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Topic: Which expensive soundcard to choose? (Read 9101 times) previous topic - next topic
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Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Hello there,

I've read many topics concerning soundcards now, but either the starter had no interest in gaming support or wouldn't spend so much money. As seen in the title, the price doesn't matter ;-)

I was quite happy with my Sound Blaster 128, unfortunately it broke a few days ago and I'm stuck with an AWE 64

I'm looking for a card that provides

Amazing quality
No resampling
Basic gaming support (EAX and so on, don't know the collective term)

It should be compatible to standard Adlib and Soundblaster (I'm still playing old DOS games), but that's not top priority. 5.1 is not that important either.

And it would be great if it was available in (/a shop that ships to) Germany.

Regards,
Sebastian

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #1 –
Quote
I'm looking for a card that provides

Amazing quality
No resampling
Basic gaming support (EAX and so on, don't know the collective term)

What do you mean for expensive? Really expensive cards don't have EAX or anything similar, nor or headphone support for example. Main advantage of expensive cards is that they have great recording quality, and several inputs/outputs.

With average price good quality cards, such as M-Audio Revolution, the output quality seems to be really good, in a level that I think can be perceived to be as good as anything you can listen to (I mean, the output quality reaches the level of "transparent"). However, I think in practice this is very likely to happen with slightly worse quality cards too.

It seems that the Audigy2 had a bug that caused to resample badly 44.1 KHz data, but that this bug is fixed with the latest drivers, and the output is ok now (I don't have more in-depth info, sorry). Some say that output quality is now comparable to good consumer and semi-pro cards. However, I guess its drivers are still bloated.

Quote
It should be compatible to standard Adlib and Soundblaster (I'm still playing old DOS games), but that's not top priority. 5.1 is not that important either.


I'd say that even new Creative cards are no more compatible with the old Soundblaster 16 or Pro standard.

Quote
And it would be great if it was available in (/a shop that ships to) Germany.


Some new Terratec Aureon cards look good, but I don't know much about them. I guess you can buy M-Audio cards easily from USA.

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #2 –
I meant that money doesn't matter. It mustn't be expensive at all cost

Well, just read that automatic resampling is not a good thing, I must admit I don't have experience with that (Not exactly, currently experiencing DVDs resampled to 44.1 cause the AWE 64 doesn't support 48 )

If the M-Audio Revolution provides "transparent" quality it's a whole new perspective on the subject. But I've never seen that card in shops nor on Ebay and guess it's not so easy to obtain it from an US dealer without a credit card?

As you said and from what I've heard, the Creative drivers seem to be nasty, I don't like that company either. Old Soundblaster support should be standard in my opinion?

Regards,
Sebastian

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #4 –
I just bought the new Terratec Aureon Sky sound card and have no complaints at all - very good sound quality and not overly expensive.

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #6 –
Just to give you an idea of more expensive soundcards; granted they are overkill for what you state as what you want from a card:


RME - High quality audio hardware from Germany

Same link to RME in English


The LynxTwo - Ahead of time when it was released two years ago


Those cards are usually bought by musicians who need high quality recording and low latency in order to synchronize audio and MIDI.

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #7 –
Quote
RME - High quality audio hardware from Germany

Same link to RME in English


The LynxTwo - Ahead of time when it was released two years ago

There's also cards from M-Audio, Echo, Mark of the Unicorn, Creamw@re, and many other companies that are worth mentioning while we're on the topic of high end cards.  The LynxTWO probably has the best output quality of all of them though, and is one of the only cards out of these that supports 192khz sampling rates.

However, most of these cards are not only well over $500, but they also don't include "basic gaming support" as mentioned as a necessity by the original poster.  They are way, way overkill for someone who is not planning on doing some serious recording/midi work.

My vote for a soundcard would be for the M-Audio Revolution.  I have this card and I also have an M-Audio Delta1010 (I used to be somewhat of a musician, a synthesist to be exact) and the sound quality of the Revolution in comparison has not disappointed me at all.  M-Audio has a pretty solid reputation for making soundcards with very good output quality (the audiophile2496 is also quite popular on this board), and the Revolution is no exception.  It features 7.1 output and the drivers support Sensaura 3D, so you get your EAX and whatnot.  The 3d audio stuff is not hardware accelerated though (it won't be on most of these types of cards), so that might be something to consider depending on how fast of a machine you have and how critical a feature this is.  The card does not resample and supports up to 24-bit/192khz playback.  Apparently, according to rightmark tests, the Revolution basically matches the LynxTWO at 16-bit/44.1khz playback also... quite an impressive feat for a $99 card.

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #8 –
Quote
I'm looking for a card that provides

Amazing quality
No resampling
Basic gaming support (EAX and so on, don't know the collective term)

I second the recommendations of M-Audio Revolution and Terratec Aureon. Both seem to have very good quality for medium price. And as bonus you get multiple channels.

Quote
It should be compatible to standard Adlib and Soundblaster (I'm still playing old DOS games), but that's not top priority.

Maybe using two cards is an option? You don't need a new top-notch soundcard for old games.

Quote
And it would be great if it was available in (/a shop that ships to) Germany.

Then Terratec is probably easier to get.

Quote
Apparently, according to rightmark tests, the Revolution basically matches the LynxTWO at 16-bit/44.1khz playback also... quite an impressive feat for a $99 card.

Where can I find the results?

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #9 –
Quote
Quote
Apparently, according to rightmark tests, the Revolution basically matches the LynxTWO at 16-bit/44.1khz playback also... quite an impressive feat for a $99 card.

Where can I find the results?

There was discussion about all of this, along with benchmarks, somewhere in the forums here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdispla...p?s=&forumid=26

I don't remember the exact thread though, but it should possible to find with a search.

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #10 –
Quote
My vote for a soundcard would be for the M-Audio Revolution.  I have this card and I also have an M-Audio Delta1010 (I used to be somewhat of a musician, a synthesist to be exact) and the sound quality of the Revolution in comparison has not disappointed me at all.  M-Audio has a pretty solid reputation for making soundcards with very good output quality (the audiophile2496 is also quite popular on this board), and the Revolution is no exception.  It features 7.1 output and the drivers support Sensaura 3D, so you get your EAX and whatnot.  The 3d audio stuff is not hardware accelerated though (it won't be on most of these types of cards), so that might be something to consider depending on how fast of a machine you have and how critical a feature this is.  The card does not resample and supports up to 24-bit/192khz playback.  Apparently, according to rightmark tests, the Revolution basically matches the LynxTWO at 16-bit/44.1khz playback also... quite an impressive feat for a $99 card.

Does it have digital input?
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #11 –
Quote
Does it have digital input?

Acording to their web page, it only has a digital output (coax).

Aureon Sky/Space has optical in/out.

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #12 –
Quote
There was discussion about all of this, along with benchmarks, somewhere in the forums here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdispla...p?s=&forumid=26

I don't remember the exact thread though, but it should possible to find with a search.

If someone else is interested, here are direct links:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread....963#post1803963
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread....threadid=218263
(http://members.cox.net/deadduck/Comparison.htm)

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #13 –
Nice links, Continuum, I didn't read the whole thread when I posted it.

If those RMMA measurements have been done in loopback mode with each card, the Revo line-in input is very good too!! Seems that comparable if not a little better than Audiophile's!!

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #14 –
Quote
It should be compatible to standard Adlib and Soundblaster (I'm still playing old DOS games), but that's not top priority.

there are several SB emulators for win2k DOS-Box, that use DirectSound and so work with any sound card. for me it works with all games, that work under win2k themselves. (and I've heard that winxp DOS-Box is slightly improved)

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #15 –
Quote
there are several SB emulators for win2k DOS-Box, that use DirectSound and so work with any sound card. for me it works with all games, that work under win2k themselves. (and I've heard that winxp DOS-Box is slightly improved)

Interesting! I have the same problems, since I changed sound cards recently. Do you have more information or any links? Does it work with Win98se?

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #17 –
If you are just looking for audio out from your computer to your stereo or headphones, I'll chip in with a recommendation for the stereo-link (see www.stereo-link.com).

The 'link is basically a very simple external USB soundcard with a small internal preamp.  Because its external/USB, the signal stays digital all the way out of the computer, which does wonders for preserving quality.  Also, since windows views it as a HID device you don't need any 3rd party drivers, and it will support any game that uses directx.

On the downside, it has no recording support whatsoever; its intended only for audio output.  Sells for about $150 US.

As far as quality goes, if you compare this to just about any consumer (or even 'prosumer') cards, you should be pleasantly surprised.  Several audiophile magazines have touted it highly, as well.

Mine is connected to a pair of Sennheiser HD590 headphones (about $350), and I've been really, really happy with the setup.  (One other downside: now when I listen to stuff in my car, I am constantly thinking 'God, this sounds like shit', but thats how it goes.)

-Aaron

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #18 –
Quote
Because its external/USB, the signal stays digital all the way out of the computer, which does wonders for preserving quality.

With today's good quality cards (such as the ones mentioned), the quality is preserved even when the DACs are at the internal card.

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #20 –
Quote
So I have to boot WinXP to play ancient DOS games? Intriguing...

or convince your sound card manufacturer to provide legacy DOS drivers for win9x 
(like Creative does for SB Live!)

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #21 –
Quote
Mine is connected to a pair of Sennheiser HD590 headphones (about $350), and I've been really, really happy with the setup.  (One other downside: now when I listen to stuff in my car, I am constantly thinking 'God, this sounds like shit', but thats how it goes.)

-Aaron

Isn't usb audio causing lots of cpu-load?
Besides, there are other ways of getting audio out your pc digitally...

I'm still dreaming of a method I came across in the headwize forums some years ago: using a m-audio or rme-audio card slaved to an external dac's clock.

A simple Delta DIO can do the trick. But my plans haven't taken off yet, since DACs with word clock output don't come cheap... So I'm saving up for a 7000USD dCS DAC I guess... 

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #22 –
Mmmm...

I was just checking out that Motu link Dibrom posted.
Now I wonder, would firewire be a better connection to use from pc to dac (as you'd get with Motu stuff)?

Offcourse, there are no jitter-like problems on firewire, whereas it's a hell of a difficult issue with spdif. But firewire requires more (noisy?) components inside the dac box. So that would clutter your external dac and then, what's the use in having it external...

Quote
With today's good quality cards (such as the ones mentioned), the quality is preserved even when the DACs are at the internal card.


KikeG, do you have some comparisons? I can hardly imagine an analog signal would travel through a box with numerous different frequency busses without facing a quality penalty.
(I'm not saying I'd hear a difference, but hey, I'm not only a music lover, also an equipment lover...)

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #23 –
Quote
I'm looking for a card that provides

Amazing quality
No resampling
Basic gaming support (EAX and so on, don't know the collective term)

It should be compatible to standard Adlib and Soundblaster (I'm still playing old DOS games), but that's not top priority. 5.1 is not that important either.

And it would be great if it was available in (/a shop that ships to) Germany.

You might check out these guys for the M-audio Revolution..

http://www.digitalconnection.com/

This is the store of the guy Cliff on the avsforum link,  who has been working with
M-audio in getting the card out there and getting the last bugs fixed.

He's very good with the support,  as you can see from the threads,  and I don't
see why he wouldn't ship overseas.  Send him a mail.

The more I read,  the more impressed I am with this card..  I might just haul off and buy
one pretty soon.

Currently,  DC is selling them for $99 USD,  which is about as cheap as it gets..
at the risk of sounding like I pimp for him,  I think he deserves the sale for the
work he's putting into coordinating with M-audio on getting bugs fixed and features
added..

Which expensive soundcard to choose?

Reply #24 –
Quote
KikeG, do you have some comparisons?

At http://www.pcavtech.com you have measurements over many soundcards, and also over some cd and dvd players and external DACs. The best quality audio device at these pages is the LynxTwo, which is an internal soundcard, and has better performance that any consumer DAC or  player I have read of.

At http://audio.rightmark.org you have some more measurements of cards. In this thread there are some similar measurements of some cards.

Quote
I can hardly imagine an analog signal would travel through a box with numerous different frequency busses without facing a quality penalty.


In an internal card the analog signal doesn't travel though any busses, it just is generated at the DAC, possibly amplified with a opamp, and then sent to the output connector.