Need advice in directly connecting a Vortexbox to my stereo amp

[bigbear]

I bought my Vortexbox earlier this year (which is not the latest version being sold now) and am delighted with the configuration I have hooked up with the various Squeezebox devices in various rooms and love the way everything just plugs-and-plays. And I enjoy how I can control everything with my iPad using the third-party SqueezePad software.

However, I am a bit of a loss as to the most simple thing of all: connecting the Vortexbox to an integrated amp directly. (I just ordered a Yamaha RX-V373 5.1-Channel AV Receiver for an additional room and am awaiting delivery.) The documentation with the Vortexbox was so sparse that I am a bit confused as to such a simple thing. I see a soundcard built into the back with some mini jack outputs, and I take that to mean that I can just wire that to my RCA input jacks on my amp. But is that really the best way to go? Is the DAC on the Vortexbox soundcard that good? My new amp is going to be right next to the Vortexbox, so I know I don't need a separate Squeezbox player, but I sure would like to know the best way to handle this. I have tried to understand some of the postings in this website regarding this, but when people start using all kinds of acronyms, I get lost in a hurry. I love quality sound, but am hardly a knowledgable audiophile, and am a bit lost in all the new technology. Can anyone help me with this little question and say it in a non-techie way for me? I simply want to know the best way to connect the Vortexbox to my new amp to get the best sound I can from it. I would be most grateful for your advice.

Thank you.

[pooh22]

Hi Bigbear

I've only recently setup my own old PC as a vortexbox (to test for my mother). To listen to it, I connected the audio out jack (3.5mm) to the tuner input of my amplifier. The audio quality will depend on the quality of the soundcard in the PC (the vortexbox is basically a small PC running Linux).

To listen to this output, you need to choose the vortexboxplayer in the logitech mediacenter...

Cheers

Simon

[chabelo]

I'm a little confused by your post. Are you trying to connect the VB to your Yamaha, or are you trying to connect to another integrated amp? In either case, if you are connecting to an amp with a built-in DAC and a digital TOSLINK input, then I would recommend you get one of these:

http://amzn.to/NbDsUa

Hook it to the USB port of your VB, then use a TOSLINK cable to connect to your amp. If you wish to make an analog connection instead (RCA), while you can do this with via the soundcard on your VB, you may achieve better results with either the USB sound card above (used in analog mode), or with a stand-alone USB DAC. I'm partial to the HRT Music Streamer II as a relatively-inexpensive yet high-performance product, but there are many good products out there in all price ranges.

[andrew]

Yes this is all you need to get your VortexBox to work directly with your amp.

http://astore.amazon.com/vort-20/detail/B0036VO4X4

-Andrew

[nunovi]

If you want an improved sound quality, you can also consider using a Musical Fidelity V-Link II or a M2Tech HiFace2. These use asynchronous USB which will provide you better sound quality and will support high-resolution music files if you're interested in that.

[bigbear]

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts on this!

Pooh22, I appreciate your comment regarding using the existing Vortexbox sound card, but I was really trying to see if I could do better than using that card. Seems to me those cards are really just for hooking up desktop pc-type speakers, but I could be wrong.

Chabelo, I am indeed trying to connect the Vortexbox to the Yamaha. Your recommendation, along with Andrew's, may make the most sense for me right now and may be adequate for this particular listening room, which is just the bedroom. (I use the Transporter with my main system in a different room.)

I think that if the Turtle Beach adapter doesn't measure-up, then nunovi's suggestion sounds like the best, which also appears to be a more "high-end," audiophile approach -- but which would also force me to miss some meals to pay for it. However, my wife does want me to shed a few pounds...

Thanks again, folks! I needed to understand my options, and you gave them to me.

[chabelo]

Bigbear,

Glad to be of help. I too have a Transporter (great machine) and I use the Turtle Beach adapter to hook my VB directly to my home theater receiver via
Toslink. It's perfect for it's purpose and dirt cheap. I use it every day. If you're going to listen through the Yamaha, use the internal DAC. Buying an external DAC is likely overkill for that amp and whatever speakers it's connected to, especially since you have a better setup elsewhere. Besides, $25 for the Turtle Beach is hardly a big risk. If you find the sound wanting (which I doubt) you could always upgrade later.

One other tip - if you wish to synchronize the VB Player (wired out of the box) with other players in the house, you may notice a slight and annoying delay (the networked players play slightly later). There's an LMS setting available to impose a delay on a given player when synchronized. I set it to 118 milliseconds - problem solved.