I can hear my PC think through my speakers

[DEF]

When I suggested here a couple of weeks ago that PCs should never be part of a true hi-fi system, I received a load of unsubstantiated and hostile rebuke from some here!

I agree with you - PCs are not built with solely audio in mind and therefore should be used only for control purposes. Load your control app onto PC, iPad, phone, or whatever, but ensure the audio signal remains from start to finish within equipment designed solely for audio.

I'll await more hostile reaction - presumably from those who use their PCs for streaming, DAC, etc. I'll stick with "proper" hi-fi!

You are being vague.
Taking you by your words:
Nothing allowed within the listening room but the hifi-system.

No phones, no tablets, Monitors... no network equipment.
Just you and your hifi-system.
That means, all your files are on that system, and you cannot use anything like a PC to navigate through your stuff etc.

The irony is that many of these run Android...

 

[antcollinet]

When I suggested here a couple of weeks ago that PCs should never be part of a true hi-fi system, I received a load of unsubstantiated and hostile rebuke from some here!

I agree with you - PCs are not built with solely audio in mind and therefore should be used only for control purposes. Load your control app onto PC, iPad, phone, or whatever, but ensure the audio signal remains from start to finish within equipment designed solely for audio.

I'll await more hostile reaction - presumably from those who use their PCs for streaming, DAC, etc. It's a pity as most members at other audio forums will also avoid general-purpose PCs in their systems. Lots of modern hi-fi include elements from the PC industry but these are built specifically with audio in mind. I'll stick with "proper" hi-fi!

Connect a pc to your audio with an appropriate connection and it is going to perform identically to any other digital source.

And please don't interpret this as hostility. It isn't any more than the previous replies you got were.

 

[DEF]

Connect a pc to your audio with an appropriate connection and it is going to perform identically to any other digital source.

And please don't interpret this as hostility. It isn't any more than the previous replies you got were.

This ^

 

[AnalogSteph]

This is in the upgrade path but for now it the E30 and a a tube amp since my Atoll IN80 broke and is out for repair but With the atoll it was pretty bad with my new speakers. The tube amp is not so bad since the gain is so much lower.

I see you've got a thing for amps of arguably dubious construction that are IEC Class I yet don't bother with galvanic isolation in the (unbalanced) input. That's instant ground loop material when combined with a PC, as you can plainly hear. You wouldn't have these issues now if you had stuck with boring (but IEC Class II = double-insulated) mass-market Japanese amps / receivers that do not assume they are the center of the universe. (I have no idea why a brand like Atoll can ship as many of their unsuitably constructed devices as they seemingly do. Amps, CD players, everything is IEC Class I with unbalanced connections, so basically a setup of theirs comes with built-in ground loops right from the factory.) Anyway...

A Toslink to coax converter is arguably the most sensible option. You can get them for less than what a decent audio line isolator would cost, and the worst potential issue I would expect is not enough bandwidth for more than 24/96 operation. (Also, use a decent USB charger to power them, not a 1-2$ AliExpress special safety hazard.)

 

[somebodyelse]

DSD Tech SH-G01L is an inexpensive USB 2.0 isolator using the ADUM3165, and recommended in other threads by @MC_RME.

 

[Ropeburn]

When I suggested here a couple of weeks ago that PCs should never be part of a true hi-fi system, I received a load of unsubstantiated and hostile rebuke from some here!

I agree with you - PCs are not built with solely audio in mind and therefore should be used only for control purposes. Load your control app onto PC, iPad, phone, or whatever, but ensure the audio signal remains from start to finish within equipment designed solely for audio.

I'll await more hostile reaction - presumably from those who use their PCs for streaming, DAC, etc. It's a pity as most members at other audio forums will also avoid general-purpose PCs in their systems. Lots of modern hi-fi include elements from the PC industry but these are built specifically with audio in mind. I'll stick with "proper" hi-fi!

I guess all the home and professional studios in the world, who use PCs as a sound source, to actually record and produce our music, aren't "proper" hifi then. Guess what: USB audio interfaces are pretty much standard too, and have been for years.

You won't get hostility here, but certainly objection. That's because your blanket statements are just that.

 

[DEF]

I used to use PC <=> SMSL PO100 Pro => Topping HS02 => Digital RCA => RME ADI-2 DAC FS => USB

I removed the SMSL PO100 Pro because I found that it does not do proper 768kHz without issues on Linux.
Would the SMSL even improve the sound?

 

[RayDunzl]

I can hear my PC think through my speakers

That's cool.

I'd like to know what mine is thinking.

 

[Blumlein 88]

That's cool.

I'd like to know what mine is thinking.

Is this more of a problem if you get one of the new computers with AI on board? Once it starts thinking you have to listen to it?

 

[antcollinet]

I used to use PC <=> SMSL PO100 Pro => Topping HS02 => Digital RCA => RME ADI-2 DAC FS => USB

I removed the SMSL PO100 Pro because I found that it does not do proper 768kHz without issues on Linux.
Would the SMSL even improve the sound?

On what planet is 768kHz remotely needed? That’s about 3x the range needed even for bats!

 

[Multicore]

Thoughts should be private.

 

[Soniclife]

Thoughts should be private.

I'd vote for that, no more social media, bliss.

 

[Vincent Kars]

PC <=> SMSL PO100 Pro => Topping HS02 => Digital RCA => RME ADI-2 DAC FS => USB

Wonder what you are doing.
The SMSL is a USB dac with i2s and spdif out. You can't connect it to a hs02 as this is a USB isolator with only USB in and out.
No digital rca output.

 

[Multicore]

I'd vote for that, no more social media, bliss.

As opposed to utterances, which are not.

 

[Sal1950]

Hello,

I've been looking through the forums but nothing hit this topic the way I was hoping so I'll ask more directly.

I can hear my PC think through speaker. I have my Topping E30 hooked up to my PC and the pc noise comes through.

When streaming from the wiim mini there is no knoise to be heard.

Any help is welcome.

Possible to use HDMI rather than USB with your gear? That might solve the issue.
You could also try a active optical HDMI cable to connect.

 

[montyliam]

When I suggested here a couple of weeks ago that PCs should never be part of a true hi-fi system, I received a load of unsubstantiated and hostile rebuke from some here!

I agree with you - PCs are not built with solely audio in mind and therefore should be used only for control purposes. Load your control app onto PC, iPad, phone, or whatever, but ensure the audio signal remains from start to finish within equipment designed solely for audio.

I'll await more hostile reaction - presumably from those who use their PCs for streaming, DAC, etc. It's a pity as most members at other audio forums will also avoid general-purpose PCs in their systems. Lots of modern hi-fi include elements from the PC industry but these are built specifically with audio in mind. I'll stick with "proper" hi-fi!

Don't mistake objection to incorrect blanket statements as hostility. It's ironic that you use one user's troubles using a PC as audio source as evidence that 'all PC's cannot possibly work for audio' but don't accept the myriad of other users, including me, happily using their PCs to play audio without problems.

I saw a crash on my way to work the other day so cars therefore should not be used as a means of transport.

 

[DEF]

Wonder what you are doing.
The SMSL is a USB dac with i2s and spdif out. You can't connect it to a hs02 as this is a USB isolator with only USB in and out.
No digital rca output.

Did that in the past - but now just minus the SMSL.
Using the SMSL as a DAC and the RME as a Amp. Of course!
Have a look:

 

[boxerfan88]

When I suggested here a couple of weeks ago that PCs should never be part of a true hi-fi system, I received a load of unsubstantiated and hostile rebuke from some here!

I agree with you - PCs are not built with solely audio in mind and therefore should be used only for control purposes. Load your control app onto PC, iPad, phone, or whatever, but ensure the audio signal remains from start to finish within equipment designed solely for audio.

I'll await more hostile reaction - presumably from those who use their PCs for streaming, DAC, etc. It's a pity as most members at other audio forums will also avoid general-purpose PCs in their systems. Lots of modern hi-fi include elements from the PC industry but these are built specifically with audio in mind. I'll stick with "proper" hi-fi!

Don’t worry. No hostile reaction here. Just sharing one data point proving there is no problem using PC in HiFi setup.

I use a i7-6800k/48Gb PC with foobar as source, connected via 5m active usb cable to the DAC. I have fanciful foobar eye candy that dances along with music (no hifi component can beat the eye candy i have). Plus I can use PC to surf net or do light work while hifi music is playing. Works perfectly. No PC “thinking” noise.

 

[Rainier939]

Well a little update.
I've been messing around with the cabling and found that switching from the 8 ohm tabs to the 4 ohm tabs somehow made the noise floor lower. More then 6db lower. I gues it's a gain thing but idk.
When I turn down the volume all the way or even disconnect the usb cable there is still a lot of noise comming from the PC itself. That thing has so much coil whine that I never really noticed before since I alway have form of audio playing in the background. I might haveto find a way to get that out of the PC itself and maybe it will help the noise through the speakers as well.

 

[audio_tony]

Laptops have the noisiest USB ports though

@DEF

I have several laptops, including an old HP TC4400 (dates from 2009 or so) and none suffer from 'noisy' USB ports.

USB ports alone do not generate noise.

With laptops in particular, the source of any noise (via USB or otherwise) is almost always due to the design of the accompanying brick PSU, which typically has a bypass capacitor from the AC side of the PSU to the DC side (which is why, in some case if you touch the DC connector and ground, you will feel a slight, harmless tingle).

When connected to audio equipment with a ground reference, this then causes all manner of odd noises, which is not present when running on battery.

For what it's worth, I frequently use a PC and laptop for making audio measurements (as many others on ASR do) and with a properly configured system, noise is simply not an issue.

Please; in future if you are going to make blanket statements like you have done, then back them up with some solid evidence.