Best way to set up audio from CD drives?

I am using Windows XP with an NF7-S. There is an on board analog cd-rom input connection and another onboard SPDIF Digital connection.

I have a DVD-RW drive and a CD-RW drive, both of the drives have analog and SPDIF audio outputs.

WindowsXP has a enable digital audio checkbox for each CD drive. How does window's get digital audio without any direct connections to the CD-Drives?

Also what is the best way to connect the audio from the CD-Drives. I was gonna use the SPDIF connection for the DVD, and the analog connection on the CD-RW. Do I need to use any audio cables at all, if windows gets the audio digitally somehow?

Thanks

crull said:

WindowsXP has a enable digital audio checkbox for each CD drive. How does window's get digital audio without any direct connections to the CD-Drives?

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Digitally through the IDE cable.

crull said:

Also what is the best way to connect the audio from the CD-Drives. I was gonna use the SPDIF connection for the DVD, and the analog connection on the CD-RW. Do I need to use any audio cables at all, if windows gets the audio digitally somehow?

Click to expand...

IMO, the best way is with only the IDE cable. It's digital (as is SPDIF) and it doesn't take any extra wires.

moz_21 said:

Digitally through the IDE cable.



IMO, the best way is with only the IDE cable. It's digital (as is SPDIF) and it doesn't take any extra wires.

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Thanks, is the sound quality the same using digital through the ide cable instead of SPDIF?

yes, digital signals do not degrade like an analog signal would.

from what i've seen, when you hook up the SPDIF into the mobo you an use the play button off the cd drive to listen to songs thro your speakers without an app open.

Spion said:

from what i've seen, when you hook up the SPDIF into the mobo you an use the play button off the cd drive to listen to songs thro your speakers without an app open.

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Are your speakers digital, and connected to a digital output on the motherboard? Which motherboard output connecter are they using, maybe the SPDIF signal is just getting passed through from the CD drive to the speakers?