Dolby Digital sound?

[richard1980]

It's not easy to answer that question, as it is highly subjective. Both methods require converting digital audio to analog using a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Using analog output from the PC, the onboard Realtek chip is the DAC, whereas outputting digital audio to the AVR allows you to take advantage of the DAC built into the AVR. The best audio quality is going to come from the device that has the best DAC, which could be either one. Does this mean you would notice any difference in a side-by-side test? Maybe, maybe not.

Another thing to consider is the way the AVR handles digital and analog audio. You may find that your receiver does not do certain functions with analog audio that it does with digital audio. Then again, maybe your receiver treats them both the same. On the flip side, your computer has the potential to be a much more powerful sound processor than your AVR. I remember when I was working with the Realtek software in the past, I could adjust individual speaker delay in much smaller increments vs what I can do with my AVR (IIRC, I could do 1-inch increments with the PC vs 1-foot increments with the AVR). I also had equalization capabilities that my AVR lacks. This kind of extra processing power could even make the DAC quality issue moot.

So to answer your question, you'd have to do a side-by-side comparison and see which performs better. However, I'm betting you would be satisfied with the quality of either result.

[francorosso]

Well, I hooked it using three mini to stereo cables that I had laying around. Everything works great. Much cheaper than buying another piece of equipment....

[richard1980]

Glad you got it working now!