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Topic: audiophile 2496 (Read 9264 times) previous topic - next topic
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audiophile 2496

Hey, does anyone have any opinions on the m-audio audiophile 2496 sound card, I am thinking of buying it and I want to know what you guys think of it.

-Andy
[a href='mailto:andrew@andrewnelson.org'][/a]
-Andy

audiophile 2496

Reply #1
Though I don't have one I've heard nothing but great comments about them in the HTPC forums.

The SPDIF is suppose to work flawlessly and the audio quality gets very nice reviews. I think I'll make it my next card as well.

audiophile 2496

Reply #2
You can probably get a lot more info on that card over in the head-fi forum. That's where I learned about it. Post the same question over there (or just search the archives).

From what I understand, it is pretty good for driving a headphone amp or any other "standard" line level input. The A/D converter is supposed to be pretty good as well.

Thinking of getting one myself. It would be ideal for a PC based Ogg/MP3 computer in the home entertainment center.

http://www.head-fi.org
flac > schiit modi > schiit magni > hd650

audiophile 2496

Reply #3
I own one and it is everything I hoped it would be. The S/PDIF works well for Dolby Digital passthrough to a surround receiver; the analog outs are great (no hum, etc) as are the analog ins (useful if you plan to digitize your LP collection-something I am currently working on)...

List price is $150, and imho is worth every penny...

audiophile 2496

Reply #4
I own one as well.  It is noticeably quieter than my previous Sound Blaster AWE 64 Gold.  I guess I waste most of the potential of this card because I only use it to listen to music (and only at 16 bits!), but I am quite happy with even that.

ff123

audiophile 2496

Reply #5
why on earth would you try to digitize an lp _collection_?

i digitized 3 lps, ones that are not available on cd, but geesh, i guess the question is...how many lps is your collection...

audiophile 2496

Reply #6
I would recommend getting Delta 410 24/96. I have one and it's awesome. Has 8 outs, thus you could use it in the future even for 7.1 output.

Has the same SQ as AP 24/96, but you can use it  for 5.1 output from DVD's, new improved drivers and overall better support.

http://www.midiman.com/products/m-audio/delta.php

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread....threadid=124501

BTW: also check the avs forums (HTPC section):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdispla...une=&forumid=26

Ah, and the difference between this and Sb Live 5.1 or Sb PCI 128 or whatever is HUGE when it comes to SQ.

Get it from: http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Audio/delta410.htm ($199)

audiophile 2496

Reply #7
Oh, and for some ppl here that say: "I burn the stuff onto a CDR and then listen on my HiFi equipment when it comes to critical listening". That shouldn't be necessary if you buy a 24/96 card

audiophile 2496

Reply #8
I have it and I love it. Absolutely recommended. I got it mostly because of the low-latency ASIO drivers and the attractive pricetag compared to other cards with similar specs, but there's no part of the card that has left me disappointed.

audiophile 2496

Reply #9
I read all this, and I wonder: What do people running Linux use for high quality sound? Do these cards have unofficial Linux support? Because their website states that they are windows only.

Can someone she some light on this please? All my friends who are using linux are quite happy with their SB16 clones! What do you people who love both linux and good sound do?

Cheers,
David.
http://www.David.Robinson.org/

audiophile 2496

Reply #10
I have one too. There's one small detail I don't like: In Windows 2000, I cannot remove the speaker icon in the system tray (the checkbox and the sound volume slider in the audio properties window are grayed out).  Anyone who knows how to fix that?

When it comes to Linux, there are drivers available. I had to download and compile a newer version of ALSA though (the version included in SuSE 7.3 didn't work).

audiophile 2496

Reply #11
Quote
Originally posted by Lear
In Windows 2000, I cannot remove the speaker icon in the system tray (the checkbox and the sound volume slider in the audio properties window are grayed out).  Anyone who knows how to fix that?


Have you tried to login as Administrator. Sometimes that is needed in w2k.

audiophile 2496

Reply #12
Quote
Originally posted by ancl


Have you tried to login as Administrator. Sometimes that is needed in w2k.


I always log in as a member of the administrator group, as Windows is much too restrictive otherwise (IMO), so that shouldn't be the problem. I think it is driver related, as I had no problem removing the icon when I had a soundblaster installed.

audiophile 2496

Reply #13
Quote
Originally posted by 2Bdecided
I read all this, and I wonder: What do people running Linux use for high quality sound? Do these cards have unofficial Linux support? Because their website states that they are windows only.


ALSA supports the Envy24/ICE1712 chip found in the Audiophile cards. No 24-bit playback yet AFAIK, at least not through the OSS layer (I believe this is a limitation of the OSS driver design), but I've used it and it's certainly enough for casual listening while you're waiting for your compile to finish

audiophile 2496

Reply #14
i'm looking for a good sound card of that sort, but i'm also a big gamer and haven't been able to find much information on game performance with the more strictly-sq cards... i'm almost considering getting (gasp!) an audigy. can anyone provide any info? thanks.

 

audiophile 2496

Reply #15
toms hardware page did a test of the audigy and the trratec dmx6fire..or something like that...

if you can paly withotu the needf or EAX HD the terratec card has mcuh better sound quality than the audigy. which show VERY curve...erhm.. curves...damn..

jsut read the darn test ok :-)

www.tomshardware.com
Sven Bent - Denmark