How to connect 7.1 sound card to amp?

[skynet786]

Hi

I have a 7.1 sound card and a 5.1 yamaha dsp-a2 amplifer. I use the amp for dolby digital 5.1 dvd's but wish to take advantage of my 7.1 sound card as it can decode dolby digital ex 7.1.

I can use powerdvd player and the 7.1 sound card to decode the dolby digital ex signal but how would I output it to my 7 jamo speakers via the amp? Do I need a new amp or a second amp to drive the extra 2 channels? and if I connect the sound card to the amp via the 3.5mm jack plugs instead of the digital coax then is it still a "digital" quality signal?

Please help - it seems a shame not to take advantage of the "software" decoding used by powerdvd for 7.1 ex surround.

 

[mungo]

I'd say you'd probably get better results using the internal 5.1 decoder on the yamaha amp. The other option is to connect the 5.1 of the 7.1 to the amps discrete inputs and then have a second amp to drive the additional 2 speakers as you said.