Audiophile USB: worth the money?
Jan 26, 2004 at 7:48 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16
sporky

sporky

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I'm looking for a new soundcard. I usually use headphones (ATH-A900), but also have a set of 5.1 surround speakers. I listen to mp3s encoded using EAC and lame at --alt-preset standard.

I had my eyes on the delta410 until I realised that it didn't have a headphone out. Is the Audiophile USB worth $200, or are there better (possibly less expensive) alternatives?

Thanks

EDIT: Crap, just found out that I'd need a preamp to boost the signal before it gets to the USB card. Could anyone recommend a cheap and effective solution?
 
Jan 26, 2004 at 1:40 PM Post #4 of 16
Quote:

EDIT: Crap, just found out that I'd need a preamp to boost the signal before it gets to the USB card. Could anyone recommend a cheap and effective solution?


You don't.

Audiophile USB makes a dramatic difference when you replace the power supply. With its stock power supply it's on the same level as an Delta 410 Audiophile 24/96, but the PS upgrade takes it up another notch, IMHO.
 
Jan 26, 2004 at 2:14 PM Post #5 of 16
I'm pretty happy with mine, so I'd say yes.

What's the story with PS upgrades...I'd like to do that if it makes a big difference.
 
Jan 26, 2004 at 3:49 PM Post #6 of 16
Replaced the the PS on mine with a Stancor sta-5790 (under recommendation of lan) and it made a pretty dramatic improvement (power tips have to be changed/spliced though). Still the headphone jack came out slightly behind an attached Meta so there are options sporky on how you can spend the money around. Obviously Sonica, Revolution or Transmit to a Meta based amp is one of them (instead of using headphone out on the AP USB). Another is getting on of the above less expensive "cards" then going to a ART DI/O, then amp. To be honest I kinda wish I had went this route.
 
Jan 26, 2004 at 3:53 PM Post #7 of 16
I'm listening to Little Steven's Underground Garage right now with my AKG K501's on the M-Audio Audiophile USB. It's pretty good, but doesn't hold a candle to my other amps. It needs a bit more umph, and I think that the extra power would do so.

Is the Stancor a plug and play solution, or will I need to require the jack to make it work?
 
Jan 26, 2004 at 5:01 PM Post #8 of 16
It's an electrical tape and play solution.
wink.gif
You'll have to cut and splice your old PS tip onto the new. There may be a more elegant solution though.
 
Feb 16, 2004 at 1:26 AM Post #13 of 16
Anyone know if I can use the m-audio audiophile USB without connecting it a computer/laptop. From what I read at ign.com, Creative Audigy NX mutes itself once it is disconnected from a computer. Does the m-audio audiophile do this too?

I want a solution to hook up my computer speakers to my TV/dvd player/PS2 in addition to having an external soundcard to my laptop.
 
Feb 16, 2004 at 1:43 AM Post #14 of 16
This may not be a concern for you but one of the biggest drawbacks with the Audiophile USB is that it doesn't conform to the USB Audio class specification. As such it doesn't really work well Linux and other numerous UNIX OSes. It needs a proprietary driver.

I wish M-Audio would write a driver for Linux or at least release specs so someone like myself could write one (audio drivers isn't really my specility but I'm sure I could get going relatively quickly, typically audio hardware are just data movers with the codec stuff built in).
 
Feb 16, 2004 at 2:50 AM Post #15 of 16
Quote:

Originally posted by kyrie
You don't.

Audiophile USB makes a dramatic difference when you replace the power supply. With its stock power supply it's on the same level as an Delta 410 Audiophile 24/96, but the PS upgrade takes it up another notch, IMHO.


How do you do that?
 
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