I'll second Vikingboy on the RME nomination; they make great stuff. http://www.rme-audio.com/english/index.htm |
M-Audio makes a PCI card - the Delta DIO 2496 Basically it's got 2 Coax SPDIF (in/out), 2 Toslink SPDIF (in/out) and 2 RCA (out L/R) I have one. It rocks. I'm not sure if M-Audio has discontinued it though, because last time I looked it was not on their site any more. You should be able to find one on eBay or perhaps a local retailer still has stock. |
I use an E-MU 1212M that I am very happy with. This soundcard also has an EXCELLENT (for a sound card) DAC, which I also use for output to my computer speakers. My standard music path is: FLAC -> Foobar2000 -> E-MU 1212M -> glass toslink cable -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Zu Varial IC -> Singlepower MPX3 -> Sennheiser HD650 headphones w/ Zu Mobius cable. |
Just get an MAudio Sonica. Heck, you want one, email me. I'll ship you the one I have for $20. Its a USB Audio device that has an connection for a toslink out. The software is a bit buggy on my XP box (system sounds don't always play). Once in a hundred times on MM I have to hit play twice to get sound. |
Hoontech makes add-on daughterboards for the ubiquitous and cheap Soundblaster LIVE series of cards. It's what I use in my computer - SB Live to CI Audio VDA1 DAC via toslink. Soundcard + daughter board should set you back no more than $70 total. It's not a Cadillac solution, but I'm very happy with it. It adds both toslink + coaxial ins and outs. |
M-Audio makes a card called the Audiophile 2496 which has spdif digital I/O as a feature. It's a PCI interface and is around $150 online. You can see it on their site here. No experience with it to speak of. No knowledge of cards with an optical output either. Good luck. Marco |
