Newsgroups: alt.comp.periphs.soundcard.sblive,rec.audio.tech
Subject: Re: Lack of RCA-type input plugs on sound cards!
References: <01bf3d55$6007c660$a4999cd1@default>
"Mike"  writes:

> I want to convert my cassettes and phonographs to CD-R, and I want to buy a
> good sound card to do it with.  None of the cards I've seen have RCA-plug
> inputs -- the Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold has two RCA plugs going out, none
> going in.  

Generally those soundcard backplanes have no space for very many RCA
connectors, so they have to use those mechanically crappy 1/8"
(3.5mm) stereo plugs for audio connections. 

> The "Sound Blaster Live! Platinum" sound card has one RCA plug
> in, and one RCA plug out, which would be great -- 
> if you were really into mono!

Those RCA plugs you are talking on sound not to be for analogue audio.
This kind of RCA plug setup is used in some soundcards to carru digital
audio signals. So one RCA connector can carry one CD quality stereo
signal in digital format. If you have a CD player or DAT with
same type of connector, you can use those to transfer sounds back
and forth at very high quality without any signal quallity loss
in ideal case. In real world many soundcard makers have been even
able to mess up those so that instead of transferring the sound
directly in digital format to PC CPU then run it though some of
their crappy signal processing electronics on the soundcard
(which modified the data and causes loss of sound quality in
many cases, I have seen magazine test which prove this)

> If I use the regular old 1/8" stereo "line-in" jack, fed by the RCA-outputs
> on my stereo, can I still get good results, 

Yes you can. Sonically a new and in well condition 1/8" plug is not
a problem. The bigger bigger sonical problem is the soundcard itself
than the connectors. News 1/8" connector works well as audio connector,
But the downside of them is the reliabity and construction:
they can't standard hard use, they become reliable after you
have plugged and unplugged the cables few tens of times,
the plug pulls out too easily in many cases when you move cables
a little bit. If the cable is properly plugged in and connectors
are new, then there are no sonic problems. If the connectors are
very much used, then the connection might become loose so that the
sound might not get trhough because the connector might not
get good contact.

> assuming I have a decent sound card like the AWE64 Gold?  
> I'm no audiophile, but I like quality.

According articles in Usenet and some magazine test, that AWE64 does
not seem to be a "decent quality" soundcard in sound quality sense.
It is better than some of the cheapest ccards, but I woudl not
call it anyway wery good in sound quality in this kind of application
you are trying to do.

> Is there a sound card with two RCA-plug inputs, one for left channel, and
> one for right?

I don't know any such cards for normal PC market. For professional
sound markets there are cards with better connectors (1/4" plugs,
XLR-connectors, propably RCA, etc.) Those professional cards are
much more expensive than typical PC mas market soundcards.

> Also, what is a "cd-audio input connector"?  Is this simply an analog
> stereo input, like the "line-in"??

Yes it it. It is just like any other line level input on soundcard.
It is just wired to a different kind of connector and not to
the back panel of the card.


For more information on PC soundcard and other audio issues take
a look at http://www.epanorama.net/
The PC hardware and audio sections might turn to be very useful
information sources for all kind of related information.

-- 
Tomi Engdahl (http://www.iki.fi/then/)