Since you have good high end equipment, you might consider a good audio card like the RME Audio DIGI 96/8PAD which has S/PDIF digital outputs (optional AES/EBU balanced digital I/O breakout cable available), good clock synching (for low jitter) and high quality circuitry for minimizing PC EMI noise from within the PC cabinet. This card was reviewed in Stereophile magazine. If this seems like overkill to you, check out the CardDeluxe from Digital Audio Labs. If you want AES/EBU professional quality balanced digital I/O, you can get an optional interface to add on. The CardDeluxe was a Stereophile Recommended Component. For an even lower cost alternative, you can go with an Echo Audio Mia MIDI which only offers S/PDIF digital I/O. Finally, the lowest cost choice would be an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI card which offers S/PDIF digital I/O.
How can I get the best possible sound from my PC?
I listen to internet radio. The better 128 kb/s streams are probably as good as FM (what is your opinion, by the way). My bottleneck is the PC. I have decided to use an external DAC (CIA for the office and Musical Fidelity at home). I am also using high quality digital cables (Kimber D-60 and Kimber Select). How can I put the best possible digital signal on the wire? The digital cables alone cost about $1200. So it would make sense to spend some money on the digital signal if it makes a difference. Any advice?
Thanks,
Ali
Thanks,
Ali