does the TI sound more dynamic and lush when in single mode, non usb?

[Timo]

Originally Posted by sdrr00

whats the difference between the Analog out and SPDIF on the Virus TI. i thought SPDIF was superior to analog..

S/PDIF is digital. It's locked to either 44.1KHz or 48KHz 16-bit, I'm unsure.

Analogue is.. analogue. It has no limits, except for physical factors.

why would the analog carry more bits?

It depends on the D-A (Digital to Analogue) converter. If the D-A converter is good, you stand to get a more dynamic signal on the output. I believe the TI uses a 192KHz 24-bit D-A. It wont be digital when it leaves the jack output anymore, but it will be high fidelity balanced analogue.

But.. it also relies on your external A-D converter (your soundcard) and the connections (cables) you use as to how much fidelity you actually retain and/or capture at the other end.

It also means the signal goes through two stages of converters... the D-A converter (from the Virus) followed by the A-D converter (on your soundcard), each affects the signal in their own way, and also the connectors and cables affect how much additional noise is physically created/picked up and/or how much interference is rejected. Luckily, the TI uses balanced (TRS) connections which is more professional and should reject a large deal of any acquired noise/interference if you use balanced cables. So if you want high-grade sound, all you'd need is decent A-D converters on your soundcard and relatively decent cables to connect them both up.

Also how would i hook up the TI in analog to my sound card?

Connect the analogue outputs of the Virus to the analogue inputs of your soundcard using either unbalanced cables with TS jacks, or balanced cables with TRS jacks. (A TRS jack is the same as a stereo jack, looks wise, but in this case you'd be using a TRS jack for each channel (mono). If your soundcard supports balanced connections, and you want to use balanced cables and TRS jacks for better fidelity, select 'balanced' or +4dBV from your soundcard control panel or via physical switches.)

Or, if you have soundcard inputs that use balanced XLR connectors, you'd need a balanced TRS-to-XLR cable & jack config.

[sdrr00]

Originally Posted by Timo

Connect the analogue outputs of the Virus to the analogue inputs of your soundcard using either unbalanced cables with TS jacks, or balanced cables with TRS jacks. (A TRS jack is the same as a stereo jack, looks wise, but in this case you'd be using a TRS jack for each channel (mono). If your soundcard supports balanced connections, and you want to use balanced cables and TRS jacks for better fidelity, select 'balanced' or +4dBV from your soundcard control panel or via physical switches.)
.

i was planning on using the virus via USB, but if analog is much better quality then analog it is. i just havent used analog before.. its the blue port on the sound card correct?

id use this cable to connect from the virus ti to the sound card, assuming im right about the blue port?: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1093469826662

[Doc Jones]

Originally Posted by sdrr00

i was planning on using the virus via USB, but if analog is much better quality then analog it is. i just havent used analog before.. its the blue port on the sound card correct?

id use this cable to connect from the virus ti to the sound card, assuming im right about the blue port?: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1093469826662

what kind of sound card do you have? My assumption is that if you have to purchase those cables to connect your gear to it, then it is a consumer grade card, not a professional one. In this case you would be better off using the usb connection for your audio.

[sdrr00]

Originally Posted by Doc Jones

what kind of sound card do you have? My assumption is that if you have to purchase those cables to connect your gear to it, then it is a consumer grade card, not a professional one. In this case you would be better off using the usb connection for your audio.

i have the asus xonar d2x.. from what i can see it doesnt have analog in, only SPDIF. i know it supports 192khz/24-bit analog, just dont know how to connect it. the fact that it "supports" it might mean i need an adapter of some kind

[Doc Jones]

Originally Posted by sdrr00

i have the asus xonar d2x.. from what i can see it doesnt have analog in, only SPDIF. i know it supports 192khz/24-bit analog, just dont know how to connect it. the fact that it "supports" it might mean i need an adapter of some kind

I believe both the "line input jack" and the "microphone jack" would both qualify as analog inputs. But the problem is these look like unbalanced 1/8th inch jacks whereas the virus has 1/4 inch balanced outputs. So you would be going from two or more 1/4 inch balanced outputs from your virus to only 1 1/8th inch (unbalanced?) input on your soundcard. not quite sure what that would do to your signal. Plus, the cards converters make all the difference in the world and I don't know much about Asus's converters. Just for comparison here is the sound card I am using. As you can see I go directly from balanced 1/4 inch outs (from the virus) to balanced 1/4 inch ins on my card before I hit the converters.