Gluegun
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2001
- Posts
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Quote:
Audigy Platinum isn't much more than a warmed over, slightly less hissy version of the SBLive. the cards are mostly the same... the Audigy calls itself a 24/96 card, but they are lying. The fact is, they upsample the 16 bit stream (what the card works at) to 24/96 at the very end, which causes a degredation in sound quality from the original 16 bit signal. The Santa Cruz, a true 16 bit sound card, actually has better sound than the audigy. Also, you seem to think that digital is better than analog. This is NOT the case!! What matters is the QUALITY of the DAC, what changes the digital signal to analog, not WHERE it is! Yea, you can do 5.1 digital gaming with the creative lab's sound card and creative lab's speakers.... (hence the "D" in 510D) and no real other speakers.... and what use is the audigy's digital out with your promedias?
But since the DAC in the Santa Cruz is better than the internal processes of the Audigy and it is better than the DAC in the 510D, well, than I would definitely be thinking of an analog connection with the cruz for my 5.1 system....
Games are kinda wierd--you can't get true 5.1 sound in games outside of an audigy sound card. Of course, you could use digital or analog with the audigy and the 510D's, without any major increase in sound quailty...but, well, the question is, so? In a pure fidelity standpoint, a nice $300 4.1 system with the santa cruz would have better sound quality in GAMES than your audigy and 510D.
Now, let's talk about DVD's.... things get interesting here. Most sound cards can pass through AC3 to a dolby digital decoder in the speaker system... but not all. Lots of times, it depends on the software you use. AC3 pass through was added to the audigy at the *last minute* and support for it isn't that great... but it is pretty easy to get AC3 pass through with the Santa Cruz. Of course, you would only want this if your dolby digital decoder in the speakers was better than the one in your sound card or your software, which often isn't the case. In fact, with the software "PowerDVD XP 4.0" out, you can get INCREDIBLE dolby digital 5.1 decoding in software, which could then be output at a VERY high sound quality to the Santa Cruz's analog outputs to whatever 5.1 multimedia system you like!
In fact, in pure fidelity, I would take the PowerDVD XP 4.0 + Turtle Beach Santa Cruz + Monsoon MH-505 (a $130 5.1 speaker system with better mids, upper mids, and highs than the Klipsch's or Cambridge speakers) over most of what you are suggesting.
| Originally posted by zodiac154 OK... I think u have something wrong there... Are you sure? i think u shoudl take a look at the specs for the soundcards... Audigy platinum gives one of the best digital 5.1 sound.... At lesat im pretty sure Audigy Platinum > Hercules Yea i already have the platinum etc. etc. gravity154 is my AIM which i use most often i also use icq blah blah but.. yea just hit me up on aim |
Audigy Platinum isn't much more than a warmed over, slightly less hissy version of the SBLive. the cards are mostly the same... the Audigy calls itself a 24/96 card, but they are lying. The fact is, they upsample the 16 bit stream (what the card works at) to 24/96 at the very end, which causes a degredation in sound quality from the original 16 bit signal. The Santa Cruz, a true 16 bit sound card, actually has better sound than the audigy. Also, you seem to think that digital is better than analog. This is NOT the case!! What matters is the QUALITY of the DAC, what changes the digital signal to analog, not WHERE it is! Yea, you can do 5.1 digital gaming with the creative lab's sound card and creative lab's speakers.... (hence the "D" in 510D) and no real other speakers.... and what use is the audigy's digital out with your promedias?
But since the DAC in the Santa Cruz is better than the internal processes of the Audigy and it is better than the DAC in the 510D, well, than I would definitely be thinking of an analog connection with the cruz for my 5.1 system....
Games are kinda wierd--you can't get true 5.1 sound in games outside of an audigy sound card. Of course, you could use digital or analog with the audigy and the 510D's, without any major increase in sound quailty...but, well, the question is, so? In a pure fidelity standpoint, a nice $300 4.1 system with the santa cruz would have better sound quality in GAMES than your audigy and 510D.
Now, let's talk about DVD's.... things get interesting here. Most sound cards can pass through AC3 to a dolby digital decoder in the speaker system... but not all. Lots of times, it depends on the software you use. AC3 pass through was added to the audigy at the *last minute* and support for it isn't that great... but it is pretty easy to get AC3 pass through with the Santa Cruz. Of course, you would only want this if your dolby digital decoder in the speakers was better than the one in your sound card or your software, which often isn't the case. In fact, with the software "PowerDVD XP 4.0" out, you can get INCREDIBLE dolby digital 5.1 decoding in software, which could then be output at a VERY high sound quality to the Santa Cruz's analog outputs to whatever 5.1 multimedia system you like!
In fact, in pure fidelity, I would take the PowerDVD XP 4.0 + Turtle Beach Santa Cruz + Monsoon MH-505 (a $130 5.1 speaker system with better mids, upper mids, and highs than the Klipsch's or Cambridge speakers) over most of what you are suggesting.
