[KtoEto]

Hi,
My AV-710 arrived yesterday, took out the Audigy 1 from my surfing Pc (1Ghz PIII, 256 Mb, Win Me) and inserted the new card. I installed the 1.30c Chaintech driver but part of the settings were hidden, unreachable, useless. Uninstalled. Tried the 3.10a from Via, struggled a little with Windows (not certified driver), then ok. I followed partly the instructions of Radar and Stephonovic (btw, nice work) and then I started my first song (WMP/WMA). Not bad. More details, better mids/highs but weak bass.
I usually listen to music while surfing and I noticed some lags, opening up heavy pages mostly (hateful). After a couple of hours, no sound. Closed WMP and restarted, nothing, turned off and on the PC, nothing, removed the card and reinserted, nothing, reinstalled the driver, OK. Sound was back. Today after an hour of listening, same problem.
I'm not really patient, so I took out the card and reinstalled the Audigy 1.
The sound of the Av710 is fine, with an amp should improve I guess (better bass), but I think the drivers suck big time (see volume bug too). After reading all the good words on this card I thought, given the low price, to give it a chance. I can't say I'm disappointed, I just think that mostly you get what you pay for.
I know I could have done some attempts to solve the problems (maybe older drivers and ASIO for performance), but unless you say to me that my problem is easily solved I think I'll wait and get an Emu as soon as my old Pc will be replaced or reWindowded (not a nice word).
PS:
My opinion is not meant to criticize the good work and support of all the people who gets better results than me with this card.

 

[DevilDog]

Hey, it's all about YOU. Whatever you like. I don't see how anyone could be offended. To you it just wasn't worth the hassle to keep it working. PCs are different when it comes to working with hardware.
I have an audigy 2 and an emu 1212m coexisting just fine. I can say that in my system, which I built myself, the 1212m has never glitched once. If you get one, I think you'll like it. The difference between it and the the 1212m is dramatic.
As they say, YMMV...

 

[KtoEto]

Yeah, I know. I just wanted to make sure that nobody gets offended.
I can't install an E-mu now because it doesn't work with Win ME. I think I'll keep the Audigy 1 for a while and concetrate on the amp and standalone universal player.
Later I'll get an E-mu 0404 (that later is not really convincing

).

 

[DevilDog]

Too bad. I believe that an emu would have made a bigger difference for you.
My most important advice would be to get rid of WinMe, but that may not be an option.
Oh well, good luck in whichever route you take.

 

[KtoEto]

Thank you DevilDog, maybe I'll get rid of WinME with the release of the XP SP2 (the complete XP + SP1 + SP2 on one cd-rom). The OEM version costs 100 $ in Switzerland
+ 130 $ for the Emu 0404. 230$ is less than the 255$ needed for the Emu1212 (without Os).

 

[proxops-pete]

If you are using WMP, people will tell you that you are not using the full potential of the card... Have you tried using Foobar2000? It does wonders to your music!

The only problems I have had with my AV-710 is when I unplug the jack from the sound card while there's music or sound being played. It doesn't like that...

Sorry to hear that you don't like it much... I still think it's an awesome card for $23!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KtoEto Hi, My AV-710 arrived yesterday, took out the Audigy 1 from my surfing Pc (1Ghz PIII, 256 Mb, Win Me) and inserted the new card. I installed the 1.30c Chaintech driver but part of the settings were hidden, unreachable, useless. Uninstalled. Tried the 3.10a from Via, struggled a little with Windows (not certified driver), then ok. I followed partly the instructions of Radar and Stephonovic (btw, nice work) and then I started my first song (WMP/WMA). Not bad. More details, better mids/highs but weak bass. I usually listen to music while surfing and I noticed some lags, opening up heavy pages mostly (hateful). After a couple of hours, no sound. Closed WMP and restarted, nothing, turned off and on the PC, nothing, removed the card and reinserted, nothing, reinstalled the driver, OK. Sound was back. Today after an hour of listening, same problem. I'm not really patient, so I took out the card and reinstalled the Audigy 1. The sound of the Av710 is fine, with an amp should improve I guess (better bass), but I think the drivers suck big time (see volume bug too). After reading all the good words on this card I thought, given the low price, to give it a chance. I can't say I'm disappointed, I just think that mostly you get what you pay for. I know I could have done some attempts to solve the problems (maybe older drivers and ASIO for performance), but unless you say to me that my problem is easily solved I think I'll wait and get an Emu as soon as my old Pc will be replaced or reWindowded (not a nice word). PS: My opinion is not meant to criticize the good work and support of all the people who gets better results than me with this card.

You see, I don't recommend WMP for music playback. That player uses only DirectSound for audio output, which sends all audio data to the dreaded Windows Kmixer (which resamples audio and changes audio data by itself).

Oh, I've just noticed that you're still using Windows Me at this time. Windows Me (and Windows 9x, as well) have their own limitations, like not supporting Kernel Streaming or ASIO at all.

 

[KtoEto]

Thank you for the advices, but WMP was just for getting the first impressions of the card, i was going to use Foobar (already installed it). But the problem is not the sound quality, it's the sound disappearing completely.
Do you mean that WMP causes the problem?
Or is it Win-Me?
If you tell me that under Win-me the card is working, no problems at all, I'll give it another chance and try to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

 

[proxops-pete]

I would suspect Win ME to be the primary suspect.
Seriously consider upgrading to at least 2K Pro or preferably XP.

 

[KtoEto]

If it's really WinMe, then I'm keeping the audigy 1 because as soon as I upgrade Windows I'll get an Emu 0404. The reason why I bought the AV-710 it's because the emu do not work under Windows Me.
My second pc has XP, but I use it only for playing and want to keep it as light as possible to improve the gaming performance (doom is coming!), I do not surf or work (and listen to the music) with it, only play (audigy 2 ZS).
Is there a legal (and cheap) way to install the same windows XP on two pcs?

 

[proxops-pete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KtoEto Is there a legal (and cheap) way to install the same windows XP on two pcs?

No. Just have to buy another one...

 

[shimage]

proxops-pete says, the legal way to install WinXP on multiple PCs is to buy as many copies as you have boxen. Whether or not you perceive this as cheap is entirely dependent on your income...

One way to work it (so long as you don't mind rebooting between music and games) is to make a couple partitions: one for gaming, one for everything else. I'm not sure if it's legal, but it's legal enough for me.

Last option is linux; dual-boot or on separate boxen. I dual-boot on my desktop (linux on the server, and windows on the jukebox [hey, I had some spare computers lying around, so why not?]). Linux, because I like it better. Windows for games, since there isn't a bargain bin for linux-native games (I don't like to spend > $20 for games). And this way, I don't even have to figure out how to get DRI to work on linux! what a relief.

 

[proxops-pete]

No, from Microsoft's point of view, that wouldn't be legal as it is installed twice. But hey... I am not Microsoft.

 

[KtoEto]

Thank you for the help shimage but if it is not legal, I'm not doing it.
Linux is not really an option because I work (with Word) while listening to the music.
So, I have to get a new XP then.

 

[Budley007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KtoEto Thank you for the help shimage but if it is not legal, I'm not doing it. Linux is not really an option because I work (with Word) while listening to the music. So, I have to get a new XP then.

You're upgrade to XP will cure more than a few headaches. ME is a horrible O/S to depend on. You won't regret the upgrade. (I hope you have broadband...the updates are huge, but well worth the trouble)