[Fr_eak]

Hello all! I've been reading this forum for some time but this is the first time to write something

Well, I just bought an Alessandro MS-2 in Hong Kong and have DIY a LC-King headamp for it ~

the source I'm using now is the Terratec DMX 6Fire LT. With the M2, it makes me want to get a better soundcard ...

here's the question, does anybody know how much better is the 1212M over the DMX LT? Honestly I'm quite satisfied with the DMX but just want something even better.

another option is ... getting an external DAC, like M-Audio's SuperDAC.

which option can give a bigger improvement?

Thank you so much!

 

[Richteralan]

damn you are so quick....

 

[petery83]

I'm currently using a 1212M after upgrading from the DMX 6fire 24/96.

The first thing I noticed after switching to the E-MU was the lower floor noise, better clarity in the highs, and just generally better details. The bass seemed slightly lighter and less impactful, but that may have been due to hearing more of the upper range on the E-MU, or just the quality of the interconnects (I used a Zu Pivot for the 6fire and 1/4-to-RCA adapters + random RCA cables bundled with my video cards for the 1212M)

Unfortunately my sister has my DMX 6fire (as well as my HD580s!

) so I can't really do a direct comparison right now...

 

[Fr_eak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by petery83 I'm currently using a 1212M after upgrading from the DMX 6fire 24/96. The first thing I noticed after switching to the E-MU was the lower floor noise, better clarity in the highs, and just generally better details. The bass seemed slightly lighter and less impactful, but that may have been due to hearing more of the upper range on the E-MU, or just the quality of the interconnects (I used a Zu Pivot for the 6fire and 1/4-to-RCA adapters + random RCA cables bundled with my video cards for the 1212M) Unfortunately my sister has my DMX 6fire (as well as my HD580s! ) so I can't really do a direct comparison right now...

thank you so much for your reply!

btw, does the EM-U sounds more musical than the DMX? DMX is IMO a bit plain on music

and from the review by Richteralan posted in a HK forum, he also mentioned that the bass from 1212M is a bit weak ...

 

[kalzone]

weak bass is nothing that an equalizer can't fix.

i have the 1212M and als a pair of Grado SR-325 which aren't too good in the bass dept either, but i'm quite happy with the sound now after increasing the low frequencies in Foobar2000.

 

[Mr.Radar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalzone i have the 1212M and als a pair of Grado SR-325 which aren't too good in the bass dept either, but i'm quite happy with the sound now after increasing the low frequencies in Foobar2000.

Be sure you're reducing the mids and highs and not rasing the lows (hit the "Auto Level" button if you're doing the latter to see what I mean) or else you get horrible distortion.

 

[Fr_eak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalzone weak bass is nothing that an equalizer can't fix. i have the 1212M and als a pair of Grado SR-325 which aren't too good in the bass dept either, but i'm quite happy with the sound now after increasing the low frequencies in Foobar2000.

woo ~~ do you connect the SR-325 to the soundcard directly or through a headamp?

my Alessandro MS-2 should be somewhat similiar to your can, which i feel that the quantity of bass is less than the MS-1 but in far better quality

 

[petery83]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_eak btw, does the EM-U sounds more musical than the DMX?

I'd say the E-MU is definitely more musical. I think it was actually one of the things I noticed during my very first, relatively brief, encounter with the E-MU at a Head-Fi meet.

 

[Richteralan]

The bass is quite strange.
when i got my patchmix running 24/96 session, i will get horrible distortion in foobar EQ setting.

but when i run 24/48 session, using patchmix's own 4 band EQ, the bass is much better.

Don't know why distortion happen in 24/96

 

[Fr_eak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by petery83 I'd say the E-MU is definitely more musical. I think it was actually one of the things I noticed during my very first, relatively brief, encounter with the E-MU at a Head-Fi meet.

very very nice to hear that, this makes me wanna upgrade the DMX to 1212M

 

[StephenFSC]

I support you to change to 1212M la.
HAHA
Buy it quickly to replace your DMX and also add a DAC to your system.

 

[Mr.Radar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richteralan The bass is quite strange. when i got my patchmix running 24/96 session, i will get horrible distortion in foobar EQ setting.

Like I said in my above post never use positive equalisation in Foobar, always subtract what you want less of instead of adding more of what you want more of. Or just set it how you like then press "Auto level".