[dallasstar]

Test Rig:

University of Texas at Austin Dorm Room
Compal CL56 laptop assembled by Power Notebooks
Terratec Phase 24 FW soundcard
Astron RS-10A power supply
Sonic Impact Class T Amplifier
Signet SL 250 B/U bookshelf speakers

*I've managed to break my SR-60's during a modding experiment gone horribly wrong, and I've sold my Shure E3C's, so I will not be able to test using headphones for this review. However, I will buy some headphones in the future, and I may update this review and bump this thread at that time. I am sure that if I were to use headphones, I would be able to pick out the differences between soundcards more clearly.

Warning: Make sure to turn your amp all the way down when you get this soundcard. I stupidly did not remember to do this and had the crap scared out of me when i put on my first song.

The Package and Software:

As I opened the package, I noticed a great attention to detail in the included products. The firewire cable is of high quality, and all adapters necessary to make use of the card come right in the box. It even includes a leather case with the card (possibly fake leather; can't tell). For the price, though, this should be expected (I was able to find it for 189 on www.compumusic.com ). It comes with a driver CD, and I was able to install the drivers without problems. I noticed that the product functions independently of windows mixer. I believe Terratec has stated that this effectively bypasses the windows kmixer (I don't know the details; sorry if I'm overgeneralizing). The Terratec card uses its own software that controls the soundcard. So far, I have not had any major problems with stability or anything to that effect with this card. However, I should note that I have not been able to get kernel streaming and asio output to work in foobar yet, but I'm sure I will be able to do this after a bit of messing around. I will post a tutorial if i ever figure out.

The Features:

All features can be found here: http://audioen.terratec.net/modules....=article&sid=5

Some that I found particularly noteworthy are:

Balanced output in the analog outputs in the rear of the card.
Headphone output capable of 2 volts RMS output.
Capable of working as a stand-alone DAC.
Can work using power adapter or directly off of a firewire port (given that your firewire port supports this).

The Sound (analog outputs in the back):

This is a highly subjective section of the review. I cannot guarantee that you will experience these same results. I will note that my point of reference when I refer to "better" or "worse" is the Philips Aurilium USB soundcard, which uses the AK4353 DAC, which is the same one used by ESI Gigaport AG (in case some of you have experience with this card, but not the Philips). Overall, this card is far superior to any card I have heard in the past (I have heard Audigy series, Philiips Aurilium, SB16, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz; not heard the EMU's or any other high ends yet). The following are my more specific observations:

Vocals are far smoother
Bass is tighter and much more defined - not as flabby
Soundstage is considerably more realistic, and slightly larger. In particular, atmospheric effects seem more concrete, realistic and tangible rather than sounding like a synthesizer of some sort.
Imaging is very highly improved
Instrument separation is very highly improved
Sounds of pianos and xylophones (and similar) sound much more realistic
The highs are far cleaner, and slightly smoother: orchestra sounds are much less harsh than before, and much more refined and realistic
High end extension and low end extension are far far far improved
Drums no longer sound synthetic. This card makes them sound much more like they do in real life: the decay and bass impact associated with drums in particular are highly improved.

Songs which were used to notice improvements:

Nightwish - Nemo: Shows the highly improved clarity of the highs and the realistic nature of piano sounds. Previously, the pianos in this song sounded somewhat muddy, and they sounded synthetic; I didn't even know they were pianos till I watched the music video. However, after I switched to the Phase 24, it was readily apparent that the sound I was hearing was that of a piano being played.

Utada Hikaru - Simple and Clean (remix): This song displays the vastly improved soundstage and imaging, and much better defined bass.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Zephyr Song: Shows improved high end extension. Previously, there used to be a background hiss with this song on all other cards I tried, but I knew that such a popular band wouldn't include such badly recorded songs in their CD, so I figured that the soundcard I previously used had bad high-end extension. This turns out to be true because the background is absolutely clean with the Phase 24.

Snow Patrol - Run: The improved sound of drums (and guitars) is readily noticeable. They no longer sound synthetic.

Utada Hikaru - First Love: Shows smoother and "breathier" vocals than before, and the clarity in the high end is displayed very well in this song. The bass in this song is also noticeably more defined and tight.

Sarah McLachlan - (Entire "Mirrorball" CD): This live CD displays the soundstage very well. I can even begin to pick out the locations of individuals in the audience after this upgrade

.

Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight: I honestly can't say what specific improvement I notice in this song, but it seems much more enjoyable. The background vocals that I never noticed before even on headphones are now becoming clear and readily apparent, and the sounds are more realistic.

Enigma - Mea Culpa (and the Mea Culpa: Fading Shades remix): The improved soundstage is readily apparent. As mentioned earlier, the atmospheric effects are far more believable now. The improved bass also becomes very noticeable as the song progresses: it is noticeably punchier and smoother. The improvement in xylophone-like instruments also becomes apparent as the song progresses.

The Cranberries - The Rebels: The vocals are much more pleasing to the ears, and there is much more instrument separation.
-----------------------

Note: I'm very sorry that I don't have a much more audiophile "previous source" to compare to (such as EMU or Waveterminal cards), nor do I have many many years of "audiophile experience." You can take this review as you will. I hope that someone finds it helpful. I have used the card for 3 hours nonstop while paying attention to the sound before writing this review. Please leave any comments in this thread.

 

[Cortes]

Hi dallasstar,
thanks so much for you nice review, it's not easy to find information about this card. I have a couple of questions
a)what's the size of the card?. I've not found this info in either place, and it's difficult to get an idea about its size compared to the laptop
b) must be powered by the wallwart?, or is enough with the firewire?

Regards

 

[dallasstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cortes Hi dallasstar, thanks so much for you nice review, it's not easy to find information about this card. I have a couple of questions a)what's the size of the card?. I've not found this info in either place, and it's difficult to get an idea about its size compared to the laptop b) must be powered by the wallwart?, or is enough with the firewire? Regards

It looks to be about 6 inches by 4 inches by 1 inch in size.

It can work without a wallwart if you have a standard firewire port (there are the small type of firewire port and the normal type. the small type don't output any power and therefore cannot power the card).

I'm actually pretty surprised at the lack of interest most people have shown in this thread. This card could be serious competition for the Waveterminal U24 and Audiophile USB (the Terratec's specs are better than both).

 

[mikechai]

One thing I need to add about the Philips Aurilium PSC805 USB sound card is, it sounds a LOT better when using the "Philips PSC805" device as compare to the default "Aurilium Sound Agent 2" device.

 

[rnd]

It's not that I'm not interested - just that I bought the Waverterminal last week and love it. I also wanted something that didn't need drivers - not sure if this qualifies there. Someone should compare the two sometime.

 

[Cortes]

well, with respect to the waveterminal U24 I'd bet that Phase 24 is better. I say that because of the launch dates.

Waveterminal U24 ~first half 2002
Terratec Phase 24 ~second half 2004

two years of difference in technology. At this moment the only thing that prevents me purchasing the Phase 24 is that my laptop is a Thinkpad without firewire port. Of course, I can solve that with a pcmcia firewire adapter, but then I'm without the pcmcia slot, and I can need it in the near future for a umts card while I'm Europe.
Regards.

 

[dallasstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnd I also wanted something that didn't need drivers - not sure if this qualifies there.

It does: the card can function as a stand-alone DAC if you don't plug it into a computer (or if you use digital connection). However, to connect via firewire and use it, it needs to have drivers installed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikechai One thing I need to add about the Philips Aurilium PSC805 USB sound card is, it sounds a LOT better when using the "Philips PSC805" device as compare to the default "Aurilium Sound Agent 2" device.

You sure about that? I've compared the two settings and noticed no audible difference. I think that you may have forgotten to disable a lot of the synthetic effects that the "Aurilium Sound Agent 2" program enables by default. If you configure everything to be standard, they really do sound the same.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallasstar I'm actually pretty surprised at the lack of interest most people have shown in this thread. This card could be serious competition for the Waveterminal U24 and Audiophile USB (the Terratec's specs are better than both).

Thanks for the review. This costs quite a bit more than U24 and AP USB right? It's about $250? If the material is metal, it does at least have better build quality than the others. I don't really find AP USB to be that good though.

Can you take a pic of the inside of the unit?

 

[dallasstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan Thanks for the review. This costs quite a bit more than U24 and AP USB right? It's about $250? If the material is metal, it does at least have better build quality than the others. I don't really find AP USB to be that good though. Can you take a pic of the inside of the unit?

It costs only 189 at http://www.compumusic.com/i2153.htm

I will see what I can do about disassembly. If I can open it up without doing damage, then I'll do so, and then I'll bump the thread. If you're wondering what DAC it uses, I think it's a DAC by Crystal Logic (not really sure about this, and I have no clue about model number).

 

[thefinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallasstar It costs only 189 at http://www.compumusic.com/i2153.htm I will see what I can do about disassembly. If I can open it up without doing damage, then I'll do so, and then I'll bump the thread. If you're wondering what DAC it uses, I think it's a DAC by Crystal Logic (not really sure about this, and I have no clue about model number).

The codec is Cirrus Logic CS42426.

 

[dallasstar]

As promised, I am bumping this thead because I've gotten ASIO output working in Foobar at 24 bit padded to 32 bit with 96kHz. To get it working, I had to update to the latest firmware on Terratec's website, go to the driver control panel's ASIO options and raise the latency to 19ms, go to foobar's ASIO settings and set the priority as time critical, and set the buffer size as high as possible. I still have been unsuccessful in getting Kernel Streaming to work, but since ASIO works, I won't waste my time w/ KS.

 

[mikechai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallasstar You sure about that? I've compared the two settings and noticed no audible difference. I think that you may have forgotten to disable a lot of the synthetic effects that the "Aurilium Sound Agent 2" program enables by default. If you configure everything to be standard, they really do sound the same.

Yes, I'm 100% sure. I have listened to it for few weeks and compare to a modded 0404.
With PSC805 device, it sounds very very good.

Also with the PSC805 device, it passes the udial test, while the SA2 device failed.

More info:-
1. The Aurilium uses separate AK4353 stereo DAC for its headphone out with a 102dB SNR. Please note that this is the same DAC used in Audiotrak Optoplay and M-Audio Sonica.
2. For 5.1 output, it uses the Philips UDA1338H codec, it supports 6 channel DAC + 4 channel ADC. The DAC is rated at 110dB SNR.
3. For best sound quality, follow this setup guide --> link

 

[cupples]

A bit OT, sorry, but does the Aurilium do any resampling if outputting to an external DAC? It seems to be the cheapest USB soundcard with a coax digital out, which is what I need. Any comments/experience? I would love a Terratec, but can't afford one! It looks the part, though, would look lovely alongside my Mac mini...
Andrew

 

[dallasstar]

I just thought that I'd make a little update for my new findings. I recently posted that I got ASIO working. Now, I don't know if it's the ASIO doing this or if my ears are just getting to notice the little details a lot better than before, but this card sounds a lot better than my first listen now. I'm hearing things that I had never heard in my songs before (particularly in the bass region). I seriously wasn't expecting the difference to be this large (I'm guessing this is why it's recommended to wait a week before reviewing).

Also, in case anyone was wondering about my views on the Aurilium: The card has a great, detailed sound for it's pricepoint. The only complaint I have about it is that it gives the impression of being bright, and the top end can be harsh at times. In comparison, the Phase 24 has a much smoother, yet more detailed and realistic sound. Another point worth mentioning is that I found the warmth of the Turtle Beach SantaCruz to be more pleasing than the Aurilium (very very slight difference). I realize the Aurilium has theoretically higher specs, but the sound just has a sterile signature which can be bothersome at times. I guess you could say something along the lines of: Aurilium is to Etymotic as SantaCruz is to Westone as Phase 24 is to Sensaphonic.

Also, I apologize for anyone who I accidentally misled by neglecting to mention the differences between the DAC that the Aurilium uses for headphones and line-out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikechai Yes, I'm 100% sure. I have listened to it for few weeks and compare to a modded 0404. With PSC805 device, it sounds very very good. Also with the PSC805 device, it passes the udial test, while the SA2 device failed. More info:- 1. The Aurilium uses separate AK4353 stereo DAC for its headphone out with a 102dB SNR. Please note that this is the same DAC used in Audiotrak Optoplay and M-Audio Sonica. 2. For 5.1 output, it uses the Philips UDA1338H codec, it supports 6 channel DAC + 4 channel ADC. The DAC is rated at 110dB SNR. 3. For best sound quality, follow this setup guide --> link

Well, I'm happy for you (that you have the ears to hear that difference). I guess since you found that difference to be so large, you would be much more highly pleased by the Phase 24. I actually found the difference that the Phase 24 made to be quite noticeable (and good, of course), while the differences with the Aurilium's modes were pretty much indistinguishable. I don't believe in benchmarks unless they give me concrete numbers that show that there is a very significant difference (5dB of dynamic range qualifies as significant). The benchmark you posted requires someone to use their own ears and it can fall prey to people who are simply convincing themselves that there is a difference (I'm sorry, I really don't mean to accuse you of doing this;I'm just bringing up a point that I think should be considered).

Quote:

Originally Posted by cupples A bit OT, sorry, but does the Aurilium do any resampling if outputting to an external DAC? It seems to be the cheapest USB soundcard with a coax digital out, which is what I need. Any comments/experience? I would love a Terratec, but can't afford one! It looks the part, though, would look lovely alongside my Mac mini... Andrew

I have absolutely no idea.










EDIT: I forgot to mention a question I had for some of the more experienced headfi members: How exactly do I go about taking advantage of the balanced outputs of the Terratec? What difference does it make on the hardware level? What about in the audible level? Thanks for any help.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallasstar I will see what I can do about disassembly. If I can open it up without doing damage, then I'll do so, and then I'll bump the thread.

You'll need to stick a small flat srewdriver into the small bump you'll notice in both black plastic parts on the bottom of the thingy. Then you can take these platic clamps off on each side. After that you can slide slide the metal case apart. That's it. Quite a nice thingy, btw.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini