My Defense of the Audigy 2

[llmobll]

Ok so i've had this Audigy 2 for about a year. Paired with my CMOY amp, Sennheiser 580's, I've been able to achieve phenominal sound. I've heard the arguments about it resampling and having crappy quality but I honestly cannot see how the music can get much better. Everything is crisp, clear, not overly bass (when i don't want it to be), and absolutely ear shattering when i turn the bass all the way up and amp it high.(15V DC) I'm soo pleased with with setup at this time that I HATE listening to mp3's. They all sound like utter ****. I'm back to buying CD's because most of what I listen to is electronic. Chemical Bros', squarepusher, wagon Christ (you get the picture).

My settingings are Bass/Trebble all the way up with "disco" and small adjustments to the eq. Adding to the mid-range and a little more highs. I've used both Winamp and Foobar, Foobar producing a small amount of better quality sound, but mainly because the EQ is soo much better.

Well you guys got to me, I bought the ChainTech AV-710 and will see if all this stuff you guys claim is true. Will it make my Audigy 2 sound like complete trash. I doubt it. I'll be surprised if it can produce the same quality of sound. I don't mean to sound like an ASS here, but i honestly hope you guys are right. People were right about me needing an Amp. I'll update this thread when I get it Next week...

 

[go_vtec]

Sorry about your wallet. MP3s aren't too bad if you encoded them higher bit rating, say 320kbps. Although I do most of my listening via SACD/CD players. Then again, depending on your expectation Audigy 2 isn't too bad either.

 

[MagusG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by llmobll Ok so i've had this Audigy 2 for about a year. Paired with my CMOY amp, Sennheiser 580's, I've been able to achieve phenominal sound. I've heard the arguments about it resampling and having crappy quality but I honestly cannot see how the music can get much better. Everything is crisp, clear, not overly bass (when i don't want it to be), and absolutely ear shattering when i turn the bass all the way up and amp it high.(15V DC) I'm soo pleased with with setup at this time that I HATE listening to mp3's. They all sound like utter ****. I'm back to buying CD's because most of what I listen to is electronic. Chemical Bros', squarepusher, wagon Christ (you get the picture). My settingings are Bass/Trebble all the way up with "disco" and small adjustments to the eq. Adding to the mid-range and a little more highs. I've used both Winamp and Foobar, Foobar producing a small amount of better quality sound, but mainly because the EQ is soo much better. Well you guys got to me, I bought the ChainTech AV-710 and will see if all this stuff you guys claim is true. Will it make my Audigy 2 sound like complete trash. I doubt it. I'll be surprised if it can produce the same quality of sound. I don't mean to sound like an ASS here, but i honestly hope you guys are right. People were right about me needing an Amp. I'll update this thread when I get it Next week...

Believe us, you think we're blowing smoke up your ass to make us feel good about ourselves? You have to hear to believe. I remember how amazing my eggos were out of a supermini connected to my SBlive with a radioshack cable, that was my first ring, better than anything i've had, amazing to me at the time.(I own none of that stuff now, I came to my senses) Trust me, it gets a LOT better. Get some grados, and ditch those Senns though.
-Mag

 

[Borky]

I'm looking to do the same thing as you. That is get a Chaintech and replace my Audigy 2 Plat. With my new sound system, the Audigy just doesn't seem to cut it anymore.
Also, a poor college student such as myself can't afford many cds so MP3s are usually the only choice.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagusG Get some grados, and ditch those Senns though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borky Also, a poor college student such as myself can't afford many cds so MP3s are usually the only choice.

Don't college students have access to Usenet? alt.binaries.sounds.lossless.*

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by llmobll I'm soo pleased with with setup at this time that I HATE listening to mp3's. They all sound like utter ****.

Did you make those MP3s yourself? MP3s don't sound so bad. On really good setups, they can sound very nice.

 

[go_vtec]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagusG Get some grados, and ditch those Senns though. -Mag

Hahaha, that's kinda bold statement

 

[llmobll]

On my current setup very few mp3 sound AS GOOD as their CD counterparts. I have about 6 thousand mp3's so that is the majority of my collection. Although when I really want to hear the music i go buy the CD. I just started to buy CD's again after about 2.5 years of kazaa, and bittorrent downloads. I encode some, but like i said I don't have CD"s to encode them from.

I'm just hearing about lossless codecs. Very very interesting although i hope the CPU overhead isn't too bad. lol on the Usenet post too, for the poor college student, my roomate uses that religiously, while i'm big on bittorrent try'n to get rips from quality ripping groups. RNS!!!


Anyway, if all goes as planned i'll probably end up getting a 1212m in a few months. I can't wait!


P.S. about the grados / senn debate, thats a whole other can of worms. One fight at a time fella's.

 

[Borky]

Don't me to derail the thread, but whats this talk about Usenet and alt.binaries.sounds.lossless. Never heard of it. Also, I don't get my MP3s from P2P networks perse.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borky Don't me to derail the thread, but whats this talk about Usenet and alt.binaries.sounds.lossless. Never heard of it.

Never mind...

 

[llmobll]

yeah never mind...

 

[gpalmer]

Heh, it's always like that, you're peacefully minding your own business happy with your sound system which is always amazing and about the best that could be and then these b@#$&*ds come along and tell you about better stuff.

And you try it and sure enough, it is better stuff. So you get it and your sound system is amazing and the best that could possibly be and then sure enough some more of the b@#$&*ds come along and...

Hmmm, maybe that's what the "Welcome to Head-Fi, Sorry about your Wallet" saying is all about?

 

[go_vtec]

I couldn't agree more. Ahh, the simpler time when I used to be really happy listening through Sony V6 off Soundblaster... until I came across this site. This site brings a true meaning to ignorance is bless!


Quote:

Originally Posted by gpalmer Heh, it's always like that, you're peacefully minding your own business happy with your sound system which is always amazing and about the best that could be and then these b@#$&*ds come along and tell you about better stuff. And you try it and sure enough, it is better stuff. So you get it and your sound system is amazing and the best that could possibly be and then sure enough some more of the b@#$&*ds come along and... Hmmm, maybe that's what the "Welcome to Head-Fi, Sorry about your Wallet" saying is all about?

 

[lojay]

Ahh.....llmobll you should feel good that you've got SOMETHING to compare with, I didn't even have a SBLive before my E-MU, and all I was using was a cheap onboard sound with floor noise so loud that headphone listening would be well, unlistenable.

But believe me, I've heard both the E-MU and the Audigy 2 for a long time, and its easy to tell the difference after 3 to 4 days. Maybe even instantly if you've got good ears!

Beware, though, the difference may not be enough to convince you that the card was well spent on, especially for people like me who don't really mind that much about SQ: as long as the noise floor is low, its OK for me.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lojay But believe me, I've heard both the E-MU and the Audigy 2 for a long time, and its easy to tell the difference after 3 to 4 days. Maybe even instantly if you've got good ears!

Or if you have an amp