Does the onboard sound chip quality matter if using SPDIF?

Question

Isn't it just a passthrough to your DD/DTS receiver, meaning the chip doesn't matter at all.

Answer 1

I assume you are talking about an HD disk player?

Since SPDIF sends bitstream to a decoder equipped A/V receiver (if NOT set to output 2ch PCM) you are right, in that the decoding is going on externally. OF course if you use HDMI the decoding may happen internally or externally depending on settings, so no chip quality does matter.

But I may be missing your point?

Answer 2

If you're talking about a pc/motherboard chipset then no the quality does not matter, it is just sending 1's and 0's.