[jerb]

xoxide.com is carrying them... any one know anything? how do they stach up against a creative? against an EMU?

 

[sgrossklass]

There was a thread about that card a while back... search should turn it up. I think the conclusion was that it wasn't anything to write home about unless you can make use of its live AC3 encoding capability. The analog out of the CMI8768 isn't very good... the last c't article stated a S/N of ~90 dB and THD+N of ~0.03% for a card based on it.

 

[jerb]

sorry i did a quick search but didnt comew up with anything, thanks for your input

 

[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgrossklass There was a thread about that card a while back... search should turn it up. I think the conclusion was that it wasn't anything to write home about unless you can make use of its live AC3 encoding capability. The analog out of the CMI8768 isn't very good... the last c't article stated a S/N of ~90 dB and THD+N of ~0.03% for a card based on it.

The audio codec isn't the deciding factor in how good it's analog output is. Although I do agree that this probably isn't the best choice for music listening. I will be getting one though for my htpc/gaming rig.

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychoZX The audio codec isn't the deciding factor in how good it's analog output is.

Well, in this case you'd really need a rather crappy output stage for that to be the case. The specs for the CMI8768 state a dynamic range of 94 dB and a THD+N of 0.017% (-75.4 dB) for D/A (typical). For comparison, the specs for the AKM AK4353 DAC (used in some USB audio thingy, IIRC) state a DR of 102 dB and a THD+N of -90 dB (0.0032%). Even the old CS4294 AC97 codec (pretty good in its day) manages a THD+N of 0.012% (-78.4 dB) in real life. IMHO, if the specs for a current DAC already are bad the sound will be even less impressive.

 

[AML]

Quite alot of aussies have jumped onboard with this card and seem quite happy with it. Here's a link with some info and opinions.

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...1&page=3&pp=15

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AML Quite alot of aussies have jumped onboard with this card and seem quite happy with it. Here's a link with some info and opinions. http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...1&page=3&pp=15

Can't be viewed without logging in, unfortunately.

EDIT: There's a bunch of other links on this Danish page tho.
Hmm, it doesn't pass udial.wav (even with resampling?!)... Apparently rather forward sounding, bass heavy in 96 kHz. Digital playback of DTS CD no workee. No direct A/B comparisons to other known-good cards so far. I wonder whether it can output all the common sample rates bit-perfect, since I only see a single osc quartz on there (btw, anyone got a BIG picture of the PCB?). Socketed opamps; what are these electrolytics with the strange green color?