Is a sound card really needed?

[aneesh kalra]

I got the mx5021 for 8.1 k
@thrashmetal
I knew that thx is more of a quality standard that assures the sound being played by the speakers is same as what was recorded in the recording studio but I wanted to know wheteher a soundcard would really improve the perfomance of the system;i.e; would I be able to experience greater detail in the sounds I hear from the system.

[blackleopard92]

from what i have read about MX5021 reviews, that all said that it should be paired atleast with a audigy ZS to utilize it to full potential.

i suppose this thread would help u out.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=174494

[vivekbabbudelhi]

me too having mx 5021 & audiligy 2
but i use mx 5021 with my old thompson hi fi with an inbuilt amplifier.(hifi has no speakers they were damaged)
hifi's amplifier sounds much better than audiligy .so was its price when i bought it long 7 yrs back

[aneesh kalra]

so between the audigy 2zs and audigy 4 which one is better.

[ashnik]

comimg back to the topic,
I think nowadays, onboard sound chip r enough if u r going use 2.1 speakers only ( or pseudo 4.1). If u need a proper 5.1 spk experience, little investment could generate wonderful and much more satisfying results.

BTW which mobo has got best onboard sound chip within 6 K price?

[AcceleratorX]

There's no better onboard audio chip on the market than SoundMAX, PERIOD. You want a good onboard audio chip, go for any motherboard which has soundmax onboard audio (usually Asus motherboards have it but you'll need to check anyway).

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by AcceleratorX

There's no better onboard audio chip on the market than SoundMAX, PERIOD. You want a good onboard audio chip, go for any motherboard which has soundmax onboard audio (usually Asus motherboards have it but you'll need to check anyway).

Realtek & Via Vinyal Audio anyone? Support full 24bit audio in onboard audio segment.

[damnthenet]

suggest sound cards having good signal to noise ratio with reasonalble price

[deathvirus_me]

Originally Posted by AcceleratorX

There's no better onboard audio chip on the market than SoundMAX, PERIOD. You want a good onboard audio chip, go for any motherboard which has soundmax onboard audio (usually Asus motherboards have it but you'll need to check anyway).

Eeer .. i think some mobo's feature Creative sound chips ..

[techno_funky]

Originally Posted by gx_saurav

Realtek & Via Vinyal Audio anyone? Support full 24bit audio in onboard audio segment.

I would really like to hear more on this.

[gxsaurav]

You can check the official web page of VIA, too bad the chipset market is ruled out there by Intel which will not use VIA Vinyl audio, thats why they are mostly available as M-Audio consumer grade sound cards.

They lack EAX etc, due to...well Creative's licensing policy. However if it comes to Music quality, playback & reproduction they are quite good. I mean, can u expect a full fledged 24bit 7.1 channel sound card for just Rs 2500

[deathvirus_me]

Comparatively .. for just around 3k's , u'd easily get an Audigy 2 ZS ..

[AcceleratorX]

Originally Posted by gx_saurav

Realtek & Via Vinyal Audio anyone? Support full 24bit audio in onboard audio segment.

Realtek sucks in terms of quality.......VIA Vinyl is good, but then again there are two types in the VIA Vinyl series:

1) Via Vinyl "default" - the VT16xx codecs, pretty decent quality IMO when used with the right drivers.

2) VIA Envy24 + VT16xx - Vinyl "Gold" - This is the real deal, Auidgy-type audio quality, but unfortunately few mobos integrate Vinyl Gold.....

As far as 24-bit is concerned, you have the SoundMAX AD1986A, AD1988A/B from Analog Devices. Realtek really doesn't come into the picture here, search any good sound review on the Net and you'll see that Realtek is the least good out of these three vendors.

My earlier thought still stands, great onboard audio quality = SoundMAX.

[The Outsider]

Originally Posted by cyberboy_kerala

use this little player which will give better sound in the same hardware for mp3's.Adjust the eq to rock and turn off auto amp.This player is considered as the best by audophiles around the world.
http://un4seen.com/

thanks mate, imo its the only thing that comes near to f2k

[ssk_the_gr8]

even i will agree & say that a sound card is needed only for an extreme audiophile or for recordin quality music
for mp3's onboard is good enough

[goobimama]

A soundcard is known to improve the sound quality of an mp3...though creative is really crappy at that.

[pushkaraj]

Originally Posted by AcceleratorX

Realtek sucks in terms of quality.......VIA Vinyl is good, but then again there are two types in the VIA Vinyl series:

1) Via Vinyl "default" - the VT16xx codecs, pretty decent quality IMO when used with the right drivers.

2) VIA Envy24 + VT16xx - Vinyl "Gold" - This is the real deal, Auidgy-type audio quality, but unfortunately few mobos integrate Vinyl Gold.....

As far as 24-bit is concerned, you have the SoundMAX AD1986A, AD1988A/B from Analog Devices. Realtek really doesn't come into the picture here, search any good sound review on the Net and you'll see that Realtek is the least good out of these three vendors.

My earlier thought still stands, great onboard audio quality = SoundMAX.

wats the diff in playing an audio track at 16-bit and 24-bit. i mean if a track was recorded at 16-bit and u try to play it at 24-bit then wat will b the effect on the output. i m really or i hav got the whole concept wrong

[Ch@0s]

Originally Posted by pushkaraj

wats the diff in playing an audio track at 16-bit and 24-bit. i mean if a track was recorded at 16-bit and u try to play it at 24-bit then wat will b the effect on the output. i m really or i hav got the whole concept wrong

Upsampling to 24bit helps... especially if the DAC itself is an oversampling one (99% of DACs are oversampling). It will not be noticeable on consumer grade equipment, but with the right equipment, the difference between 16bit and 24bit upsampled version is definitely noticeable.

[pushkaraj]

Originally Posted by Ch@0s

Upsampling to 24bit helps... especially if the DAC itself is an oversampling one (99% of DACs are oversampling). It will not be noticeable on consumer grade equipment, but with the right equipment, the difference between 16bit and 24bit upsampled version is definitely noticeable.

@chaos, really interesting info. Thanx bro

[adithyagenius]

I would spend the money meant for SB XFi Fatal1ty on processor, speakers or on anything else and use onboard HD audio. Here are the reasons

1. I have cheap speakers , the difference is not noticable. I have bose wave music system (30k and stereo) and Creative T6060 speakers (4.4k and 5.1). I didnt find any difference on exitgy vs Realtek HD audio.

2. Most the of the games out there have only EAX 1 or EAX 2 options. I have come across only Doom3 which had EAX 4 with update. But I hate doom3 and its not worth spending on sound card for 1 single game.

3. I play on 5.1 speakers and not on headphones. So no use of virtual ear for me. Virtual Ear cannot beat a real 5.1

4. Vista doesnt support hardware acceleration. So no EAX in games in vista. Creative is charging for Alchemy project which converts Direct Sound to OpenAL. Its free for Xfi series though.

5. There is a significant framerate increase (8% in F.E.A.R) in games when I disable EAX on my computer but for my friend who is have X Fi the frame rate increase is nil. But I would have countered the framerate loss by spending the money on processor etc and get much higher increase in framerate and at the same time make my other applications work faster. Also the increase in FPS is so high on my system because its the slow PentiumD 820, the first dual core processor.

6. Onboard solutions provide echo cancellation , noise suppression , environment models and equalisers. They are enough for voice chatting on msn, google etc and for playing songs. Dedicated cards are for professional quality recording etc. But they also need an investment in very good mic and speakers .. something better than causal audiophile speakers like bose . I also found the sound blaster crysalyser to be useless.

Realtek AC97 isnt good but Realtek HD Audio onboard solution is very good. It support upto EAX2 and OpenAL.
One advice I can give is stay away from sigmatel!!
Sigma Tel sucks. I advised my friends not to take motherboards with sigmatel , but they didnt listen and are repenting now.

[philcom]

Hi all,
I'm just a new-comer here. I just want to know , is there any M-audio Delta 1010Lt sound-card User here ? And could you please share your experience regarding the performance and Price of that Sound-card ? I need to buy one soon as I'm planning to set up a budget Home-studio of my own (my dream , lol ). Hence I solicit your kind co-operation.
Thanks and regards.

[pushkaraj]

Hey guys, just wanna know the diff between realtek hd audio drivers and realtek ac'97 drivers

[thrash_metal]

I've Got a Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro .... For home recording its a very nice card .... used for vox recording on some tracks using Shure SM-58 mic , instrument recording (both analog & digital) using Digitech GnX2 , GnX 3000 , POD XT , Jackson , Kramer , Ibanez , Fender with EMG's , Dimarzios & Duncans and Yamaha keys . Tonal preserving is very nice . If you want to setup a simple home studio and u also wanna experience nice playback (watching movies etc) .. i'll recomend a card of this type to you (dunno wether audigy is available or not)

[deathvirus_me]

Originally Posted by adithyagenius

2. Most the of the games out there have only EAX 1 or EAX 2 options. I have come across only Doom3 which had EAX 4 with update. But I hate doom3 and its not worth spending on sound card for 1 single game.

Hmm , u missed out games like FEAR , Call of Duty series , Medal of Honor series , etc. etc. .. infact almost every game supports EAX now-a-days , even if it doesn't support EAX , it supports surround sound anyway ..

Originally Posted by adithyagenius

4. Vista doesnt support hardware acceleration. So no EAX in games in vista. Creative is charging for Alchemy project which converts Direct Sound to OpenAL. Its free for Xfi series though.

Creative has released the Alchemy drivers for Audigy series for around 10 USD .. obviously no one will buy it , coz a guy at the creative forums already distributed the necessary files ..

Originally Posted by adithyagenius

5. There is a significant framerate increase (8% in F.E.A.R) in games when I disable EAX on my computer but for my friend who is have X Fi the frame rate increase is nil. But I would have countered the framerate loss by spending the money on processor etc and get much higher increase in framerate and at the same time make my other applications work faster. Also the increase in FPS is so high on my system because its the slow PentiumD 820, the first dual core processor.

Huh didn't catch u on this one ... !!!

Originally Posted by adithyagenius

Onboard solutions provide echo cancellation , noise suppression , environment models and equalisers. They are enough for voice chatting on msn, google etc and for playing songs. Dedicated cards are for professional quality recording etc. But they also need an investment in very good mic and speakers .. something better than causal audiophile speakers like bose . I also found the sound blaster crysalyser to be useless.

Maybe ur the first one to feel so

Originally Posted by adithyagenius

Realtek AC97 isnt good but Realtek HD Audio onboard solution is very good. It support upto EAX2 and OpenAL.
One advice I can give is stay away from sigmatel!!
Sigma Tel sucks. I advised my friends not to take motherboards with sigmatel , but they didnt listen and are repenting now.

Have u ever noticed the increase in CPU Utiization when using EAX2 with the Realtek adapter ??

Or maybe u should try running AudioburstFX with Winamp .

Also , try running Rightmark 3D Sound , and check the CPU usage ..

[philcom]

Originally Posted by thrash_metal

I've Got a Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro .... For home recording its a very nice card .... used for vox recording on some tracks using Shure SM-58 mic , instrument recording (both analog & digital) using Digitech GnX2 , GnX 3000 , POD XT , Jackson , Kramer , Ibanez , Fender with EMG's , Dimarzios & Duncans and Yamaha keys . Tonal preserving is very nice . If you want to setup a simple home studio and u also wanna experience nice playback (watching movies etc) .. i'll recomend a card of this type to you (dunno wether audigy is available or not)

Thank you very much brother, I have just checked out the review of Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro as per your suggestion and I'm highly impressed with it when I found the Resolution and S/N ratio , low latency Asio support and all that of the card. Really it must be a great performer !

And could you please clarify the following if it is possible?

1. As I insist on Multichannel Live recording -( I have done a pretty good amount of room-treatment beforehand ) say for instance,my requirement is 2 voice channels, 2 Guitars, 1 Keyboard , 1 Midi Drumkit, 1 Octapad --will audigy platinum pro serve my purpose ? ( How many channels can you be able to record simultaneously ? Does it consist of Six Simultaneous Inputs ? )

2. I am glad to know that you are also an SM-58 user. Very nice ! Can I hook it up directly with the Break-out Box/ Hub/interface provided with this card ? If so how is the quality/SN ratio of the built-in dynamic mic pre-amplifier of the card ?

3.Do I need to insert a 1394 firewire card in the PCI slot prior to installation of the card ?

4.Can you please post the rear /alternate view of the I/O interface or your audio setup rig over here so that I might have a fairly comprehensive idea?

5. Does the Package contain Midi cables ?

Last but not the least, thank you once again for your earliest and kind response.

[keith_j_snyder2]

Originally Posted by pushkaraj

Hey guys, just wanna know the diff between realtek hd audio drivers and realtek ac'97 drivers

The HD supports 7.1 Channel Audio
and the AC '97 supports 5.1 Channel Audio

[pushkaraj]

Is that the only difference Well, then it's good that i have installed the realtek hd audio drivers Thanx bro

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

A soundacrd is needed mostly when u need to do heavy Duty sound crnching(my term ) like while using FL Studio(especially v7) or SOundforge , then a powerful sound card becomes a necessity , otherwise for normal listening Onboard audio on most modern boards if enuf .