how to add TosLink output when missing?

[Trentonxx]

I'm planning a new build and one thing that is cutting in half my motherboard results is the optical output port, I have a Denon AVR-X 1400H plugged to a 5.1 system and headphones.

I'm not entirely sure if there is another way (hdmi througput is capped at 60hz) to get Audio to my AVR other than by TosLink. but when I filter like this:

the last tag takes me from 890 results to 485...

 

so my question is: is there a way, except from a dedicated soundcard (the cheapest card with a 5.1 optical output sells for 98€) to get my audio output?

like a dumb 1x card that's just the connector soldered on it and it uses my motherboard audio card?

I was thinking of a bluetooth transmitter but audio lag and driver issues would make it unfeasable.

 

I could have used 3 3-pole jacks to port the 5.1 channels on the back of my receiver but sadly one is dedicated to the microphone instead of being FL/FR BL/BR C/S

[Lorant]

So there isn't a motherboard you like out of the 485 choices you have left?

 

Can you just run a 3.5mm jack from the motherboard to the input on the Denon?  Like you would if you were running a phone to it, etc.

 

Not the best sound but may be good enough.

[Trentonxx]

2 minutes ago, Lorant said:

So there isn't a motherboard you like out of the 485 choices you have left?

a lot! but those without it are cheaper, or have some features/form factor I want to consider etc..

I was just asking if there could be some work-around to this, not a necessity, mostly a curiosity

[Zagna]

If the rear I/O doesn't have it, often there's a pin header so you can connect a bracket?

[Trentonxx]

1 hour ago, Zagna said:

If the rear I/O doesn't have it, often there's a pin header so you can connect a bracket?

never heard of these pins! I'll check some motherboard manuals, it would be pretty cool!!

[ShearMe]

Not sure if this helps, you can add toslink with USB devices.

[Trentonxx]

On 2/5/2020 at 7:43 PM, Zagna said:

If the rear I/O doesn't have it, often there's a pin header so you can connect a bracket?

I found a couple of these bracket, but I could not find the spdif_o pins in recent motherboards (expecially mATX models)
I guess that they either have it on the I/O or they drop it altogether.     

 

On 2/6/2020 at 3:12 AM, ShearMe said:

Not sure if this helps, you can add toslink with USB devices.

will it have any delay? from what I'm seeing they act like dedicated external sound cards, and those with 5.1 enabled are priced over 60€

 

I think it's not possible.

[mariushm]

1 gbp = 1.18 euro

 

85 gbp / 100e : MSI B450M MORTAR MAX Motherboard mATX, AM4, DDR4, LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, TYPE-C, M.2, Mystic Light Sync, HDMI, Display Port, AMD RYZEN 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen Ready: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

85 gbp : MSI B450M MORTAR Motherboard mATX, AM4, DDR4, LAN, USB 3.1 Gen2, TYPE-C, M.2, Mystic Light Sync, HDMI, Display Port, AMD RYZEN 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

82 gbp / 97e : ASRock B450M Steel Legend  https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/hNdxFT/asrock-b450m-steel-legend-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-steel-legend

 

has spdif header (so you can add above bracket)

 

82 gbp / 97e Gigabyte B450 AORUS M  https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/WcjJ7P/gigabyte-b450-aorus-m-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-aorus-m

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mariushm]

On 2/5/2020 at 8:13 PM, Trentonxx said:

 

I could have used 3 3-pole jacks to port the 5.1 channels on the back of my receiver but sadly one is dedicated to the microphone instead of being FL/FR BL/BR C/S

Boards with 6 analogue jacks in the back are cheap. If you use one of those, you can use 3 analogue jacks for 5.1, and the other 2 for line in and/or microphone.

You could also buy brackets with stereo out and headphones that connect into the front panel audio header, so you could connect the headphones and microphone in the back of the pc instead of the front of your case. This would allow you to use all 3 analogue outputs of a motherboard for 5.1

Most modern sound cards allow you to reconfigure audio jacks for various role

[Trentonxx]

3 hours ago, mariushm said:

the front panel audio header

my god I'm such an idiot I totally forgot that's a thing.

since my current case does not have any front I/O ports I always used only those on the back...

 

3 hours ago, mariushm said:

1 gbp = 1.18 euro

 

85 gbp / 100e : MSI B450M MORTAR MAX

 

85 gbp : MSI B450M MORTAR Motherboard mATX,

 

82 gbp / 97e : ASRock B450M Steel Legend  https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/hNdxFT/asrock-b450m-steel-legend-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-steel-legend

 

has spdif header (so you can add above bracket)

 

82 gbp / 97e Gigabyte B450 AORUS M  https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/WcjJ7P/gigabyte-b450-aorus-m-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-aorus-m

THANK you so much!

I was settling for an ATX for various reason but I wanted to try and plan a "parallel" build with a mATX to check if I could pull out the same performance/features while also fit into a Bitfenix Prodigy M. incredibly good looking case and also super useful for my VR needs (I'll move the PC up and down the stairs a lot to play VR, so a small case and handles are perfect for the job).

 

I will look into these and give them a chance

Also I don't know how you found a board that has a spdif header, you're a monster!  

[mariushm]

8 minutes ago, Trentonxx said:

Also I don't know how you found a board that has a spdif header, you're a monster!  

There's even an ITX board with SPDIF header: Gigabyte B450I Aorus Pro Wifi or something like that... here's the link

Aorus B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI (Socket AM4/B450/DDR4/S-ATA 600/Mini-ITX): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

edit: and it's not exactly a bracket, but it's a board you could fix to the case at the back somehow and it's cheap at only 3$ : https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-USB-2-0-Ports-PC-Computer-Case-Front-Panel-USB-Audio-Mic-Earphone-Cable-NIGH/143337983265

 

The board has two screw holes so you could fix it to some plastic rectangle using standoffs or some double sided tape, and then you could attach to plastic holder to the back of a card or on the bottom of the case.

 

[ShearMe]

On 2/7/2020 at 7:52 AM, Trentonxx said:

will it have any delay? from what I'm seeing they act like dedicated external sound cards, and those with 5.1 enabled are priced over 60€

USB cards shouldn't have any more meaningful delay than other types of cards.

 

S/PDIF requires a compression codec to transmit multichannel audio, so yes you will have to pay more for one that supports Dolby or DTS depending on your AVR.

 

If analog would be an option for you, there are very cheap external soundcards with 3.5mm surround sound ports.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEAGY-External-Surround-Recording-Compatible/dp/B07DGR9M6M/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=usb+surround+sound&qid=1581196568&sr=8-3

[Trentonxx]

12 hours ago, ShearMe said:

If analog would be an option for you,

this is the back of my AVR:

 

the analog audio in is only L/R from what I can tell.

it also has Bluetooth, so maybe I can get a bluetooth transmitter? what do other people use to drive 5.1 systems? like they all use optical or I'm missing out on some equipment?

[mariushm]

Yeah, besides optical in, there's only analogue stereo in.

 

Well, you also have HDMI input, so you could select the hdmi output of your video card as audio playback device, but I'm not sure you can choose between stereo or 5.1. If not from Windows, it's possible you would be able to select 5.1 from inside a game, or from a movie player.

 

You could plug your video card output into Game connector (the receiver should not care about the role listed above the connector, so any connector should work)

 

I think you can use a movie player like Media Player Classic Home Cinema to output 5.1 on the hdmi output (you can select the audio output from the player, instead of using the default playback device)

 

[Derkoli]

4 hours ago, Trentonxx said:

what do other people use to drive 5.1 systems

Most people use HDMI, I use HDMI for my stuff, but I need to as I have 32 channels of processing, not 6.

 

You can use one HDMI/DP to your monitor, then connect another HDMI to the AVR for just audio, if you're using a refresh rate above 60hz. If you are using 60hz or below, you can just do GPU -> AVR -> Display.

 

[Trentonxx]

2 hours ago, mariushm said:

I think you can use a movie player like Media Player Classic Home Cinema to output 5.1 on the hdmi output (you can select the audio output from the player, instead of using the default playback device)

99% of the surround audio is from games sadly

 

2 hours ago, Derkoli said:

You can use one HDMI/DP to your monitor, then connect another HDMI to the AVR for just audio, if you're using a refresh rate above 60hz. If you are using 60hz or below, you can just do GPU -> AVR -> Display.

uhm. I'll check some guides to see how it works, like having 2 hdmi cables from my GPU (except my external monitors) one to play games at 75hz and one for audio-only streaming (selecting video-1 for example).

I just hope Win10 does not mess things up. because often it keeps re-assigning the audio device to HDMI out instead of optical if I turn off and on a display. or after a restart if it installed new updates argh...

[Derkoli]

26 minutes ago, Trentonxx said:

uhm. I'll check some guides to see how it works, like having 2 hdmi cables from my GPU (except my external monitors) one to play games at 75hz and one for audio-only streaming (selecting video-1 for example).

I just hope Win10 does not mess things up. because often it keeps re-assigning the audio device to HDMI out instead of optical if I turn off and on a display. or after a restart if it installed new updates argh...

Yeah windows audio is really crappy.