Devices > Sound Cards, DAC's, Receivers, Speakers, and Headphones

Methods of output to an Audio Device

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mojave:
There are many methods of output to an audio device. I thought making a list might be helpful to those looking for a DAC or wanting to use multiple DACs.

An audio device is often called a soundcard or DAC. DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter.

Internal Analog Output:

* Motherboard - most modern motherboards have an audio device built in that outputs via 3.5mm stereo jacks
* PCI/PCIe - These are sound cards that are inserted into the motherboard and have analog output. They have either 3.5mm stereo jacks or RCA jacks.
Internal Digital Output
From the motherboard:

* Thunderbolt - You can daisy chain up to six devices including hard drives and monitors. With 6 Lynx Aurora 16 TB's you have 96 output channels of 24 bit PCM up to 192 kHz.
* S/PDIF - 2 channel 24 bit PCM up to 192 kHz
* USB- audio devices are available from 2 - 32 channels of 24 or 32 bit PCM up to 192 kHz, can also be used for DSD
* Firewire (IEEE 1394) - audio devices range from 2-16 channels of 24 bit PCM up to 192 kHz with the ability to daisy chain audio devices for more channels
* Ethernet- you can use the ethernet output directly to a Focusrite RedNet DAC using Audinate's Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS). It supports up to 32 channels of output at 96 kHz. For more channels or higher sample rate see the Ethernet PCIe card below.
* Bluetooth - Bluetooth can be used as a wireless method of transmitting audio. You can get Bluetooth audio devices for playback.

From the video card:

* HDMI - HDMI 1.4 supports up to 8 channels of 24 bit PCM at 192 kHz. HDMI 2.0 supports up to 32 channels of 24 bit PCM at 192 kHz with support for up to 1536 kHz audio.
* DisplayPort - supports up to 8 channels of 24 bit PCM at 192 kHz.
Internal PCIe Digital Output:

* AES3 (also called AES/EBU) - A single PCIe AES card can output up to 16 channels of 24-bit PCM at 192 kHz. Multiple cards can be installed in a computer for up to 128 channels of output. Requires an external DAC or DACs that accept AES input. Distance from the computer to the DAC can be up to 500 ft
* S/PDIF - some soundcards have S/PDIF output
* MADI (Multi-channel Audio Digital Interface or AES10) - A MADI card can support up to 128 channels of 24-bit 48 kHz audio or 32 channels of 24-bit 192 kHz audio. Multiple cards can be installed in a computer for up to 192 channels of output. Output to the DAC is via fiber optic so the the DAC is electrically isolated. Requires an external DAC or DACs that accept MADI input. Distance from the computer to the DAC can be up to 2 km.
* Ethernet - The Focusrite Rednet PCIe card supports 128 channels of 24 bit PCM at 192 kHz. A Focusrite Rednet DAC is required.
* ADAT Lightpipe - ADAT carries 8 channels of 24-bit PCM at 48 kHz. Some audio devices link channels to carry up to 192 kHz audio.

Other:

* I2S - Some DACs use an I2S connection directly from the computer.

Secondary audio devices:
Most audio devices with both digital and analog outputs and ASIO drivers (PCIe, USB or Firewire audio devices) can present itself via the ASIO driver as having more channels than it has analog outputs. You can route the extra channels out using S/PDIF or ADAT to another DAC. Because the clock information is carried by the ADAT, you could probably use the 2nd DAC for more channels in a multi-channel system.
Example:  JRiver can be set for 16 channels of output to the Steinberg UR824. The UR824 can be connected to the Steinberg MR816x via ADAT. The UR824 will play 8 channels of the output and the MR816x will play the other 8 channels.

Edit June 17, 2014:  Added Thunderbolt

mwillems:

--- Quote from: mojave on November 13, 2013, 05:16:10 pm ---Secondary audio devices:
A USB or Firewire audio device can present itself via the ASIO driver as having more channels than it has analog outputs. You can route the extra channels out using S/PDIF or ADAT to another DAC. Because the clock information is carried by the ADAT, you could probably use the 2nd DAC for more channels in a multi-channel system.
Example:  JRiver can be set for 16 channels of output to the Steinberg UR824. The UR824 can be connected to the Steinberg MR816x via ADAT. The UR824 will play 8 channels of the output and the MR816x will play the other 8 channels.


--- End quote ---

This whole post is super helpful, and I think folks will get a lot of use out of this.  Thanks for taking the time  ;D

One thing I wanted to add to the text above: some internal soundcards with both analog and digital outputs also present more channels in ASIO than they have analog outputs, and the extra channels can be routed to the digital outs in the same way (i.e. it's not a phenomenon limited to USB or firewire external interfaces).

I once used an M-audio PCI card with stereo analog and stereo SPDIF outputs as a "4 channel" ASIO output, by sending the digital signal to an external DAC (with an SPDIF input).  As you say, because the SPDIF signal carried the clock, the second DAC stayed in sync (mostly).  

mojave:
Thanks for the comments. I changed the first post. I also plan on including a list of some hardware options for each output method with prices.

mwillems:

--- Quote from: mojave on November 14, 2013, 08:50:34 am ---Thanks for the comments. I changed the first post. I also plan on including a list of some hardware options for each output method with prices.

--- End quote ---

Cool.  Let me know if you need any examples (especially in the internal soundcard category).  I've owned about four different internal soundcards that are still in production (some of which supported simultaneous analog and digital output and some of which didn't).  The card I mentioned in my prior post is the M-Audio Delta 192 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829121008), which is a PCI card (not PCI-E) and retails for about $100.  It has some nice features, but I'd hesitate to recommend it due to longstanding (and, given the age of the design, unlikely to be resolved) driver/firmware issues on modern MoBos and/or OS's.

Arindelle:
nice summary ... learned something here. thanks

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