Does the Audigy 2 upsample 44.1khz to 48khz like the Audigy?
Don't really want the Audigy 2, but it's the only card that supports DVD-A, and it's good for gaming... <sigh>... F'n Creative!

The reason I ask is that I've read conflicting info regarding this.

All audio that goes through the Audigy 2's mixer and/or effects gets up or downsampled to 48K first. It's not entirely Creative's fault, since they are complying to Microsoft's AC '97 codec spec. There are ways of bypassing the mixer using kernal streaming or ASIO to get true 24/96 record and playback. DVD-Audio on the Audigy 2 is primitive at best and 2ch/192K playback isn't supported in the current version of the DVD-A player. It's a great gaming card and a must if you do any serious software development.

I use a M-Audio Revo for recording analog tapes (usually 15ips half-track RTR) at 24/96 into my computer. 44.1K rec/playback is a definite improvement over the Audigy 2. Once the kmixer is bypassed on the A2 there's little difference in rec/play quality between the two cards at 24/96. I still have a need for midi and soundfonts at times along with hi-rez audio and the Audigy 2 works well with Cakewalk Sonar.

Neither card is better than a good stand-alone CD/DVD/Universal player or outboard DAC..along with an amp..for headphone use..at least to my ears.

Koui said:

"Neither card is better than a good stand-alone CD/DVD/Universal player or outboard DAC..along with an amp..for headphone use..at least to my ears."

Which stand-alone CD/DVD/Universal player do you recommend (up to $350)? And amp (up to $500)?

I doubt you have tried this, but looks interesting, it's quite portable, cheap ($120) and a DVD/CD/MP3 player: BenQ DVDgem.



Anyone ever tried this one????

Quote:



They're listed in my profile, but this is what I let my friends and associates listen to before they spend over $700 for a headphone rig :

Source - Pioneer DV-563A-S DVDA/SACD Universal Player ($180)

Amp - JMT built Meta42 - AD843KN op-amps - Stacked EL2002 output buffers - Elpac 24V power supply ($240)

Headphones - Sennheiser HD580 ($150)

Cable - Cardas ($145)

Hey where did you find the Pioneer universal?

Here's where I purchased mine.

Quote:



Sorry, this may be a dumb question, but how exactly do you do that?

actually, with an a2, you don't have an asio option for 24/96 playback, as it's only supported by asio2 and unless you have an audigy 2 platinum ex, you don't get to use asio 2. the best bet is kernel streaming, which comes standard with foobar. make sure when you install foobar you select install all optional components, then within foobar you look under preferences, and under playback change your resampling to 96000 hz, with 24 bit fixed point with no dithering, and under output, you select kernel streaming.

imo, it's definitely the best playback option on an a2 for regular music files, although a purist might dispute that upsampling introduces too many artifacts.

Quote:



Hate to quote myself but I've just bought one DVD-A that plays 2ch/192K even though Creative's tech support said it wasn't possible - "Eagles - Hotel California". It's the only disc out of 28 that I own that will do so.

cary, there are hacked drivers available for the A2 that support ASIO2 but I agree that foobar is the way to go for high-quality playback. I suggest also using the advanced limiter (in DSP manager) along with the options you stated.

Quote:



Great disc, one of the best sounding ones I have in my collection!

I agree it's a great disc, I just wish I could hear the advanced resolution section.