# [SOLVED] S/PDIF vs 8 separate wires for all 8 audio channels



## razgriz (Nov 19, 2008)

I have an ASUS Xonar D1 and a Sony home theater system supporting Dolby digital pro logic II and digital DTS surround. The inputs on the back allow for analog (R & W), S/PDIF both optical and electrical (COAX). I am using the optical for my PC and electrical for my TV.

Speaking about my PC, IF I fitted all six speakers with 3.5mm jacks to plug into my audio card would I hear better sound? The reason I am asking is I believe I could then send up to 8 channels ((I currently only have 5.1 speakers so I would need two more or just be content with 6 channels)) audio in PCM format rather than using Dolby digital live as I currently do.


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## bassfisher6522 (Jul 22, 2012)

*Re: S/PDIF vs 8 separate wires for all 8 audio channels*

Remember the 3.5mm jacks are analog where as the coax/optical are digital and as we all know digital it way better then analog. Plus, the optical cable is a single cable versus 8 more that you have to worry about. I would opt for the single digital optical cable every time.


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

*Re: S/PDIF vs 8 separate wires for all 8 audio channels*

First, clarification of a few things. Analog outputs are in pairs (ie: front left/right, rear left/right, and front center/sub). With the exception of some older Receivers/AVR's, most do NOT have analog inputs. So for most people, that is not even an option. 

You can't connect the speakers directly to the sound card. The sound card outputs are low level (ie: not amplified). You need an amplifier to drive any speakers.

How the card is used plays a part as well. For movie playback, if you want to take advantage of DD5.1 or DTS audio, you need a decoder. This is commonly done by the AVR/Receiver. Most sound cards don't have the hardware for decoding. The Asus referenced above has an encoder, but I'm not sure it has decoding capabilities. If it can decode, then you should get true surround from the analog outputs. Otherwise, the only option is to use the optical port.

And I wouldn't worry about 7.1. There is very limited source material encoded in 7.1.


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## razgriz (Nov 19, 2008)

*Re: S/PDIF vs 8 separate wires for all 8 audio channels*

Ok, that answers my question about if there would be any quality improvement. Thank you.


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