I'm a complete noob at this, so maybe even the questions I'm asking don't make sense, and I might not even be using the proper terms. I have read so many articles and looked at the descriptions of so many devices, I now feel hopelessly confused, and thought maybe some of the folks reading these forums might be able to give me some pointers. The forum heading said not to be shy, so here goes.....
TL;DR Any advice how to get discrete multi-channel output from Windows 10 PC simultaneously to both receiver and wireless headphones (headphones would only have spdif input).
I am using my Windows 10 PC as both a gaming platform and media server (music + movies + OTA TV). There are a number of different audio formats encoded on the media server (mono, stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, etc.), and some of the games support various implementations of surround-sound audio. This is what my goal is:
My thought was to use an external sound card that connected to the PC using USB (no room in the chasis for a PCIe card) and had an optical output to feed the headphones and another output (optical, coax digital, hdmi) that supported AC 5.1, DTS, etc. multi-channel that could simultaneously feed the receiver. Or, just use the external card's optical output (if it supported the multi-channel formats) and split it to both receiver and headphones with something like this. This approach would also have the advantage of a bit of future-proofing since I could migrate the whole thing to a new PC and not be concerned about the motherboard's audio capabilities. And from what I understand, the audio quality would be better than what I could get from a motherboard.
I'm finding that many of the external USB sound cards specifically say they only support 2 channels over optical output, so that wouldn't get me anywhere beyond where I'm currently at. I was thinking about maybe using one of these and splitting the optical output:
So if this even makes sense, then I would welcome any pointers or suggestions. Especially, if it's "just not worth it" or "can't get to there from here", or a totally different approach. I'd definitely appreciate knowing if I'm barking up the wrong tree or how I can better educate myself on this stuff.
Thank you for reading all this and any help anyone would care to offer.
TL;DR Any advice how to get discrete multi-channel output from Windows 10 PC simultaneously to both receiver and wireless headphones (headphones would only have spdif input).
I am using my Windows 10 PC as both a gaming platform and media server (music + movies + OTA TV). There are a number of different audio formats encoded on the media server (mono, stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, etc.), and some of the games support various implementations of surround-sound audio. This is what my goal is:
- Audio simultaneously going to a Sony STR-DH590 receiver (connected to 5.1 speakers) and the base station of Steel Series Arctis Pro Wireless headphones.
- Control which device(s) I'm listening to at any given time at the device (power on/off for headphones, mute/unmute for receiver): one or the other alone, or both at the same time.
- Set a single output for the Windows 10 audio output device and not have to change it.
My thought was to use an external sound card that connected to the PC using USB (no room in the chasis for a PCIe card) and had an optical output to feed the headphones and another output (optical, coax digital, hdmi) that supported AC 5.1, DTS, etc. multi-channel that could simultaneously feed the receiver. Or, just use the external card's optical output (if it supported the multi-channel formats) and split it to both receiver and headphones with something like this. This approach would also have the advantage of a bit of future-proofing since I could migrate the whole thing to a new PC and not be concerned about the motherboard's audio capabilities. And from what I understand, the audio quality would be better than what I could get from a motherboard.
I'm finding that many of the external USB sound cards specifically say they only support 2 channels over optical output, so that wouldn't get me anywhere beyond where I'm currently at. I was thinking about maybe using one of these and splitting the optical output:
- Sound Blaster X3 configured for Dolby Digital Live encoding over the optical output (although I've read many articles about the shortcomings of the required software/drivers).
- Soundavo HP-DAC-1
- Topping D10s (review from Audio Science Review here)
So if this even makes sense, then I would welcome any pointers or suggestions. Especially, if it's "just not worth it" or "can't get to there from here", or a totally different approach. I'd definitely appreciate knowing if I'm barking up the wrong tree or how I can better educate myself on this stuff.
Thank you for reading all this and any help anyone would care to offer.