I have used the onboard soundcard of my Samsung P28 (an AD1981B on an ATI chipset) for months now, and wondered how much better an Audigy 2 would sound. So I plugged in the Audigy 2 ZS Laptop (PCMCIA) from a friend and compared the two with my new Sennheiser PX 100.
The first thing I noticed was that the audigy has more bass. After playing around a bit, listening to a few songs and switching between the cards from time to time, I found I liked my onboard card better in most situations. Since this was very subjective and I dont have so good ears / training, I decided to do a small test. I tried to ABX a sample encoded in 96kbps mp3 against the original with both cards.
Surprisingly, I was able to hear a clear difference (11/12) with my onboard card, but failed with the Audigy. I then let my friend try the same, because he surely believes his Audigy to be better than my card, but he got the same results (first 12/12 with my card, then 0/2 (aborted)) with his. The sample contained a tone that had very "sharp edges" (I know this is often used by "audiophiles", but I don't know the correct technical term) which were less audible in the mp3. With the Audigy, this tone was more silent than on my onboard card, with the heavy bass almost drowning it. I turned down the bass to hear it better, but the difference was still hard to detect.
What should I make of this? I always thought that, with a better soundcard, ABXing should be easier. I know I only checked with one sample, but I didn't have the time for more. I'm just posting this because I'm surprised and am looking far an interpretation. Any opinions?
MedO