I Can't Believe What A Difference Digital Sound Makes! Read On...

[Afro1989]

The only reason I'm posting this is to inform you guys on how much of an improvement I got out of my 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound Receiver
when using a digital optical cable other than the usual red/white audio cords.

I highly suggest any and all of you 5.1 surround sound people who aren't using a digital cable to go out and buy one right now. I got mine for $15 bux. If you don't know what it looks like, here it is:

Link

That one is Monster Cable, which explains its $99 price tag. Any digital cable is a huge improvement over the red/white cable audio that most people use.

I didn't know how much of an improvement I was going to get, but it's stunning! I haven't even tried an Xbox 360 game with it yet, I've been playing the old Halo 2 and I can hear every little detail out of every speaker.

I'm sorry I went off on that little rant right there. I just don't want to guys missing out on such an easy improvement to add to your 5.1 Surround Xbox 360 experience.

~ Afro ~

 

[beatsme]

I'm dumb...

this is specific to 5.1, right? In other words, I can't merely replace the RCA cables I'm using with digital optical cables, right?

sorry, I know nothing of 5.1. I've tried to resist the temptation to switch to surround. Back in my day, we only had two speakers, and we were glad to have it...

 

[zimv20]

what you're hearing isn't the "digitalness" -- it was digital in the computer, right?

what you're hearing is the improved d/a converter in whatever external box you're using. the one onboard the mac isn't very good -- the one that feeds the analog out.

btw, you got ripped off on your cable. there's no reason to pay $100 for a toslink cable. even the apogee ones aren't that much.

piss on monster. overpriced crap and they're litigation-happy.

 

[Afro1989]

I didn't say I bought that cable. I was giving that one just as an example. I already know that all digital cables are the same. I bought mine for only $15.

I am using it to connect my receiver to my Xbox 360, not my Mac by the way.

 

[zimv20]

I bought mine for only $15.

that's more like it.

I am using it to connect my receiver to my Xbox 360, not my Mac by the way.

okay, so are we saying that the converter in the xbox is that much better than your receiver? or something else?

 

[quidire]

okay, so are we saying that the converter in the xbox is that much better than your receiver? or something else?

Before the digital signal processed off a game dvd was converted to analogue in the Xbox, sent analogue to the receiver, the receiver then routed it to the speakers (or did another round of A/D,D/A conversion between getting the signal and sending it to the speakers).

Afterwards the digital signal processed off the game dvd remained digital as it passed out of the Xbox, was digital as it got into the receiver, and the receiver converted it to analogue and sent it to the speakers.

The shift is that the Xbox's DAC isn't involved, so its the crappy one. The receiver's DAC is far better (as it should be) and if the design was of one type, an entire AD/DA pair was removed.

No matter how good a Mac or console's DAC is, they won't compare to component-ised dedicated home audio equipment.

 

[zimv20]

ah, i got the signal flow direction wrong, from when he said he hooked his receiver to his xbox (rather than the other way 'round). this thread, in summary:

bad:
xbox --analog--> receiver

good:
xbox --digital--> receiver

as i'd said: "what you're hearing is the improved d/a converter in whatever external box you're using."