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do computers make good sources?

Nov 28, 2003 at 10:34 AM Post #106 of 160
Can't you use two cards in the same machine? I am (Soundblaster PCI128 and Audiophile 24/96). The PCI128 is connected to some cheap speakers for beeps/boops and web sounds (and games, if I ever played 'em), and the 24/96 is for music listening.

P.S. (@ lan) - do you know if the PAD/PST have decent Win9x VxD-based drivers?
 
Nov 28, 2003 at 10:58 AM Post #107 of 160
Quote:

I suspect high end soundcards have improved a lot since you bought that Digidesign Audiomedia III (never even heard of that one).


yeah... it's possible. and the waveform i saw only appears sometimes... other times it records dead silence too. i dunno. i always assumed it's when certain electrical conditions appear in the computer.

Digidesign is the company that makes Pro Tools, the most popular professional computer recording system ever. Audiomedia III used to be THE sound "card." at that time you couldn't get anything better unless you wanted to shell out the big bucks for full Pro Tools. it's outdated now... but it still would put half the competition out there to shame. anyway, just a little music history for you.

but it sounds like the Audiomedia is a good deal then. by all means go for it. i'm just saying, you probably can even do better, but of course at a much higher cost.
Quote:

Can't you use two cards in the same machine? I am (Soundblaster PCI128 and Audiophile 24/96). The PCI128 is connected to some cheap speakers for beeps/boops and web sounds (and games, if I ever played 'em), and the 24/96 is for music listening.


heh he... i play Warcraft III on my Motu 896, hooked up to 1000 watt speakers. sometimes.
wink.gif
 
Nov 28, 2003 at 3:05 PM Post #109 of 160
Yes, absolutely, a audigy 2 and RME can co-exist.

Next time I get some cash together, I am planning to upgrade to a pro level card, and pick up some cheap PC speakers to leave hooked up to my audigy 2 for gaming.
 
Nov 28, 2003 at 4:41 PM Post #110 of 160
Quote:

Originally posted by lan
RME Digi96 doesn't have real DirectSound drivers so no games or watching movies with this card. There's just major stutter with ANY sound that's non ASIO. It's a true pro card.


Thats sad,cause although anyone can use two cards at the same time,wouldnt it be nice to have the highest quality sound in movies as well?
 
Nov 28, 2003 at 6:10 PM Post #111 of 160
Quote:

Originally posted by cadobhuk

Quote:

Originally posted by lan
RME Digi96 doesn't have real DirectSound drivers so no games or watching movies with this card. There's just major stutter with ANY sound that's non ASIO. It's a true pro card.


Thats sad,cause although anyone can use two cards at the same time,wouldnt it be nice to have the highest quality sound in movies as well?


Well, the PAD's wave-out interface sounds just as good as ASIO when using foobar2000, so I'd assume it would work just fine when playing movies. Remember that the RME has its own drivers that bypass kmixer in wave-out.

I know most software dvd decoders support the wave-out interface. I haven't personally tried it with this card since I deleted all the software DVD players and switched to Dscaler long ago, but I remember building filter graphs in zoomplayer using the wave-out interface (just don't expect multichannel sound). Someone should give it a shot!

Now for something comletely different, I'd like to warn people that I think system matching is very important even with a great card like the RME PAD. Specifically I don't think my HD600 + Gilmore V2 is a good match with the RME, so don't make that system. The Grado sr-225's, however, seem like a good match here. With the HD600 + Gilmore I find the sound very very detailed but way too dry and analytical for my tastes. I like my panasonic rp91 dvd player much better - it's not quite as accurate or detailed as the RME (though these are minor differences that are very difficult to discern), but overall I like the warmer, richer sound it provides with the my hd600's + gilmore.
 
Nov 28, 2003 at 9:20 PM Post #113 of 160
Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch
Can't you use two cards in the same machine?

P.S. (@ lan) - do you know if the PAD/PST have decent Win9x VxD-based drivers?


Yeah you can use 2 in the same machine or as many as your PCI slots
tongue.gif


I don't know about it's Win9x drivers because I've long stopped using that OS. Those OSes are end of life as they'll enter Non-Supported phase on Jan 16, 2004. I don't know if hardware manufacturers will still continue making new drivers and such.

Quote:

Originally posted by mulveling
Well, the PAD's wave-out interface sounds just as good as ASIO when using foobar2000, so I'd assume it would work just fine when playing movies.

I know most software dvd decoders support the wave-out interface.

Now for something comletely different, I'd like to warn people that I think system matching is very important even with a great card like the RME PAD.


Isn't the default interface for movies and games DirectSound not Wave/MME?

Yeah system matching is always important.
 
Nov 28, 2003 at 9:59 PM Post #114 of 160
Quote:

Originally posted by lan

Isn't the default interface for movies and games DirectSound not Wave/MME?


I'm sure direct sound is the default for dvds, but I have used wave-out for dvds with the zoomplayer frontend and the windvd or powerdvd audio filters (but this was before I got the RME). Zoomplayer lets you configure just about anything. You can even mix & match audio/video filters from different players. I forgot if the out-of-the-box versions of windvd and powerdvd allow you to change to wave-out; I know they'd use direct sound by default. Unfortunately in the quest for a minimalist htpc I deleted all my software dvd players so I can't see if they'd work with my RME.
 
Nov 30, 2003 at 3:18 PM Post #115 of 160
guys, you can use some Audigy card for gaming and still have the best sound! use digital output from the gaming card to digital input of the pro card and it will play whatever the gaming card put to it's digital output.. how simple
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Nov 30, 2003 at 10:13 PM Post #116 of 160
Quote:

Originally posted by lan
I don't know about it's Win9x drivers because I've long stopped using that OS. Those OSes are end of life as they'll enter Non-Supported phase on Jan 16, 2004. I don't know if hardware manufacturers will still continue making new drivers and such.


That's why I asked
tongue.gif
. If RME Digi96/8 PAD or PST has already been out for quite awhile (longer than a year or two) it should have Win9x drivers... maybe I'll check on the website, I'm sure there's some info there.

As for myself... just because MS decides to "turn off the lights" doesn't mean I'll be switching OS's -- unless hardware support goes down the tubes completely and I have to have a driver for some new piece of hardware. No reason to switch at the moment, Win98SE does what I need it to do.
 
Jan 3, 2004 at 9:57 PM Post #118 of 160
Quote:

Originally posted by Glassman
guys, you can use some Audigy card for gaming and still have the best sound! use digital output from the gaming card to digital input of the pro card and it will play whatever the gaming card put to it's digital output.. how simple
smily_headphones1.gif


Sure if you only want stereo gaming. This is not a solution for multichannel gaming.
 
Jan 3, 2004 at 10:06 PM Post #119 of 160
Quote:

Originally posted by Glassman
guys, you can use some Audigy card for gaming and still have the best sound! use digital output from the gaming card to digital input of the pro card and it will play whatever the gaming card put to it's digital output.. how simple
smily_headphones1.gif


Won't that still slow down gameplay a bit?

I was hoping to be able to use the Soundblaster Audigy 2 for gaming without a framerate penalty and then use the RME PAD only for Foobar.

-Ed
 
Jan 4, 2004 at 12:49 AM Post #120 of 160
Computers can make good sources and do some amazing things for the price. I was highly impressed by the M-audio revolution hooked into my MOH(R) and HD650s. It completely slaughtered the NS500V for redbook, and its 192k mp3 playback still beat the redbook of the NS500V!

I ordered an RME digi 96/8 PAD in order to create a source which can match my headphones and amplifier. I simply wish to run everything through my computer, allowing for a simpler layout on my desk.

Computers can make great sources, just as CD players can. Keep in mind there are plenty of bad apples on both sides (lots of horrible standalone sources just as there are lots of horrible sound cards), just as there are clear winners.

Cheers,
Geek
 
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