I am a newbie to PC audio and to this board, so thank you to any assistance ahead of time.
I want to connect my computer to my stereo so I can listen to my digital music through my house (my stereo has speakers in the walls throughout my house). I've tried wireless and I've given up - my walls are too thick and the quality is just poor enough to annoy me. So now I'm left with wanting to run a cable through my basement from my den to my living room (about 40 feet of cable is needed). I've run the monster cable and it works. However the sound quality is poor at best. I think it is probably my sound card. I have a Dell 8500 with the standard integrated sound card. I'm no audiophile, but I want to get decent sound. I'm not a gamer and I don't want to spend $100 on a complex gaming sound card. Am I correct in thinking that a sound card could make a difference? And what kind of sound card can help for this? I see SoundBlaster Live! cards for $15 on ebay - would these help? I just have so little experience with sound cards that I don't know what makes a difference.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Mark
I want to connect my computer to my stereo so I can listen to my digital music through my house (my stereo has speakers in the walls throughout my house). I've tried wireless and I've given up - my walls are too thick and the quality is just poor enough to annoy me. So now I'm left with wanting to run a cable through my basement from my den to my living room (about 40 feet of cable is needed). I've run the monster cable and it works. However the sound quality is poor at best. I think it is probably my sound card. I have a Dell 8500 with the standard integrated sound card. I'm no audiophile, but I want to get decent sound. I'm not a gamer and I don't want to spend $100 on a complex gaming sound card. Am I correct in thinking that a sound card could make a difference? And what kind of sound card can help for this? I see SoundBlaster Live! cards for $15 on ebay - would these help? I just have so little experience with sound cards that I don't know what makes a difference.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Mark