Best cable for laptop to amp?

NinjaK

I looking to get a cable to connect my laptop to my onkyo 605 amp for music. What is the best cable I can get for music quality?
My laptop has a HDMI and 2 free usb 3.0 ports. My amp doesnt have any HDMI ports free but has an S-Video, video, L-R Audio and a Digital connection on the front of it. There are aload of connetions on the back of it, too many to mention but here is a link to a picture http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/onkyo_tx_sr605_rear.jpg

thanks

cnocbui

You could buy something like this and a set of rca cables connected to a set of the inputs on the Onkyo:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCA202-U-Control-low-latency-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1335197761&sr=8-4

Alternatively, if the laptop has a headphone output, you could just get a 3.5mm headphone plug to RCA cable for very little and try that first and see if the sound quality is satisfactory. I suspect you would find it would be, unless the audio section of your laptop was botched. This would be your cheapest option.

I don't know if the HDMI output would carry audio if no video is present - such as when just playing an MP3 - if so - an HDMI cable might be the way to go as that would output digital audio and use the D/A converter in the Onkyo, which might be audibly better than the laptop's D/A converter, though I doubt it.

Personally I just use option 2 to connect my iPod or phone to my HiFi. A lot less cumbersome than a laptop.

NinjaK

cnocbui wrote: »

You could buy something like this and a set of rca cables connected to a set of the inputs on the Onkyo:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCA202-U-Control-low-latency-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1335197761&sr=8-4

Alternatively, if the laptop has a headphone output, you could just get a 3.5mm headphone plug to RCA cable for very little and try that first and see if the sound quality is satisfactory. I suspect you would find it would be, unless the audio section of your laptop was botched. This would be your cheapest option.

I don't know if the HDMI output would carry audio if no video is present - such as when just playing an MP3 - if so - an HDMI cable might be the way to go as that would output digital audio and use the D/A converter in the Onkyo, which might be audibly better than the laptop's D/A converter, though I doubt it.

Personally I just use option 2 to connect my iPod or phone to my HiFi. A lot less cumbersome than a laptop.

yeah I tryed connecting the headphone plug to the amp and it worked fine, the audio quality was good although my speakers are good quality. Would I lose some quality by playing music this way? I would buy that usb connector if it improved the quality a bit.

cnocbui

I don't think you would lose any quality, because I personally don't think there is much, if any, audible difference between well implemented DA converters - though a lot of people would disagree with me.

If you have a CD player - rip a track off it as a WAV and play the WAV from the laptop using the headphone socket and compare the result with playing the original track off the CD. Make sure you adjust the volume so each time you a playing the track it is at as exactly the same volume level each time, otherwise whichever is loudest - if only slightly - will sound better just because it is louder.

That should tell you if the headphone output solution is good enough.

dharn

headphone to rca connectors should be fine i have used it and sound quality is exellent

coylemj

dharn wrote: »

headphone to rca connectors should be fine i have used it and sound quality is exellent

+1 A 3.5mm jack to RCA left and right plugs is what you need. A laptop isn't designed to provide high quality audio so throwing money at fancy cables won't improve the signal.

ZENER

What make/model is the laptop ? It might have SPDIF capabilities through one of it's outputs.

Another option is to use an external audio adaptor via USB that has a digital/optical output. Creative Labs and Turtlebeach do decent units.

Of course that all depends on what level of quality you're after. Personally I find audio outputs on computers to be very wooly at the bass end with poor definition on the high end.

Ken

mossym

cnocbui wrote: »

I don't think you would lose any quality, because I personally don't think there is much, if any, audible difference between well implemented DA converters - though a lot of people would disagree with me.

it's not the D?A as much as the crappy headphone amp connected to the d/a. when you can start to hear noise in your headphones when you maximize/minimize windows, then you know how bad laptop audio can be

cnocbui

Windows??

Not I.


The sound output from my Macbook Pro is pretty good.

NinjaK

ZENER wrote: »

What make/model is the laptop ? It might have SPDIF capabilities through one of it's outputs.

Another option is to use an external audio adaptor via USB that has a digital/optical output. Creative Labs and Turtlebeach do decent units.

Of course that all depends on what level of quality you're after. Personally I find audio outputs on computers to be very wooly at the bass end with poor definition on the high end.

Ken

Dell XPS 15

Just to let ye know im happy with the headphone out connection, quality is very good.

mossym

cnocbui wrote: »

Windows??

Not I.


The sound output from my Macbook Pro is pretty good.

I'll back my HRT Streamer II against it any day.

course that's only a dac

mossym

NinjaK wrote: »

Dell XPS 15

Just to let ye know im happy with the headphone out connection, quality is very good.

problem solved then, you ave your answer, if you're happy why bother going further, get the 3,5mm to twin phono recommended above

ZENER

A quick look at the XPS specs shows that some of them have a SPDIF connection. Being digital it should be a lot cleaner than the analogue output too ! What CPU does the XPS have ?

You know, providing as much info as possible before asking a question is usually a good idea ?! At least until mind reading becomes genetic !

Ken

ZENER

cnocbui wrote: »

Windows??

Not I.


The sound output from my Macbook Pro is pretty good.

The MacBook Pro also has optical outputs on the 3.5mm jacks. A very useful feature too !!

Ken

NinjaK

ZENER wrote: »

A quick look at the XPS specs shows that some of them have a SPDIF connection. Being digital it should be a lot cleaner than the analogue output too ! What CPU does the XPS have ?

You know, providing as much info as possible before asking a question is usually a good idea ?! At least until mind reading becomes genetic !

Ken

yeah thats the one I use, I didnt know anything about spdif before you mentioned it! It looks the same as the headphone jack and has a pic of headphones above it, says spdif below it though.
Its got a core i5 Ken.

coylemj

NinjaK wrote: »

yeah thats the one I use, I didnt know anything about spdif before you mentioned it! It looks the same as the headphone jack and has a pic of headphones above it, says spdif below it though.
Its got a core i5 Ken.

That's very strange, SPDIF is a digital signal, your amp. has two such sockets to take what's commonly known as digital co-ax, the two sockets below them are for digital optical. Headphones take analog so the socket has to be one or the other, it can't be both.

NinjaK

You can see it here, its the middle one

coylemj

You never mentioned that you have two headphone sockets, clearly one is analog and the other digital.

You need to check the specs. for your laptop because that output is either digital co-ax or optical, I think it's probably optical in which case you need an optical (Toslink) cable plus a mini-Toslink adapter.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOSLINK#Mini-TOSLINK

This might be what you need, I have never dealt with this vendor so this is not an endorsement...

http://www.lindy.ie/cables/audio-video/optical-audio-spdif/toslink-to-mini-optical/

However you'd probably be better off buying an adapter and a standard optical cable as separate items, that way you can reuse the cable for TV or Blu-Ray to the amp. so I'd buy one of these cables depending on what length suits your setup....

http://www.lindy.ie/cables/audio-video/optical-audio-spdif/toslink/

and the Toslink to mini-Toslink adapter...

http://www.lindy.ie/mini-optical-to-toslink-converter/70413.html

Do not waste money on any of those 'premium' cables, an optical signal is a series of light pulses which is in no way affected by magnetic fields so any optical cable will do.

For comparson purposes, I bought a standard 2m optical cable for about €13 in Harvey Normans.

mossym

coylemj wrote: »

You never mentioned that you have two headphone sockets, clearly one is analog and the other digital.

not so clearly i would expect, i'm typing this on a dell studio 17, it has two headphone outputs, both are analog only, neither does double duty as an optical output

coylemj

mossym wrote: »

not so clearly i would expect, i'm typing this on a dell studio 17, it has two headphone outputs, both are analog only, neither does double duty as an optical output

The OP's second headphone socket says 'SPDIF' which has to be digital.

mossym

coylemj wrote: »

The OP's second headphone socket says 'SPDIF' which has to be digital.

you have better eye sight than me..:)

coylemj

mossym wrote: »

you have better eye sight than me..:)

No that good, the OP told us...

NinjaK wrote: »

yeah thats the one I use, I didnt know anything about spdif before you mentioned it! It looks the same as the headphone jack and has a pic of headphones above it, says spdif below it though.

mossym

coylemj wrote: »

No that good, the OP told us...

true..had to go back and read everything properly, then noticed something else... your comment that the port can't be both analog and digital, isn't right.

it's possible to have both. the creative soundblaster pcmcia had a dual function port, it is a standard analog headphone port, plug in a pair of headphones workes fine, it has the 3 internal metal connectors for HP. however, the back of the port is an optical transmitter, and if you plug in a mini toslink, the plastic shield ignores the headphone metal connectors. and the exposed tip receives the optical signal.

i've seen that on a few ports. you can see a picture of the port on this page
http://www.trustedreviews.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-X-Fi-Xtreme-Audio-Notebook_Peripheral_review

you can even see one fo the metal connectors for the standard headphone connector

so quite normal for a port to be both analog and digital

ZENER

MacBook Pros have had analogue/digital outputs since their release so it's not uncommon. If your amp has an optical input then this is definitely the preferred choice for audio output to your amplifier OP.

Ken

NinjaK

ZENER wrote: »

MacBook Pros have had analogue/digital outputs since their release so it's not uncommon. If your amp has an optical input then this is definitely the preferred choice for audio output to your amplifier OP.

Ken

yes it has an optical input on the front. Will this cable make an actual audible difference over what I already got?

mossym

NinjaK wrote: »

yes it has an optical input on the front, could you tell me what cable I need so?

the one coylemj already linked you to. mini-toslink to toslink

NinjaK

Well I got the lead today in maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/digital-audio-optical-lead-44245 It came with 2 converters and it doesnt work, getting no sound from it. I tried alot of different combinations and nothing, so unless one of ye can solve the problem by tomorrow its going back.

mossym

i don't think any of us are going to be too bothered if its fixed by tomorrow or not, you're the only one it affects.

did you tell windows to use the spdif output as the default audio output?

NinjaK

Ive noticed that it doesnt say SPDIF on the cable box, unlike the cable above http://www.lindy.ie/5m-spdif-digital-optical-cable-toslink-to-mini-optical/35224.html
Could that be the problem? I told the man in Maplin about it and he said it would work.

did you tell windows to use the spdif output as the default audio output?

No I didnt do anything, I presumed it would just pick it up like it does for my other cable.

mossym

NinjaK wrote: »

Ive noticed that it doesnt say SPDIF on the cable box, unlike the cable above http://www.lindy.ie/5m-spdif-digital-optical-cable-toslink-to-mini-optical/35224.html
Could that be the problem? I told the man in Maplin about it and he said it would work.



No I didnt do anything, I presumed it would just pick it up like it does for my other cable.

digital audio cable you linked to is an SPDIF cable, SPDIF can be either optical or dig coax but the cable you have is fine.

go into control panels, go into sound and audio devices, make the spdif output the default output. if you can do that, and still no sound, the problem is likely on the amp side and you haven't assigned the optical input you are using to the correct input on the amp

NinjaK

mossym wrote: »

digital audio cable you linked to is an SPDIF cable, SPDIF can be either optical or dig coax but the cable you have is fine.

go into control panels, go into sound and audio devices, make the spdif output the default output. if you can do that, and still no sound, the problem is likely on the amp side and you haven't assigned the optical input you are using to the correct input on the amp

I dont see the option to make it the default.

coylemj

NinjaK wrote: »

Well I got the lead today in maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/digital-audio-optical-lead-44245 It came with 2 converters and it doesnt work, getting no sound from it. I tried alot of different combinations and nothing, so unless one of ye can solve the problem by tomorrow its going back.

There's not much that go wrong with an optical cable so bringing it back would be the last thing I'd be planning on doing.

The SPDIF output port may not be enabled in Device Manager, digital output may not be enabled in the Audio device drivers, you may not have selected the right audio source on the amp. Maybe the analog port needs to be empty (no headphone jack) in order for audio to be output in digital format from the SPDIF port.

'It must be the cable' smacks of impatience, keep at it man!

It's far too early to be talking about returning the cable.

NinjaK

Finally sorted it out, it was in the settings on the laptop. Sounds great! Cheers lads for the help.

coylemj

Do you notice a big difference between the quality from the digital connection vs. the headphone jack to phono left and right connections?

NinjaK

not a huge difference but it does sound better

coylemj

NinjaK wrote: »

not a huge difference but it does sound better

Are you sure that's not the placebo effect - it should sound better so it does!

The audiophiles will be disappointed that you weren't blown away by the difference....

ZENER wrote: »

Personally I find audio outputs on computers to be very wooly at the bass end with poor definition on the high end.

ZENER

coylemj wrote: »

Are you sure that's not the placebo effect - it should sound better so it does!

The audiophiles will be disappointed that you weren't blown away by the difference....

Hmmm . . . so you've stereotyped (pardon the pun ) me as an audiophile then ? Interesting conclusion but the fact is I have a technical background having trained in audio/video equipment in Kevin Street for 4 years and have worked in this area for the past 15 years.

I place no credence in the "spend more get better" syndrome. I don't condone fancy cables or high cost inter-connects. I do however understand distortion, SNR and the effects noise has on analogue signals. Most people (no offense meant) don't understand or hear these artifacts but when they are offered a comparison in real life they do actually recognise the difference. They most likely don't fully understand why but they are able to discern a difference that they can quantify. So by belittling my comment and the opinion of the OP you don't gain anything creditability wise.

Someone else mentioned the shortcomings of laptop audio systems (moving windows about onscreen causes audible affects in the audio output), this is common with high density circuit boards such as those found in laptops, noise and distortion can and do happen !

Anyway, the point is that the OP now has a digital connection to his amplifier which - in theory - should be superior to the headphone output and all its shortcomings - mismatched impedance, High SNR, poor THD and poor frequency range. All technical terms, measurable and quantifiable in real numbers unlike much of the audiophile mumbojumbo one hears

Ken

NinjaK

My surround sound is an expensive Acoustic Energy surround sound system and is very good sound quality for bluray and music off ps3, ive got an Onkyo amp so its a good setup. Ive been a dj for a few years previous, not now though, so I know a bit about sound quality.
I havent really listened to it much yet, only a few tracks but it did sound very good, not that the old cable didnt sound good aswell.

coylemj

ZENER wrote: »

I don't condone fancy cables or high cost inter-connects.

Ken, for that statement alone I will forgive you for all the jargon.