Thinking of buying a soundcard for the pc.

davidcotton

davidcotton

prog rocker, proud of it!
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Asking this here because I know there are a fair few pc audio fans on here.

The obvious culprit is the audigy2 which can be had for around £60 delivered.

However what alternatives are there for reasonably sensible money? Say up to £100 or so.

Its going to be used in a 2.1 set up (no room for 5.1 even in the computer room which is seperate from the room where I have my hifi). Want to use it for music (absolute fidelity doesnt bother me tbh but want it sounding reasonably good!)games and movies.

Cheers.
 
If you have your own amp and speakers, get the Terratec EWX 24/96 or M-Audio Audiophile 24/96. I use the former, great card IMO. If you have a multimedia computer system connected using a minijack plug then either an M-Audio Revolution, Terratec DMX 6-fire Lite or Soundblaster Audigy 2 would be the best options, with the Terratec sounding far and away the best out of those, and being good for games (never had any trouble running games with the EWX).
 
From the description given, an Audigy 2 will do the job. And it will play DVD-Audio. I do however get some odd noises out of mine although they aren't really noticeable when music is playing. You can hear scrolling and mouse movement and other stuff but at a fairly low level.
 
I use an M-audio Audiophile 2496 which is connected to my second system's amp with standard L/R RCA connections. I've been using the 2496 for nearly 4 years. The sound is excellent (despite the non-wanky wire Canare leads), and the software and hardware have always worked without any problems or glitches.
Couldn't ask for anything more.
M-Audio do a 7-1 version now I believe.
 
The sound quality out of creative cards is dreadful. I'd go for the Terratec. 6FireLT should be in your budget, as are the Aureon range. I got my Aureon Sky 5.1 for £31 new on ebay. Into the superDAC (I recommend this) it's very good indeed, although it's gaming capabilities are limited compared to the 6fire.
 
Techobear,

I've got the same noise problem (again, not noticable when music is playing) with the onboard AC97 audio built in to my motherboard. I was considering buying an Audigy2 card for this reason, but am wondering if it is worth it now.

Does anyone know if other soundcards suffer from this at all?
 
I've got a SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum EX and im pretty pleased with it. Its got the external breakout box that I need. Which means you can have all your inputs and controls away from your computer and even comes with a remote. Sounds pretty damn good too.

The Terratecs are very good cards too though.

However just to add a different factor into the equation... have you thought about USB Sound Cards? I have not used any of these myself, but the latest models are offering standards and performance comparable to internal cards... (i'm getting ready to duck now :duck: ) ...apparently :D.

Have a look at this Toms Hardware link - USB Sound Card Review

The advantage of these cards would be that:-
1) You can move them between PC's very easy... even use it on a laptop.
2) As it is USB.. it is not inside the case, so avoids interference with other cards. For example: it is not advisable to place internal soundcards in slots directly next to other high usage cards (like video cards)... better to keep your sound card as far away as possible from other cards. Can SOMETIMES get interference.
3) They are kind of a breakout box in themselves, which some people (like me) need/want.

Just an idea.
:boogie:
 
I have a SoundBlaster MP3 sitting in the cupboard at the moment. It's no longer in use, as it didn't have one of the small internal audio connectors to connect the audio output from my TV/Video capture board. Also, breakups were a problem with sound from time to time, as the card uses the relavtively slow USB interface. However, connectivity options were pretty good - 1 set of phones, optical in/out, mic and headphones socket.
 
Originally posted by PBirkett
Unless you have a laptop there is no need to buy an external soundcard.
Click to expand...
That depends. The micro cube cases and MBs have a *very* limited number of PCI slots (normally 1xAGP and 1xPCI). THis is a problem for me building a new PC for the living room, as I want to add both an external sound card *and* a PCI TV tuner card (and I don't care if it looks like shite. I don't like TV).
 
Originally posted by PBirkett
Unless you have a laptop there is no need to buy an external soundcard.
Click to expand...
or you've ran out of PCI slots :p the solitary PCI slot in my shuttle is taken up my a digital freview card, so ner :p :D

i'm using an M-Audio Sonica Theatre, which is basically the Revo in a USB format. i've been pretty happy with the performance, mostly the lack of noise on the outputs.

unfortunatelly it only has a coax digital feed, so it's still sending some interference through to my superdac. must remember, sometime, to test it against the optical out of the onboard sound... just to see :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally posted by Isaac Sibson
The sound quality out of creative cards is dreadful.
Click to expand...
...but it fulfills David's criteria as set out in the original post. David doesn't require hifi performance, he already has a separate hifi in another room. If he just wants to listen to music while he works or surfs, and also play games, the Audigy 2 will do the job nicely for little cash :)

When I get a minute, I might try moving the sound card further away from the motherboard and possibly screening it with something to see if this helps.
 
another recommendation for the DMX 6fire- a very loyal user here who had the Audigy 2 beforehand, and it was nothing but trouble. Doesnt' do GM voices though, if you're into MIDI.
 
I've got no more than £40 to spend on sound card. I just want two channels, the quality must be on the waveform i.e DAC rather than MIDI. Also it only has to be two channels. Does anybody have any ideas?

I want to replace my crappy SB128.
 
Another vote for Terratec Aureon. I got mine from PC World for around £50. It replaced a Creative Labs live! 5.1 (or something) and completely outclassed it. I had the digital output feeding a DAC20 very nicely until I sold the DAC.
 
Terratec DMX 6-fire is a good choice. Better sound quality than the Audigy and a nice company (good tech support).
I've been really happy with mine. It drives a reasonable hifi quite happily.
Personally I'd avoid Creative products as much as possible. Horrible bloated software, no tech support and inaccurate technical specs.
 
Terratec DMX 6-fire is a good choice. Better sound quality than the Audigy and a nice company (good tech support).
I've been really happy with mine. It drives a reasonable hifi quite happily.
Personally I'd avoid Creative products as much as possible. Horrible bloated software, no tech support and inaccurate technical specs.

PS. I'm finding the threading on this board a little confusing. I've just posted this to the wrong thread (or is it a sub-thread??).
Hoefully this post will be more accurate.........
 

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