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What is the best way to listen to mp3s through receiver (1 Viewer)

Ben Radlinski

Auditioning
Joined
May 25, 2000
Messages
7
My computer is about 45 feet away from my receiver, so all of these runs aren't really possible (I think)...I'd like to try the optical out, but where the heck do I get a 50 ft. optical cable? Could I run a 50ft RCA cable?

I've been checking out the wireless audio connectors sold by X10, but I'm not really sure about that. Anyone ever tried it?
 

Brett_H

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 3, 2001
Messages
341
Brian (and others),

Before I moved into my new apartment, my PC's Soundblaster Live was connected to my (older, Dolby Pro-Logic ONLY, [no digital inputs]) receiver by a 20' 1/8th" mini-jack "headphone extension" cable. I used a mini-jack -> RCA adapter on the receiver end of things, and was reasonable pleased with the results. There was a small amount of hum, but nothing that bothered me too much when listening to background music.

Now I've moved and my PC is farther away. I ended up buying another 20' (so now 40' total) extension cable and OUCH does it sound awful now! Tons of hum, and it seems to introduce hum into the other inputs on my receiver as well. Not good.

Will this isolater you mentioned help in my situation, or is it hopeless?

Thanks,

-Brett.
 

Brian Kissel

Auditioning
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
10
Yes it will still fix the hum (unless it's being induced along the way) but should mention that 20' is about as long as you want to go with an un-balanced (RCA) audio cable. After that the cables own capacitance will roll off some of the higher frequencys. Try it though and if need be, bump up the treble a bit. Optical cable is available in any lenght BTW.
 

David_Stein

Second Unit
Joined
Feb 13, 2002
Messages
422
Real Name
David_Stein
i might as well chip in.

my computer is 8-10 feet away from my reciever (dorm room). when i first got the reciever all i had were the cables i had previously used to connect the speakers to my old minisystem, so thats what i used. the cable run went within a couple feet of a couple monitors the subwoofer, the tv, and an aircondition/heating register. they werent the best wires, i was using a headphone extension cord for most of the way, then a mini-jack to rca jack cable at the very end. when i moved to using hte digital out on my computer ot the digital in on my reciever i found a noticable improvement in the quality. i dont know if it was from the difference between analog and digital or just picking up noise from where, but there was a huge difference to me.

just one man's experiences...
 

DaveGTP

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
2,096
I have a Soundblaster PCI512, and use one of those mini-jack to RCA cable adaptes I picked up from Radio Shack for running audio/video out to my TV across the room. For me, it does the job cheaply. I haven't noticed any hum. BUT, I am not an audiophile, either...
 

Francois Caron

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 31, 1997
Messages
2,640
Location
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Real Name
François Caron
My Shuttle SS51G has a Realtek AC97 sound chip on the mainboard, and the line out is connected to the living room receiver located about 12 feet away. With the rear line out/headphone jack located right next to the sound chip, no hums or hisses are being injected into the line to the best of my knowledge. However, it's a different story if I plug in my Grado headphones in the headphone jack located at the front of the computer. An unshielded wire runs between the jack and the motherboard connection, and it picks up all kinds of static from the hard drive!

I just purchased a 4 meter (13') Toslink cable to verify how well the Realtek chip can handle various digital signals coming from the sound system. Unfortunately, the Realtek chip is unable to isolate foreign signals such as Dolby Digital which can produce some worrying and extremely loud static in the system. Then again, maybe the cable is too long. I will check the capabilities of the Realtek chip and its ability to send a proper digital signal to the receiver on the same 13' cable. It'll be interesting to see if there's any significant difference between the analog and digital outputs.

But to make that comparison, I'll have to use something better than an MP3. I'll need to try out a WAV file along with an audio CD. Part of the MP3's ability to compress as much as it does involves rolling off the high frequencies which could spoil the comparisons I'll be attempting. I'll still try it out, but I can't fully trust it.
 

Mike X

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 6, 2002
Messages
50
I too am experiencing major hiss and am wondering if I conncted correctly. I used a mini RCA jack from my SB Live 5.1 to my Yammy reciever. My soundcard came with little documentation so I'm not sure If I used the proper out. Should I need to unplug an existing mini from my PC speakers to connect to the reciever. The soundcard has two unused jacks (one is a microphone input, I'm pretty sure) but they didn't seem to work. When I unplugged one of my PC speakers from the card and used the mini jack there, I got sound with the hiss. Am I doing this correctly?
 

Chris Luebbe

Auditioning
Joined
Dec 31, 2002
Messages
12
Vince, I've been using MP3 as my file format of choice for several years now (I don't rip at anything under 192...usually higher), but I have read several times by yourself and various others that MP3 compression, regardless of the bit rate, is too lossy. Sure, WAV is ideal, but I can't stand the thought of wasting that much space on my HDD. I appreciate well recorded, clean music, but I also don't have 300 GB worth of hard drive space.

What is your suggestion regarding file format? And could you give specifics as to your reasoning for this? And finally, what program would you recommend to perform the rips? I currently use CDex to rip to MP3.

Thanks,
 

Ben Radlinski

Auditioning
Joined
May 25, 2000
Messages
7
I'm seriously thinking of picking up this product: SliMP3 Player
Looks very sexy, and it's code is open source so you can do what you want with it.
Maybe in 10 years when I have the money and the kid is in college. :D
 

Chris Luebbe

Auditioning
Joined
Dec 31, 2002
Messages
12
Thanks, Lee.
I thought I knew more about ripping/encoding than I really do.
I'll be experimenting with my monkey this weekend. :laugh:
Thanks again!
 

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