[Peppermint Duck]

Which of these two cards has the best potential for future upgrades? I know the DJ version of the Indigo has a line out (and I take it that'd outperform the standard headphone out if I were to connect an external headphone amp up?) but I wouldn't be able to connect an external DAC up later on would I?

Also the Audigy 2 is (currently) only half the price of the DJ (if not slightly less) through an online offer at PC World UK. It also has an optical out (though would that be useful to a DAC/headphone amp?)...plus the added bonus of EAX support for the few games I play - and of course 7.1 surround sound support...which would certainly be nice...if I got round to getting a 7.1 setup.

 

[mcluxun]

i think the AUDIGY 2 ZS is more likely to be a entirement soundcard
but the indigo is a professional one

 

[Jasper994]

I'm confused, what are you trying to do? The ZS is a PCI card for a PC the Indigo is for a laptop...

At any rate, the Audigy line isn't something I'd recommend for music listening. It resamples everything to 48khz and uses a crappy algorithm to do it...

You're better off with two cards if you must have EAX.

 

[DLP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 I'm confused, what are you trying to do? The ZS is a PCI card for a PC the Indigo is for a laptop...

http://us.creative.com/products/prod...&product=10769

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DLP http://us.creative.com/products/prod...&product=10769

oh, hehe...

Indigo...

 

[jiiteepee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 oh, hehe... Indigo...

Yes, that cocaco** can which been overdriven by couple of trucks

.

Of those two mentioned here; Indigo.
Indigo is 2-3 times the cost of A2ZS so why only these 2 selected as candidates. Isn't there other available?

jiitee

 

[Graz]

Quote:

Indigo is 2-3 times the cost of A2ZS so why only these 2 selected as candidates.

Hmmm...actually this sounds like a more-than-fair comparison to me. I'm sure the Indigo is vastly overpriced for what's actually under the hood...I'm guessing the internal components are probably only marginally (or maybe not at all) better than what's inside the Creative piece.

Quote:

Isn't there other available?

I think the answer to your question may actually be "no". Aside from this Creative device and the Echo products, are there any other PCMCIA audio cards? These are actually pretty scarce...

I think the Creative device looks pretty compelling at $99 actually. With optical out, you can run to a DAC...with line-out/headphone jack you can feed a decent headamp. If I needed either of these devices (with an eye toward future upgrades, as the author initially mentioned), I think I'd take a shot with the Audigy before I overpaid for an Indigo.

I do still feel though that a Transit (or similar USB audio card) is the way to go over either of these devices...getting the sound card completely out of the notebook (and preferably externally powered) is a better approach if you can live with the less portable configuration.

Peace,

Graz

 

[breadnbutter]

How do you come to the conclusion that the Echo components are "marginally better" than what the Indigo offers? I don't think that this is anywhere near a qualified statement.
If you want to compare the two cards on the level of components then please be more specific. Not to talk about the resampling on the Audigy...

And I would not worry so much about getting "outside" the notebook. The signal to noise ratio on the Indigo is excellent and outperforms many USB solutions.

If you might want a proper digital out or 7.1 later on then you can still get an additional USB solution.

 

[mcluxun]

m-audio fire solo is aslo fit for note book

 

[Graz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by breadnbutter How do you come to the conclusion that the Echo components are "marginally better" than what the Indigo offers? I don't think that this is anywhere near a qualified statement. If you want to compare the two cards on the level of components then please be more specific. Not to talk about the resampling on the Audigy... And I would not worry so much about getting "outside" the notebook. The signal to noise ratio on the Indigo is excellent and outperforms many USB solutions.

I can understand you saying that. It's fair. I see you bought the indigo (it's in your signature)...I've heard a lot of good things about this card (and a few bad things as well). I wonder if you happen know what's inside the card? Which codec does it use vs. what's in the Creative device?

I've been doing notebook product development for the last 11 years or so, and have even worked on a few notebook audio designs over the years. No bragging or claims of being the "last word" expert here...I'm definitely not. I've managed to pick up some things over the years...mostly by osmosis. I do have some architectural/philosophical gripes with the whole notion of PCMCIA audio cards. You're simply moving one set of challenges (creating a decent audio solution in a notebook...a truly difficult task) over to the CardBus slot which has it's own set of challenges (heat, dirty power, etc.). This doesn't mean it can't work & work well...I'm just not a fan of the concept. I do (strongly) feel that getting the audio solution completely out of the notebook is a (much, much) better approach, and I would never use a PCMCIA audio card unless portability was absolutely my primary/only concern. By going external (USB or 1394), you get the card out of the heat (those card slots often get very hot) & provide it with the opportunity to use a cleaner, external digital voltage supply. These are definitely good things.

Anyway...sorry to sidetrack this thread.

indigo or audigy? I guess a listening test is the only way to really tell...

Peace,

Graz

 

[breadnbutter]

Thanks for the clarification, Graz.
The heat is indeed a problem with the Indigo. It also shortens battery life a lot, so it is not as portable as it could be. However, even with some "bigger" headphones (HD590) I never had any problems with overheating.

PCMCIA is more or less just PCI, right? I had the impression that it is possible to overcome the problems associated with all the EMI and dirty power. After all the EMU 1212m or other cards have quite a reputation, don't they. Unless you are willing to shell out $$$ for a DAC it is hard to beat that.

I don't think that you can really compare the Audigy and the EMU. While I don't know which DAC's etc. are used on each card the Audigy is always flawed by its 48 kHz resampling. Since this even applies to the digital out even an external DAC won't be an improvement.

Also note that most portable USB solutions with a headamp (Bithead, Corda Porta III) are depending on the standard driver and are thus limited to 16 Bit.
The Transit on the other hand has, as far as I know, no build in headamp.