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Topic: too old soundcard? (Read 5670 times) previous topic - next topic
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too old soundcard?

I own a very old soundcard (+7 years) . It's Creatives AWE32. Do you suggest i buy myself a new s.c. in order to hear the difference. I use MPC.

If i should change the soundcard, which one would be good?

too old soundcard?

Reply #1 –
Well, I use a SB16 PCI that's more than 5 years old.

And, believe it or not, works pretty well for me.


Edit: Sorry, it IS PCI. I don't know what happened with me to write ISA there...

too old soundcard?

Reply #2 –
Roberto, did you get a new signature pic or am I having a flashback to a Pink Floyd concert?

too old soundcard?

Reply #3 –
LOL layer3maniac!!!
-=MusePack... Living Audio Compression=-

Honda - The Power of Dreams

too old soundcard?

Reply #4 –
Quote
Originally posted by layer3maniac
Roberto, did you get a new signature pic or am I having a flashback to a Pink Floyd concert?


Well, I'm a fanatic for Pink Floyd...

too old soundcard?

Reply #5 –
Quote
Originally posted by Air_Borne
I own a very old soundcard (+7 years) . It's Creatives AWE32. Do you suggest i buy myself a new s.c. in order to hear the difference. I use MPC.


It's about time. Take a look at these test results of the AWE32 chipset...


Quote
If i should change the soundcard, which one would be good?


How much money do you wanna spend? What would be the range of use?

too old soundcard?

Reply #6 –
Quote
Originally posted by rjamorim
Well, I use a SB16 ISA that's more than 10 years old.

And, believe it or not, works pretty well for me.


Eeeeuw. I have one of those in my old system. Man, it'll hiss your ears off if you aren't carefull! Incredibly noisy. Yikes.

I'm very happy with the SB128 I have now. Dirt cheap. Excellent quality. Definetely the card to buy if you don't want to spend much.

--
GCP

too old soundcard?

Reply #7 –
Quote
Originally posted by rjamorim


Well, I'm a fanatic for Pink Floyd...


me too, those pics are taken from MEDDLE.

too old soundcard?

Reply #8 –
It suddenly seems there a some people with really great taste in music frequenting this board.

john33

too old soundcard?

Reply #9 –
To tell you the truth, I personally prefer Britney and N'Sinc   

too old soundcard?

Reply #10 –
I have the SBPCI128 and I find its performance to be quite satisfactory as well. And it doesn't have that annoying trait that some cards do where they resample everything to 48kHz.

too old soundcard?

Reply #11 –
CiTay:

Well these graphs don't tell me much, but i certainly sense that my card isn't providing best quality. I just want a good soundcard, because in a couple of months i will get a new room in my apartment, a new amplifier and speakers and i assume that i will need a better soundcard, too. The price is irrelevant, but i think i wouldn't go much further than 150$ (if that much is needed anyway) - it's the quality that matters... so which one should i buy?

Pink Floyd rule!!!

too old soundcard?

Reply #12 –
I recently purchased a SB16 PCI.  I have the ISA version of this card and it seems Creative Labs really cleaned it up or something cause they sound like two totally different cards.  The PCI one doesnt hiss like my ISA one.  They apparently keep up on the drivers because this "old" card came with XP drivers in the box.  I dont use them, but still..... yeah.....

too old soundcard?

Reply #14 –
do you have any useful links where i can find quite a lot about soundcards? i will use my soundcard for listening to music (mpc). On what things should i be careful when buying?

too old soundcard?

Reply #15 –
If you are going to get an external receiver you'll probably want a soundcard with SPDIF output so you can use the receivers superior DAC. Some good cards are M-Audio’s Audiophile 2496 (~160 USD), various Terratec cards, and the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (probably the cheapest of the bunch and good enough for your purpose ~80 USD).

too old soundcard?

Reply #16 –
If i understand you correctly, external recievers are things like amplifiers and similar devices? i'm sorry but i really am not very good at this in english:) . Well thank you for the answer. But still some links would be useful.

too old soundcard?

Reply #17 –
I recommend Stereo-Link's SL1200 (external DAC) if you're using analog equipment.

http://www.stereo-link.com for more information.

too old soundcard?

Reply #18 –
"If i understand you correctly, external recievers are things like amplifiers and similar devices? i'm sorry but i really am not very good at this in english . Well thank you for the answer. But still some links would be useful."

pre-amp and stuff and amplifier all in one little set.

too old soundcard?

Reply #19 –
Hmmm, interesting device... But still i'm from europe and shipment is quite expensive ($32), so really i would think of some alternatives before directly buying StereoLink SL1200....
Once again some other links on sound would be very very useful....

Thank you...

Matej

too old soundcard?

Reply #20 –
Isn't anyone able to provide a useful link for soundcards. A site like 3dsound surge?

too old soundcard?

Reply #21 –
General:

www.3dsoundsurge.com (see forums)
www.digit-life.com


A bit outdated and quite technical:

www.pcavtech.com
www.grassomusic.de


I think that if you want a good sound card with excelent input/output analog and digital capabilities, go for the M-Audio Audiophile (about 150$ in the USA).

It's audio quality is as good or better that the Stereolink's, even considering it is an internal device. And plus, it has digital I/O and recording capabilities that the StereoLink doesn't have.

The only advantages of the Stereolink are that it has a headphone output included, I guess it's easier to install, and according to it's web page, has isolation circuits to prevent any possible ground loop and its associated noise.

And I don't think that you need an external DAC with the Audiophile, it's analog audio quality is as good as a very good CD player, and I think beyond anyone's hearing capabilities.
 

too old soundcard?

Reply #22 –
Go with the Audiophile if you're looking for an internal solution. The only reason I went with the Stereo-Link is because I use a laptop computer and cannot upgrade the internal sound card (which is HORRIBLE).