Xitel: Digitally connect PC to stereo. Worth it? (1 Viewer)

Xitel:
http://www.xitel.com/index.htm

Is it worth double the cost to get the pro Hi-Fi link with the digital output just to play MP3's?

Also, if my system only has one optical and one coaxial digital input can I use both or is it normally just one or the other?

Thanks,
ToddAC

I just looked at that site. How does that pro Hi-Fi link connect to the computer? Is it through a USB cable? It seems a bit confusing. All you would need to do is get a sound card with a digital out to get the same results.
CompUSA has quite a few that are under $100.

I looked into it, but I'd need a 25 ft optical cable, which I don't have. So for the time being I use a $6 miniplug-to-audio cable converter I got at Radio Shack. Best Buy also sells a Monster Cable plug that does the same thing and comes with a long audio cable. This is specifically designed for connecting yoru computer to your receiver if you don't have an optical output on the sound card. I would've considered getting this, but I already had the long cables I needed.

I actually ordered the Xitel pro last week, it should be here sometime next week. But the main reason I got it was because it comes with 30' of Optical, 30' of Coaxial cable and 30' of RCA Audio cable, that alone offsets the cost significantly.

I'm actually going to use the optical cable to hook up my PS2 to my receiver, because my PS2 is about 20' away from the receiver (which is why it isn't hooked up for surround sound yet). Then I can use the coaxial cable to hook up the xitel device itself to the receiver.

The device itself is useful for me, because I have a laptop by my PS2 as well (both on this coffee table). So being able to output digital audio from my laptop's USB port to my receiver is a great feature. Even though my DVD player does play MP3's, I can play a larger selection of MP3s from my hard drive, rather than playing whatever will fit on a 700MB CDR.

I also searched for some reviews on this product before I ordered it, and the concensus is that THIS is the product to get if you want to output digital audio to your receiver. It beats out similar products on the market hands down. So as far as quality/performance is concerned, look no further.

Gary-

Looks like you've got a pretty similar situation to mine. I'm just wondering if it's really worth the extra $ to go for the digital output cable just for playing MP3's.

Is a digital connection really that important for a CD player? I'm under the impression that RCA is really just fine unless you're looking for DVD sound quality.