[coho66]

Well as i've tried finding the best audio solution for a laptop i'm now looking for that of a desktop...gaming is not a concern...neither is dvd audio/sacd...neither is recording/input or digital output...merely looking for an analog out to a headphone amp. I was essentially considering offerings from lynx, rme, dal, m-audio...and others; anyone have any idea/specs on what soundcard performs the best playing back redbook cds and/or lossless audio in a desktop pc?

 

[itim100]

The Soundblaster Audigy with kXAudio drivers is the best thing i have heard for anolog output to headphones. The kX drivers don't actually sound any better (i don't think), but some people have issues with Creative's drivers, and these are much more customizable.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

What I've read indicates the DAL CardDeluxe has the best PC analog outputs, but it's $400 new. People around here seem to think you get more sound quality/price by going with a $150 M-Audio Audiophile 34/96 and a cheap outboard DAC, like the ART DIO.

 

[Lando]

I am using the kx drivers with an SB Live and I heard a definite improvement in sound clarity over the creative drivers. I still wouldn't recommend the Live, though.

 

[MusicLover]

M-Audio Revo supposedly has the best analog out in its price range.

 

[loafier]

I think the Audiophile 24/96 might be worth a try, too. While it may not have the most current onboard DAC, its probably one of the best candidates for an external DAC upgrade. And as Ian said in reply to my post regaurding the M-audio cards, you can also use an external device to control the master clock to reduce jitter and increase sound quality. With most cards, it seems you can only add an external DAC.

I see Audiophile 24/96 cards going new for $140 (incl shipping) on eBay, cheapest ive seen. I'm about to pick one up for my self. theres more available, but not too many

 

[lan]

The best PC soundcards are said to be RME DIGI96/8 PAD, and LynxTWO-B. They are much more expensive than other cards.

loadier, on the other pro cards, you can sync to external clocks also. Revo is a consumer card which can't do this.

 

[coho66]

yeah...as i've mentioned every says that the carddeluxe, rme 24/96, lynxtwo, and two m-audio cards are the best, however, noone states which is the best at 16/44.1...and/or its associated analog output? I realize that the rme, dal, and lynx cards are expensive, but i'm willing to spend some money provided i get what i pay for. the lynx is the most expensive, while the rme and dal cards are relatively the same price and the m-audio cards are the cheapest. i'm interested in which is the best at what i need it for (playing cds/lossless audio and getting the output to an amp), and arranging the cards in priority sequence in terms of performance. I'm not too keen on using an outboard dac...just interesting in running a set of cables from the pc to the amp.

 

[fewtch]

For 16/44.1, what you want is a non AC-97 card that doesn't resample everything to 48KHz. All of the semi-pro cards (afaik) fit this category, and certain consumer cards as well.

As far as 16/44.1 in general, it's just another bit-depth and bitrate, and no card will "do it better" than another in an absolute sort of way. If what you want is a halfway decent DAC on the card, any of the semi-pro or professional cards should fit the bill (I second the recommendation for the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96). Note that many of these semi-pro cards have no internal analog connector for CD-ROM drives, no mic input, no built-in MIDI synthesizer, etc... nothing that could potentially degrade SQ, so you lose some features compared to other cards (and gain a few high-end features as well).

One option would be to get the M-Audio Audiophile USB, and leave your current (cheaper) card installed for game playing and noncritical uses and for the consumer-level features you don't get with the better ones. If this is for a laptop, the Audiophile USB might be an especially good option. Check out Newegg.com for some good prices.

 

[coho66]

wow really? i was under the impression that different cards had different specs at different sampling rates and bit depths? at least that's the way i interpreted the test results on rightmark's site. that's why i was wondering whether or not the added cost of the rme/dal cards over the m-audio cards is justified by the performance...or the lynx over the rme/dal cards for that matter.
actually...i was also considering the echo mia as well.

i have simple but specific needs...i'll probably be playing lossless audio or high bitrate mp3's with winamp with asio plugin...or foobar. then i'll be outputting the analog signal to my maxed out home reference and/or my altec lansings. I would be running windows 2000 or XP Pro. Game compatibility would be nice (i don't care about eax/environmental audio support, just hearing in stereo)but not essential...i'd just use the onboard audio if i had to.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by coho66 wow really? i was under the impression that different cards had different specs at different sampling rates and bit depths? at least that's the way i interpreted the test results on rightmark's site.

They should all be pretty close at 44.1/16, provided there's no resampling involved. The quality of the DAC and associated analog circuitry is mostly responsible for the variations in specs between cards, unless you're talking about purely digital I/O. Before the DAC, everything is digital... binary numbers are binary numbers.

I don't know if you'll run into anyone here who's used a multitude of different cards and compared the results themselves... why not just go with one of the well liked cards like Audiophile 24/96, Terratec EWX 24/96, DMX 6fire, etc... ?