[Eien]

Which card would work better for me? I do a little bit of audio production, so the MIDI-In of the Audiophile would be useful. I currently have my headphones and some 5.1 speakers (ditching those soon for some monitor speakers.) I am currently using my onboard sound. I have the output of my current setup going to an amp (not a great one, just a stereo receiver) so needing to drive headphones directly off the output isn't necessary. I can really afford either, but I'd like some opinions as to which is better.

 

[SteveZ]

For output, i'd say the m-audio revolution 5.1. It's similar to the 7.1, except it has a better output, and it's cheaper. Most people don't need 8 channels of audio anyway.

The audiophile 2496 would be usefull if you need midi, the the output isn't that great. The newer audiophile 192 still has midi, but has a much better output, and it has balanced inputs which are good for recording.

It's still kind of up to you. Depends on what you want, and how much you are willing to spend. The 5.1 is about $70, and the 192 is $130 at amazon.

 

[Eien]

Really I'm looking for something that will provide a large improvement over my current setup. More or less, something I won't have to upgrade for a long time (I don't yet have MIDI, but if I decide to put time into learning to play the keyboard, I very well might.) If the 192 is a cut above the rest, and even if I don't go into recording, is it still a better option than the others? I don't mind paying more for the 192 if it's worth it (and if the local computer store can get it for the right price)

 

[Arnoldhasmail]

I own both these cards and have them both installed in my computer right now. The revolution is a good windows card and has decent output for computer speakers but the quality of the output from the audiophile cards rca's is FAR SUPERIOR. I use the audiophile card to send a signal to my headphone amp and/or home stereo where I require a clean strong line level signal. The revolution can not handle this task to my satisfaction. The audiophile cards downfall is its driver...The card has a hard time integrating into windows and allowing control from keyboard based volume controls and other convenient features like that...not a problem for a power user that's more concerned with sound quality but a concern for the average computer user who doesn't necessarily need the added quality and feature set.