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Auzentech Reliability Problems?

post #1 of 9
6/11/11 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 

I was just looking around at reviews on various sound cards, when I noticed Auzentech's old deactivated items on NewEgg.  And at the same time I noticed the fact that cards like the Bravura and Forte were having absurd amounts of untimely deaths.  And to go along with all of that, I've been reading all over the place that their customer service is essentially nonexistant.  Huh.

 

So just out of boredom I ask you guys here at Head-Fi:  Have you had any particularly bad (or good) experiences with Auzentech?  They seem to make some really great sound cards, but it just scared me that there were so many problems apparently being had with them that I haven't really heard about.  If you've had one of their cards, has it given you any trouble and/or completely died on you?  It was painful looking at the awful number of 'death after a couple months, absolutely no support' reviews on the Bravura on NewEgg... maybe they've changed something since then.  Or maybe their lack of any service is the reason their cards are no longer sold there/basically anywhere.  Or maybe I'm just completely wrong here and they're really a great company.  I'm beginning to doubt it.

 

Any thoughts?  Just out of safety's sake I'm going to make my new card the proven Xonar Essence... was just wondering out of curiosity.

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post #2 of 9
6/12/11 at 1:18pm

I have a X-Fi Prelude for some time and what's bugging me is that the PCB is done very, very weird - it's very fragile. I'm doing all my DIY stuff by myself but I cannot even touch the Prelude without trashing it. Had it Pro socketed and it very unstable card, indeed, which is the second thing I don't like about it. I have modded several Creative cards and they are able to sustain some admirable amount of abuse...

 

I was thinking of upgrading to X-Meridian 2G or Hometheater HD, but Auzentech are no longer represened in my country (due to the absurd amouts they require from their resellers) and I'm afraid of ordering it online. Their support is also going in the wrong direction.

 

frown.gif

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post #3 of 9
6/12/11 at 1:59pm

Really? I've had a X-Fi Prelude for almost two years and I thought it was very well constructed (never had any problem with its PCB or anything like that).

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post #4 of 9
6/12/11 at 2:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenneth View Post

Really? I've had a X-Fi Prelude for almost two years and I thought it was very well constructed (never had any problem with its PCB or anything like that).



Have you ever modded it? ;)

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post #5 of 9
6/12/11 at 2:18pm

I've only changed the OPAMP, but real modding? No. But I wasn't aware that the OP is a modder either ;)

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Groundloop View Post

Have you ever modded it? ;)



 

 


Edited by jenneth - 6/12/11 at 2:19pm
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post #6 of 9
6/13/11 at 5:44am

I couldn't resist =) Original Prelude has too much "booming" and harsh bass, very dominant. Swapping the powercaps with larger ones and replacing the output caps really makes difference to more refined, soft, detailed bass. But doing so requires some magical skills as the pads are thermal-pad ones and it's easier to lift them than anything else.

 

Even the OpAmp socket on the Prelude is some cheap, low-cost one blink.gif

 

By the way - what is your favorite OpAmp for the Prelude?

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post #7 of 9
6/13/11 at 8:48am

The Prelude pcb seems good enough, but I haven`t tried modding,

I`m affraid touching those solid capacitors,

overall, SQ is very good with the default opamps, IME better than newer cards..

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post #8 of 9
6/13/11 at 4:25pm

Who me? My favorite OPAMP is probably the 627AU (the 637AU & the 8620BR are not too bad either).
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Groundloop View Post

By the way - what is your favorite OpAmp for the Prelude?



 

 

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post #9 of 9
6/14/11 at 9:46am

I had a Forte go bad on me a month ago after having it for 18 months. It started making loud noices. I replaced it with Creative x-fi titanium hd. Like the Forte but will not buy Auzentech again.

 

 

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