Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Oops]

Hi,
last week I tried out a new Aureon Soundcard of Terratec. Because of the reviews and specification I expected great sound quality but the result was disappointing! The bass was ok, but the treble was really "aggressive/overloaded" so that the sound generally wasn't harmonic anymore. Now I'm back with the built-in Soundcard of my FSC-Board. What are your experiences? Any advices?

Chris

[kiwi]

What do you want the card for?  Playing games?  Listening to music?  Both?  Is it going to be connected to $40 computer speakers or a $2000 home stereo?  How much do you want to spend on the card?

Answering those questions will help people help you make a decision.

I know someone who just got an RME HDSP-9632 and got rid of his CD player becuase the RME card sounded so much better.  But hey, he's playing it through a full blown hifi setup.  

kiwi

[jleerigby]

I'm currently using an Audigy2 (24 bit / 96 Khz) connected via the digital out to a Denon AVR3802 with B&W 600 series speakers.  I use it for listening to MP3s.  Sound quality is quite good but I'd consider changing to something better if only I knew where to start.  

I thought about M-Audio but there are so many to choose from and I suspected most would provide much more functionality than I need.  Basically I just want great sound with MP3 playback.  Is it worth upgrading the Audigy2?

[kiwi]

I thought about M-Audio but there are so many to choose from and I suspected most would provide much more functionality than I need.  Basically I just want great sound with MP3 playback.  Is it worth upgrading the Audigy2?

I haven't used the Audigy 2, but I would imagine that you wouldn't see lots of difference between the Audigy 2 and other cards if you're listening to MP3s.  Especially if you're using the digital output.  

The one thing that I have heard recomended for Audigy users is to use software to upsample to 48KHz, so as to avoid the internal upsampling (don't know whether it does that with the digital outputs).  You might want to play around with that in the DSP output format section.

kiwi

[resipsa]

I use the M-Audio Revolution.  All I can say is WOW!  I previously owned the Audigy2, but sold it after I heard the M-Audio Revolution at my friends house.  The difference is night and day between the two cards.  While you don't get any more features, you do get MUCH better sound for the same price.

I only listen to APE files on my system as it is a lossless storage format.  You may not experenice such a big difference betweeen the two card with low bitrate MP3's.

[LisaRCT]

You may not experenice such a big difference betweeen the two card with low bitrate MP3's.

Also, speaker / amplifier sleection . .  . . if you use a high-end amplified speaker system, or plan to go through your home stereo, you will hear a difference with a good 24/96 card (provided your ears are sensitive to it).

[Oops]

What do you want the card for?  Playing games?  Listening to music?  Both?  Is it going to be connected to $40 computer speakers or a $2000 home stereo?  How much do you want to spend on the card?

Hi kiwi,
I've connected my ultra quiet PC (at the moment with a low quality onboard soundcard) with my home stereo equipment (Denon Amplifier, Opera Speakers). And I'm using it only for listening to high-quality mp3-files (256kbps). Maybe in future I'd like to have surround equipment for DVD-enjoyment. So do you think, that the M-Audio is useful for me? What about the 24/96 feature concerning MP3? I thought that you don't have any advantages from that, if you listening to stereo material, do you?

Thanks,
Chris

[tjobbins]

Personally I would highly recommend the Echo Audio line of cards.

I use an Echo Mia 24/96 card - two analogue in, two analogue out, SPDIF in and out.  I connect to a Denon A11SR (4802 in the States) cinema amp using Mackie active monitor speakers, via SPDIF, using that as Zone 1 in MC.  Then I use the analogue outputs to connect to a separate lower-end amp, for a Zone 2.

Sound is great - very deep bass, excellent stereo spacing.  The Mia is a pro-audio card, and generally regarded as one of the cleanest and clearest for a reasonable price.  I paid £100 ($150) for mine, used - think they retail for about $200 in the States.

[tjobbins]

Oh, and in reply to Chris' question on the benefits of 24/96 with CD-quality mp3s - there is no direct benefit, as these MP3s will only be 16bit/44khz.  However a card capable of running at 24/96 will require higher quality components and a clearer signal path than one that would run only at 16/44.  These better quality components do improve quality even when listening at 16 bit.

[Mads_H]

However a card capable of running at 24/96 will require higher quality components and a clearer signal path than one that would run only at 16/44.  These better quality components do improve quality even when listening at 16 bit.

These higher quality components, is that before or after the 24/96 card?

[LisaRCT]

These higher quality components, is that before or after the 24/96 card?

Ideally both. However I think may will agree that there is a hierarchy of imprvement noticability (though some may disagree as to how it is structued).

I have always found speakers to be the item that can most improve overall sound.
I personally go next to the source and try to get the cleanest signal so there is something for the speakers to work on.
Lastly I look at amplification.  While this too can have a dramatic impact, most amps, when NOT PUSHED, will produce reasonably decent sound quality . . .  the distortion usually does not become an issue until you begin to reach the higher output percentages.

[marketability]

There is a school of thought that says spend most on your source then work backwards

Personally I'd vote for spending some money on a soundcard with good quality "audiophile" components. I've tried a few and my favourite is the M-Audio 2496 - it has good quality DACs, s/pdif out, asio drivers, etc and isn't a spagetti junction.

Next favourite upgrade is speakers (as long as you have an amp capable of driving them)

I use ASIO > S/pdif > external HiFi DAC to make sure there is as little software in the way of the audio signal

There is a big difference in sound between diff cards / dacs / HiFi
If your wallet is deep enough and your other half understanding enough - the sky's the limit

[jleerigby]

There is a school of thought that says spend most on your source then work backwards

Personally I'd vote for spending some money on a soundcard with good quality "audiophile" components. I've tried a few and my favourite is the M-Audio 2496 - it has good quality DACs, s/pdif out, asio drivers, etc and isn't a spagetti junction.

Next favourite upgrade is speakers (as long as you have an amp capable of driving them)

I use ASIO > S/pdif > external HiFi DAC to make sure there is as little software in the way of the audio signal

There is a big difference in sound between diff cards / dacs / HiFi
If your wallet is deep enough and your other half understanding enough - the sky's the limit

Thanks for everyone's input here.  I've been reading with interest and have come round to the idea that an investment in an M-Audio card for my new HTPC will be well worth it.  Don't think I'll be upgrading my speakers for a while though as I'm well impressed with the B&W's (2 x 602.5, 2x 601, 1 x LCR 600 and 1 x ASW675 sub).  The sub in particular is awesome.  If anyone's thinking about a new set of speakers treat yourself to some of these.

[jleerigby]

Trying telling my wife that!  If I were just talking about buying a soundcard it may not be an issue but when I add that to the list of components I need for another pc it starts to sound expensive.  Especially when the cheapest M-Audio Audiophile 2496 available in the UK is around £135 (about $210).  That looks pricey compared to an Audigy2 at £43.

But if a job's worth doing it's worth doing right so I'll wait 'till I can afford the pc with the perfect spec.