[PLUG] Computer audio out to stereo

[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

John Jason Jordan wrote:
> For a long time I have wanted to use my computer as the source of audio
> for my home stereo. Not only is it more convenient, but there are more
> options - streaming internet radio stations, for example. 
> 
> Fifteen years ago I paid $300 each for the speakers in my stereo. I
> have investigated high quality computer speakers and they are a joke.
> Wagner and plastic are not a good combination. Therefore, the ideal
> solution is to get the audio from the sound card into the stereo
> preamp. Then I can get the sound into a set of real speakers.
> 
> The first thing I tried was simply a cable that had a "headphone" jack
> on one end and a pair of RCA jacks on the other. They work, but the
> sound is distorted. It has been a long time since my days as an
> audiophile, but I seem to remember that the impedance that a preamp
> expects is 40,000 ohms, where the impedance delivered by a sound card
> is designed for a headset, which is probably 4-32 ohms or so. I am
> guessing that this mismatch is the source of the distortion. If my
> guess is way off base, please enlighten me.
> 
> I also have an FM transmitter thingy for an iPod. Again, it works, but
> the sound is still distorted. Plus, it will only plug into an iPod - it
> needs an extra plug that iPods have next to the headphone jack where it
> can draw power. Plus, its range sucks. The stereo can't find it even
> with the iPod sitting on top of the receiver. I have no idea why the
> sound is still distorted because I have no clue how the thing works.
> 
> Note that I am only interested in audio. If I want to play a DVD I have
> an Ubuntu desktop computer right next to me that plays them just fine.
> Across the room I have a real television set for watching TV. When the
> local television stations start broadcasting Puccini during prime time
> I'll be interested in better sound for the video. Meantime I am not
> interested in having Hollywood blast me out of my chair with a sound
> track written to startle a deaf stone.
> 
> Having said that, the Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard in my desktop computer
> came with a TV-out add-on gadget. It plugs into a connector on the
> motherboard and occupies a slot on the back. It has four RCA jacks for
> TV-out. I wonder if two of those might be for sound. If so, considering
> that the jacks are standard RCA jacks, might the impedance be
> different? The manual says little about it other than to explain how to
> connect it to the motherboard.
> 
> I know there are PLUGgers who are media gurus. Can anyone suggest a
> solution? Or at least help me figure out for sure why the sound is
> distorted? Any advice or suggestions welcome.
> _______________________________________________
> PLUG mailing list
> PLUG at lists.pdxlinux.org
> http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> 
I'm guessing if you go to the mobo vendor's web site, you'll find a spec
sheet that details exactly what the audio hookups are coming out of the
"sound card". Or, you could ask a gamer. :)

Speaking of Puccini, you *do* know that the Met broadcast next Saturday
is simulcast in HDTV, which is usually live at one of the theaters here
in town (Lloyd Center, perhaps) and which is often repeated the day
after at a number of theaters locally and which is often available
afterwards on a DVD, right? I saw "Peter Grimes" and "The First Emperor"
that way, and it's a spectacular experience!