Sound Cards?

[GT98]

Anything out there worth a damn besides the various soundblaster cards out there? I think I have a SB Audigy 2 or something in my current system. Is it even worth upgrading?

[Dr Mordrid]

The M-Audio cards are quite good; I have 3. They're a subsidiary of AVID, the people who make professional/studio video s/w & h/w Hollywood uses. Their stuff is often sold in musical instrument stores along with M-Audio's pro audio products. One is Guitar Center;

http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/home/navigation?q=m-audio&x=10&y=8

M-Audio makes a ton of pro gear

Their cards run the whole range from general purpose $100 +/- cards like the Revolutions to the economy studio Audiophile to the Delta series studio hardware.

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=pciinterfaces

Also at the upscale end are the Echo cards. I have the older GINA24 24bit/96khz PCI model, but their AudioFire (IEEE-1394) stuff is stunning. ex: the AudioFire 12 has 12 each balanced 1/4" inputs and outputs, sampling at 192khz and is a rack mount (most Echo stuff uses breakout boxes). Distinctly pro audio and NOT cheap.

For a nice general purpose card I'd look at the M-Audio Revolution 7.1;

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Revolution71-main.html

for an inexpensive "home studio" look at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 (24bit/96khz) or Audiophile 192 (24bit/192khz);

Audiophile 24/96: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...2496-main.html

Audiophile 192: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...e192-main.html

Both of these lines of cards make Creative's stuff look like an overpriced potato chips. The choice depends on your needs/wants.

[Fluff]

I like the look of the Emu 0404 USB. I like the monitor control volume knob. And the direct input monitoring.

http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?category=610&subcategory=611&product=15185

It contains AK4396 converters which are the cutting edge at the moment.... I think.

I have a RME RPM (turntable interface) and it is wicked but was bit expensive I can get latency down to 1.5 or 3ms on my Core 2 duo. Friendly support . And they support TCO something to do with video?

It all depends on what you want to do. These are not all ideal for games afaik.

TC-Electronic have some interesting interfaces. Konnekt 8d

[Gurm]

For just general-purpose use and gaming? No, the Audigy2 is pretty much where it's at still. The new unified driver pack from Creative does away with the fluff and brings performance of every Sound Blaster from the Live! forward to the current X-Fi in line... so unless you are demanding or audiophile, stick with the A2.

[Dr Mordrid]

Did they cure 24 bit = 18 bit?

[Jammrock]

Did they cure 24 bit = 18 bit?

From what I've read the converters in the new E-mu lines aren't even made by creative/emu. They are all third party, full spectrum, full 24-bit DACs. Like the 1616m and 1212 which use the same coverters as the ProTools HD 192 I/O interface. The few reviews I've seen (the 1212, 1616m and 0404 USB are all very new) give them very high reviews.

As for the question at hand ... what is your price range? What are you using the sound card for? What interface are you interested in?

For gaming you pretty much have to go Creative Sound Blaster whether you like it or not. The drivers have gotten better, the sound is supposedly comparable to the consumer grade M-audio gear (I'm still using the original Audigy Plat. (bought it the first weekend it came out)), but all games that have sound effects make effects for Sound Blasters. So that answers that.

Though Creative has just release a updated ... not as pricey X-fi line, namely the X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro Series (a Fatal1ty X-fi without the drive bay I/O for under $150), Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer (previous minus X-ram but not as high quality circuitry) and the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio (sub-$70, bare bones sound card with X-fi processor).

Beyond that, M-audio is typically considered very good for the money. The 0404 Emu's I've heard a lot of good things about, though the USB one is too new to know how good it is.