Best way to connect computer to hi-fi amp

[joneall]

My current hi-fi amplifier has too many problems and needs replacing. Up till now, I have just put a doubler in the audio output jack and run half to my small desktop speakers (Edifier R1700BT) and the other half to my amp. The sound could probably be better, but it suffices for my octogenarian ears.

Since I'm changing, tho, why not do better if can (for a reasonable price)? I found a good discussion of the issue here. But for one thing, I don't know if Kubuntu supports DAC, or if that's worth the trouble.

Anybody else have experience with this?

[Beerislife]

I run a cable from the headphone jack on my Mini PC to the Line In on my Yamaha A-S301 Amp, which in turn is connected to a pair of
Yamaha bookshelf speakers. It's the input marked '1' under the Tuner input.

[Schwarzer Kater]

Sorry, no DAC here either (in fact no experience with external DACs and Linux myself at all - the musicians I installed Ubuntu Studio for some time ago do their audio set-up themselves)…
My tiny computer speakers are connected via 3.5 mm jack to the backside audio output of my desktop computer.

One thing I can tell you, though: don't use a doubler/splitter as this will audibly reduce the sound quality. Better rotate the two jacks/cables when you want to use the other speakers/connect to a HiFi amplifier (before switching the aforementioned on…). But if you have to: use a good/expensive doubler/splitter (e.g. from a real HiFi shop and not from a random eBay or Amazon seller).
And use cables that are as short as possible and just as long as needed (especially true for analoque connections - also don't use the cheap ones here, you will begin to hear the difference with a good HiFi amplifier & good speakers the moment the cables have to be longer than 1 m).

Another solution could be to connect to a HiFi amplifier with HDMI if it has such a port.
In three cases (one friend and two former customers) this worked great with Linux.
Oh - and now I remember something else: I think one installation I did some time ago had an optical audio output and the HiFi system had an optical input - that worked, too. You can see digital inputs in the top middle of Beerislife's picture.
Only two of those four examples were with KDE Plasma, though (two of the HDMI ones).

If you can use one, a digital connection is generally better than an analogue one for computer audio output (you can roughly compare this with an analogue VGA video output vs. a digital DVI-D/DisplayPort video output, though it is not quite the same).
Avoid Bluetooth.

[Virginio Miranda]

My current hi-fi amplifier has too many problems and needs replacing. Up till now, I have just put a doubler in the audio output jack and run half to my small desktop speakers (Edifier R1700BT) and the other half to my amp. The sound could probably be better, but it suffices for my octogenarian ears.

Since I'm changing, tho, why not do better if can (for a reasonable price)? I found a good discussion of the issue here. But for one thing, I don't know if Kubuntu supports DAC, or if that's worth the trouble.

Anybody else have experience with this?

The best way to connect desktop system to a HI-FI system is using a optical output or spdif output ( sometimes calling as coaxial output ). So, it depends of the motherboard or just to use a good sound card.

The other external outputs on the motherboard all undergo processing and no longer transmit the original sound, so we can't even call it as hi-fi.

Modern motherboards practically only serve gamers. HI-FI motherboards no longer exist. Likewise, the spdif output on motherboards no longer exists. All that's left is the optical output. Any other output you use undergoes signal processing and then the quality is no longer suitable for HI-FI.

As for the operating system, the problem does not lie there. I say this from a HI-FI point of view, because in this case the motherboard or sound card directs the signal as it is, in digital form. If you use the other outputs, it leaves the digital form and goes through analog processing and amplification and in this case it also involves impedance.

A long time ago, motherboards were made with excellent sound hardware quality. I even saw motherboards with valved sound output. Today Asus still makes something that is good. The rest, for HI-FI is rubbish.

So, if you want hi-fi, use the optical output on your motherboard, or if it has the same spdif output (if it does too, which I doubt).

I don't think you need a DAC for this.