How to connect z906 to soundcard for BEST possible sound quality

[Bolitas]

So I am thinking of buying the Logitech z906. I currently have the z506 but they are not good enough as I am starting to look at sound quality a bit more seriously.

Obviously I cant get the best sound quality from my motherboard's onboard sound card so I am also thinking of buying Creative's Sound Blaster ZXR. My question is what type of cable should I use to get the best possible sound quality out of this setup (z906 + Sound Blaster ZXR) ?

I was thinking about connecting them with optical cable but I heard it compresses the 5.1 sound because the cable doesn't have enough bandwidth for surround sound. is this true? if so what connection should I use. As you understand I want to use the surround sound of the speakers too so rca connection is out of the picture as it is only stereo sound, correct? Please help me find the best solution.

By the way, the sound card I mentioned comes with a daughter board which has some extra features. Do you think I should connect the speakers to the main board or the daughter board? My main use of this setup is for home cinema and gaming. I played the Witcher 3 last summer and I was more than impressed from the breathtaking sound design and quality but I feel like my current speakers, the z506 are not good enough for the immersive sound experience this game offers. So this summer I am planning another playthrough this time with the z906 and I want the BEST sound experience I can get, therefore I am making this thread here. I am also doing video editing and I want to start paying more attention to the sound quality.

 

[hang-the-9]

That's is a pretty hefty sound card, you can probably get all you need from the Creative Sound Blaster Z instead for less than half the price, unless you read about all the differences and feel you need them. For connections, read the manual for the speakers and see. Between the documentation for the sound card and for the speakers you will find out all you need to know. The Z has 3.5mm surround sound connections which look easier to configure. The ZXR has less 3.5mm connections.

There is tech info about the 3 models in the range with the differences, the ZXR has more input and output options but the quality of the card should be extremely close, enough that you will never notice it. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102050

 

[Bolitas]

That's is a pretty hefty sound card, you can probably get all you need from the Creative Sound Blaster Z instead for less than half the price, unless you read about all the differences and feel you need them. For connections, read the manual for the speakers and see. Between the documentation for the sound card and for the speakers you will find out all you need to know. The Z has 3.5mm surround sound connections which look easier to configure. The ZXR has less 3.5mm connections.

There is tech info about the 3 models in the range with the differences, the ZXR has more input and output options but the quality of the card should be extremely close, enough that you will never notice it. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102050

My question is which input is the best? As I said, should I use the optical cable for 5.1? wont that compress the audio?

 

[hang-the-9]

That's is a pretty hefty sound card, you can probably get all you need from the Creative Sound Blaster Z instead for less than half the price, unless you read about all the differences and feel you need them. For connections, read the manual for the speakers and see. Between the documentation for the sound card and for the speakers you will find out all you need to know. The Z has 3.5mm surround sound connections which look easier to configure. The ZXR has less 3.5mm connections.

There is tech info about the 3 models in the range with the differences, the ZXR has more input and output options but the quality of the card should be extremely close, enough that you will never notice it. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102050

My question is which input is the best? As I said, should I use the optical cable for 5.1? wont that compress the audio?

The optical connection does compress and then decodes the 5.1 on the speaker/receiver side, but you can always try with several connections and see what you like. You may not see any difference.