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[mvsisoct]

Hi guys.  Just joined the forum so I am sorry for knowing so little!

My situation is this:  I recently decided to do a complete upgrade of my AV setup, which is used for >80% 2.1 / 2.2 channel music.

I have purchased a Denon 4311 AVR, which is a pretty decent model but nothing extremely high end.  I will be using a Wyred4Sound stereo amp capable of >1000W at 4 Ohms.  I am in process of burning all of my CDs into ALAC format to be stored on a 2TB RAID array.

My issue is this:  I have a very nice, powerful PC that was our downstairs unit which I am going to move into my stereo cabinet.  It, of course, is attached to the RAID array via eSATA and I plan to purchase JRiver to control my output to my AVR/amp.

The problem is that this PC was NOT built to be a HTPC and only has the basic, integrated sound 'card' built into the AsRock Pro-M Z68 motherboard.  I am at a COMPLETE loss as how to go about providing optimum sound quality from this setup.

The Denon AVR probably has a 'good' but not great DAC.  I don't know if I need a USB DAC (but if so, how do I go into my Denon without getting another round of processing that could degrade signal), a new sound card (if all I am trying to do is output native bitstream, can't my basic motherboard based card do this), etc.?

Finally, the Denon has apple airplay built in.  What is the potential sound quality of this approach versus a direct, wired approach from my HTPC into my AVR/amp.

Thanks so much...I've spent a lot of money on this setup and don't want my computer output to be my weak link.

[wibblefish]

I'm a noob on the forum as well but I have been playing with HTPCs for a few years now, both for video and now also for audio playback using MC.

From a quick google, it looks like your motherboard has HDMI and (possibly) SPDIF output so can't you just use one of these to output the protected digital bitstream to your AV amp?
Question (Q&A-89|297): How do I setup digital sound (DTS5.1, Dolby5.1, DTS HD Master and Dolby True HD) output via HDMI or SPDIF?(11/1/2011)

http://www.asrock.com/support/faq.asp?k=chipset

Else, a good (asynchronous) USB DAC would work well. You then output the 2 x analogue outputs to a spare audio input on the amp. This will be 2 channel stereo only.

What I did was to use an ASUS Essence ST PCI sound card to feed the 2 x analogue outputs into my reasonably decent Naim XS amp. Sounds pretty good to me. I am sure an external DAC would be better (and I have my eye on a Naim DAC $$$$) but for the £140 the card cost me I think it is excellent.

btw: you don;t want a powerful PC in your stereo cabinet. You want a quiet and cool PC which is far more difficult :-)

hth

[FastKayak]

I didn't look up your mother board but all the motherboards I've had the last few years had SPDIF output and the newer ones have HDMI  as well.  Either is fine.  You should configure MC to WASAPI - event style in the AUDIO tab of OPTIONS and MC (and Windows) will pass the digital stream through to your Denon un-molested.  (I have the 4310ci and feed it via HDMI.)  You didn't mention what OS you are running - the above is what works for Windows 7 and I believe also Windows Vista but not XP.

FastKayak / Larry

[emovac]

Have you considered a wireless Sonos link and then use your PC as the music storage system.  You'll like the W4S amp.  I have a W4S DAC-2, STI-500 and MC7x250.  Makes great sound.

Wibblefish is bang on with keeping the noisy PC separate.  The fan noise will drive you nuts.

[JimH]

Wibblefish is bang on with keeping the noisy PC separate.  The fan noise will drive you nuts.

The fan noise on a good modern PC should be inaudible.

[Sparks67]

The fan noise on a good modern PC should be inaudible.

Varies on the PC brand.  Most are made with cheap parts, so they fail within a few years.   My first 2 HTPC was in the stereo cabinet, but on my HTPC server it is in special quiet enclosure.  Anyway, the OP can try this website to quiet the pc down.  http://www.quietpcusa.com/   Just a matter of changing the fans, but buy a static wrist strap.  Another option is to place the PC away from the stereo.  Mine is in the basement.    Get an Ipad and use the My river app, and there is another app called Itap that allows me to control the mouse.   I have a Denon 5308, and currently feed it through HDMI.  Works good for these DSD or DFF files.  Although, I am looking for a good quality sound card.

Jeff

[pcstockton]

The fan noise on a good modern PC should be inaudible.

My new HTPC is supposed to be 23dbs.  And they claim it to be silent.

I added an SSD and even with fans turned on lower than they should, I can hear it across a good sized room.

-p

[Sparks67]

My new HTPC is supposed to be 23dbs.  And they claim it to be silent.

I added an SSD and even with fans turned on lower than they should, I can hear it across a good sized room.

-p

Here is a good link to lower you sound, http://www.quietpcusa.com/How-To-Silence-A-Computer-W5.aspx    Typically, it is the power supply fan. 
I used Zalman in the past,  but I just relocated everything to the basement. 

[fooze]

Making a truly silent PC can be a very expensive endeavour. Have you considered putting your gear in another room or building a soundproofed box for your computer to go in?

[pcstockton]

Here is a good link to lower you sound, http://www.quietpcusa.com/How-To-Silence-A-Computer-W5.aspx    Typically, it is the power supply fan.  
I used Zalman in the past,  but I just relocated everything to the basement.  

Dont get me wrong.  It is VERY quiet.  Especially for how fast it is (for my needs).

I haven't heard anything out there that is quieter, except a Mac Mini with SSD.... and it wasn't "silent" either.

Silent is a very strong word.  Like invisible.  

That said, I have NO PROBLEM with the slight noise of the HTPC.  Nothing is silent.  The best and quietest and coolest (temp) computer in the world is the human.  I can't expect a computer to be quieter than me.

-Patrick

[Matt]

I think most computer cases use more fans than you need.

I wouldn't hesitate to use a a passive power supply and no case fans for a HTPC.  I mean, a Sandy/Ivy bridge system probably only uses 30-40W most of the time.  

The CPU fan will be the only moving part.  If you buy a nice cooler ($30), even this will be basically silent from a few feet away.

Also, try to get a case with insulated walls if you're building your own machine.  This makes a big difference if you end up needing a rotating drive (instead of an SSD).

[pcstockton]

"basically silent"

Just curious what that means.  My tiny little ASRock Core HT 252b allegedly has two fans.  I can control them in this overclocking deal that came on the driver disc.

I can turn both all the way to the lowest rpm settings.  I can still hear the thing.

Are you saying laptop and miniPC users can disable fans for an iPhone-Like silent operation?

-patrick

[Sparks67]

Are you saying laptop and miniPC users can disable fans for an iPhone-Like silent operation?
-patrick

If you disable the fans in a laptop or minipc, it will overheat.   Iphone is based on entirely different cpu architecture based on ARM processor, it still gets warm though. 
I tried 2 custom built pc's near the stereo and never liked it. SSD HTPC server might be interesting, if the price wasn't so much.   

[goatherder]

"My tiny little ASRock"

That's as much of an issue as anything else. No room for large fans = higher-pitched more whirry noise.

Re: the Mini, Apple errs on the side of silence (given the above limits - and they do use a hamster wheel not a regular fan, I believe), against stability and component longevity. They don't begin to start cooling the system (and even then not very effectively viz-a-viz acoustics vs cooling in the overall scheme of things) until the CPU goes "MuchmoreofthisandI'mgonnadie".

e.g. My (large, capable of accommodating 120mm/160mm fans) main gaming PC runs entirely on air - i.e. no water tricks - and you have to really concentrate / cup your ears directly towards it to hear it on idle / non-stressful use from 4ft away in the total dead of the night.

My HT/APC is actually silent. How I got there with a dual-Xeon is a story of blood, sweat, tears, money, people plucked from spcr and anger. Lots of money. And lots of anger. Especially now because it's more or less redundant.

Personally, if I were doing a "cabinet PC" for MC now I would build a relatively puny system in a large case which can accommodate coolers like the NH-D14 and large, slow fans - as well as of course ensuring adequate airflow within the cabinet.

[imugli]

I'm with Matt on this - use a passive PSU and most of your problems should be solved.

My case (Antec ISK300-65) also has a 3 speed adjustable fan as standard and the HTPC uses an SSD (so no drive spinning noise). On the lowest setting you cannot hear it from the couch at all. 

[randobills]

I am currently testing JRiver with this nanopc. Cost less than $200..

Last night I ran a Blu-Ray disc with anydvd and jriver with wasapi output and with my av receiver processing the audio rather than JRiver all thru HDMI and it ran cool and quietly only using 20-30% cpu usage...

The only "problem" with this device is multitasking with a browser and video..it tends to run 80 degrees celcius...however it is an APU meaning the graphics and cpu all run on same cpu..these little guys can take the heat...However most of the time i'm running media center software only and browsing one or two pages..There are folks running OpenELEC or other linux distributions and it runs even more efficient..

As far as sound goes..you can't hear it farther than 5ft away when it's maxed out..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856119050

I'm running Windows 7 32-bit on ssd drive with 4gb of RAM.