Currently I watch movies and listen to music mostly on my PC with active stereo PC speakers. I use only the Line Out (green) 3.5mm connector.
My PC has analoge 3.5mm outputs for 2 channel, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1.
It also has an Optical S/PDIF output. And obviously USB.
If I would connect just two "normal" speakers then things would be easy.
Even if I would connect 4 to 7 amps and speakers and subs to the analoge outputs everything seems to be straightforward.
But now I think about buying some nice speakers. I have the JBL 705P and/or 708P in mind. They have analoge balanced XLR inputs. And they have digital AES3 input.
The speakers have built in DSP with lots of features. I am almost sure that the speakers will convert any analoge input to digital.
Here is a review: JBL 708P Review (Professional Monitor) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Probably I will start with two of these speakers. But I want to know already my options if I want to connect 4 or even more speakers.
I am sure the internal DAC in my PC is far away from perfect. For that reason I think it's not a good idea to let my PC convert the output to analoge, then use analoge cable connections and then let the speaker convert that analoge signal to digital again.
I think it would be a lot better to use the digital output from my PC and connect it to the digital speaker inputs.
It seems it's not difficult to convert S/PDIF to AES3. So if I would only play stereo music then I guess I could convert the S/PDIF to AES3, then use cables with digital signals to the speakers and that should bring the best possible sound quality. I should be able to control the volume on my PC.
Things get more complicated with playing movies with multi channel sound. What do I need to do that with good sound quality?
As far as I know the S/PDIF output is only good for two channels so that won't work.
Which output would I use for digital multi channel audio? HDMI? Or USB with some converter?
I found online AV Surround Receivers and the good once have multiple balanced XLR audio outputs. Obviously I could use them to connect to the analoge inputs of the speakers. But how about digital AES3 outputs on such devices? I didn't see any of them on those AV Surround Receivers.
So my main question is: What do I need to play multi channel movie sound on those speakers if I want to use the digital inputs?
The source of the videos will be mostly my PC. But it could also be a Blu Ray Player or Netflix or something similar.
Thanks!
My PC has analoge 3.5mm outputs for 2 channel, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1.
It also has an Optical S/PDIF output. And obviously USB.
If I would connect just two "normal" speakers then things would be easy.
Even if I would connect 4 to 7 amps and speakers and subs to the analoge outputs everything seems to be straightforward.
But now I think about buying some nice speakers. I have the JBL 705P and/or 708P in mind. They have analoge balanced XLR inputs. And they have digital AES3 input.
The speakers have built in DSP with lots of features. I am almost sure that the speakers will convert any analoge input to digital.
Here is a review: JBL 708P Review (Professional Monitor) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Probably I will start with two of these speakers. But I want to know already my options if I want to connect 4 or even more speakers.
I am sure the internal DAC in my PC is far away from perfect. For that reason I think it's not a good idea to let my PC convert the output to analoge, then use analoge cable connections and then let the speaker convert that analoge signal to digital again.
I think it would be a lot better to use the digital output from my PC and connect it to the digital speaker inputs.
It seems it's not difficult to convert S/PDIF to AES3. So if I would only play stereo music then I guess I could convert the S/PDIF to AES3, then use cables with digital signals to the speakers and that should bring the best possible sound quality. I should be able to control the volume on my PC.
Things get more complicated with playing movies with multi channel sound. What do I need to do that with good sound quality?
As far as I know the S/PDIF output is only good for two channels so that won't work.
Which output would I use for digital multi channel audio? HDMI? Or USB with some converter?
I found online AV Surround Receivers and the good once have multiple balanced XLR audio outputs. Obviously I could use them to connect to the analoge inputs of the speakers. But how about digital AES3 outputs on such devices? I didn't see any of them on those AV Surround Receivers.
So my main question is: What do I need to play multi channel movie sound on those speakers if I want to use the digital inputs?
The source of the videos will be mostly my PC. But it could also be a Blu Ray Player or Netflix or something similar.
Thanks!
