[matt99eo]

I just purchased a new computer (Acer Aspire One) and am trying to get it to interface completely with my Chime/HagDac.  I can play cd's, stream music audio from say youtube but cannot get DVD audio to pass through the hagdac (right LED stays red I think because sample rate is wrong). 

Is there a program of choice for DVD playback where you can control this setting?  I have had issues in the past (few years ago) with certain computers not interfacing well with the hagdac I never could solve and just used a different computer.  Has any progress on these issues been made lately?

[hagtech]

CHIME only does 44.1k 16 bit redbook.  I have no idea what a DVD spits out.

jh

[WGH]

How are you connecting the Chime and the Aspire? I use a HagUSB into a DAC that also only does redbook and have never been able to get DVD sound through the USB port either, though music works perfectly.

But there is a solution that will enable you get DVD sound into your stereo.
Notebooks can also output S/PDIF through the headphone jack. You will need a special 75 ohm cable with a mini S/PDIF jack. You may also need to set the playback software to output S/PDIF and it should work.

I listened to a movie using the S/PDIF output of my Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard into my DAC and got the big sound you are looking for using interVideo WinDVD.

Note: I do use the USB buss for movies but use a MAudio Transit that uses custom drivers to work. The Transit's Toslink output is plugged into the 5 channel surround decoder, this way I can get a true 4.1 Dolby Digital signal out of the computer. S/PDIF can output 4 channel surround sound but not a 4.1 Dolby Digital signal.

Wayne

[matt99eo]

The Chime has a Hagdac in it with a USB input so I connect directly to the CHime via a USB cable. 

I will try using the intervdieo winDVD and seeing if I can control the output of it such that it is shooting it out at 44.1k.  I am not going for surround sound but only for stereo. 

The interesting thing is if you plug a mac into the chime and ouput ANYTHING, the computer pumps it out at 44.1k.  Why is that and can any computer be configured to do so?

[WGH]

The Chime has a Hagdac in it with a USB input so I connect directly to the Chime via a USB cable. 

Doesn't the Chime have a S/PDIF input too or do you have one of the models that Jim made without the selection switches in front? Hopefully you have the former because if the USB connection refuses to play nice with movies then you may have to resort to having two cables from the laptop to the Chime and switching between the two for music and movies.

Wayne

[matt99eo]

Why would outputting through the SPDIF be any different than through the USB?

[WGH]

Because in Vista you can set the S/PDIF output to 44.1: Right click on speaker in taskbar --> Sound --> SPDIF Interface --> Advanced; this setting is not available in the USB Audio Device using the Generic USB Audio driver.

[matt99eo]

I am running windows xp.  I will see if I can control the rate with an SPDIF from there.  Is there a possibility to run the hagUSB, convert to SPDIF and use one the reccomended usb-audio driver?

I still do not understand what a mac computer is doing, as it outputs EVERYTHING in 44.1 k I believe: music, dvd's, streams, whatever.  Is it really converting the sample rate of a dvd from 48 to 44.1 or does hagdac except 48 k from mac for some reason? 

What component of the hagdac limits the input to 44.1? 

[WGH]

I am running windows xp.  I will see if I can control the rate with an SPDIF from there.  Is there a possibility to run the hagUSB, convert to SPDIF and use one the reccomended usb-audio driver?

I also use XP on my main computer and have never seen a way to change the S/PDIF sample rate, I mentioned Vista because I assumed all new laptops came with that OS.

Using my XP computer, I took the S/PDIF output from my sound card straight into my redbook DAC, loaded in a DVD and got high quality 2 channel sound. XP's output must default to 44.1. Regarding the usb-audio driver: I have been using it for years with Foobar but have never found a way to get it to work with a video program probably because there is no way to configure the program to use the usb-audio driver instead of the generic usb audio driver.

I also have a Toshiba laptop with Vista also using Foobar but with the Wasapi plugin and have compared the USB sound quality to the XP computer. The Toshiba/Vista combo wins easily with a clearer sound and less woolly more defined bass using the same music filled hard drive and same wires into the HagUSB.

[matt99eo]

Good to hear.  I am loading windows 7 onto the machine and will keep you posted.  THanks for the update

[matt99eo]

Update: Windows 7 has solved all sample-rate playback issues.  This is perhaps the best source I have heard yet over the Chime.   WOW.  I highly reccomend the change in OS for playback performance.