

Hmm, not necessarily true...

Optical will give you a digital signal BUT it's only stereo.

It obviously depends what you're hoping to output but I'm assuming you have a 5.1 setup or similar. The X-Fi can obviously support any amount of speakers but to successfully output anything other than stereo, you need to use analogue connections.

Creative do a cable specifically for this - http://uk.europe.creative.com/shop/p...&product=1076&

Otherwise, some 3.5mm to phono cables separately.

Hope that makes sense, I've got my X-Fi connected to my Denon AVR-2805 using the Creative cable (which replaced a load of separate cables) and I can take advantage of surround sound rather than stereo.

There is, however, one exception. If you're simply using your PC to watch movies (with either stereo or AC3 surround) then you can use the digital output to send 5.1 to the amp. You'll need AC3Filter to get things working properly but it works fine. If that's the route you go down, let me know and I'll expand on this.

[TarnxTarn]

if you use your computer for GAME in 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 surround better to connect the x-fi analouge ...
x-fi does not support dolby digital (live) from game...
if not... use stereo (2 ch)through ... optical or co-axial