Y splitters? Will they reduce quality/ how do they work?

[newtoaudio90]

So basically I am getting a T-amp with a red white RCA input and my sound card only has the main 'green' output.

Will using a Y splitter (3.5mm to 2x RCA) split the signal appropriately without reducing quality.

I guess what I am really interested in is will it just 'split the signal in half' (so you could send it to two different devices) or will it split in into its respective 'left and right' so the music plays appropriately?

Secondly, I asked this in another thread, but a sound card has a inbuilt DAC doesn't it?

 

[baijuxavior]

No degradation in quality if you use a good 3.5 mm to 2 RCA cable.

 

[jaudere]

The 3.5mm stereo pin to 2 RCA cable will properly carry music into left and right channel. There will be no degradation of quality if good quality cable is used. Actually it is not a typical Y splitter because it is not splitting any signal. Right and left signals are carried separately. Only at one end, there is a single pin carrying both channels. The structure of the pin is such that two channels are kept separate.

Following is a Y splitter
Google Image Result for http://cdn.head-fi.org/1/1a/1a512e89_RCA-Stereo-Audio-to-RCA-Y-Splitter-Adapter-Converter-Free-shipping.jpeg

This actually divides on channel signal into 2, It will reduce voltage provided to amplifer as the voltage is split, will reduce volume and can degrade quality.

About sound card; Yes a sound card has a DAC as well as ADC(analogue to digital converter) which can be used for recording. The quality of the DAC varies from sound card to sound card and quality of reproduced sound varies accordingly.