[ColdFlame]

Hello all,

I'd appreciate if you could help me find a PC sound card that would fit into this system (to be purchased):
1. Sennheiser HD-600 ($300)
2. Antique Sound Lab MG Head DT ($350)
3. Some nice interconnects ($50-100)
4. PCI sound card (for Windows box) ($???) - but I know that for $350 I can get a very nice Cambridge Audio CD player so it's got to be a lot less than that with better sound

The system is going to be used in my office at work and the PC is only going to be used for this purpose, i.e. no gaming, and it is not a laptop but a desktop PC.

I'm already listening to a lot of ripped lossless WMA files via Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and Sennheiser EH2270 plugged into the sound card directly but I'd like to get substantially better quality of sound by getting a new system - it's got to beat the $3k setup I have at home. It's got to have Burr-Brown DACs or something along those lines (speaking of quality).

So far I've ruled out everything that is out there that is below $100 and I was thinking about either the M-Audio 2496 (to get started with) or something like Echo Gina (don't know how much it is yet).

It seems people on this board like E-MU 1212 a lot but I'm not sure it is where I want it quality-wise. Is there anything better? Anything that can sound like a $1k CD player?

I'd appreciate any kind of help or suggestions.

 

[Piccolo Daimaou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdFlame It seems people on this board like E-MU 1212 a lot but I'm not sure it is where I want it quality-wise. Is there anything better? Anything that can sound like a $1k CD player?

I was under the impression that the 1212m actually does sound close to a $1K CD player (based on the way that many people talk about it). But honestly, for the price, you really can't do much better than the 1212m. The 0404 is even cheaper and sounds almost as good. I believe the 0404 is about $100. I'd say those are your best bets (but once again, based upon what I've read about them).

 

[Skarecrow]

From people that have heard both, the impression I get is that the 0404 does not sound worse than the 1212m, it sounds different.

I like my 1212m better than my M-Audio Revo, and from what I understand the Revo is not so very different from the Audiophile line.

 

[ColdFlame]

Thanks for your replies guys. I'd like to wait a bit more for some more replies and info from people who actually own 1212 or M-Audio 2496. The thing that concerns me with 0404 is that I'd have to get the adapter from 1/4" to RCA plugs; I'd like to get some nice gold plated jacks like M-Audio 2496 has.

 

[artit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdFlame Thanks for your replies guys. I'd like to wait a bit more for some more replies and info from people who actually own 1212 or M-Audio 2496. The thing that concerns me with 0404 is that I'd have to get the adapter from 1/4" to RCA plugs; I'd like to get some nice gold plated jacks like M-Audio 2496 has.

Well, you will have to face the same issues with the E-mu 1212m. You still need the 1/4" to RCA adapter, but it is not hard to find one.

 

[labeelen]

Did you consider ESI's new Juli@ ?

- It has very high quality sound
- It has gold plated plugs (both ballanced and un-ballanced)
- It has very stable & extensive driver support
- Price/performance is very good

You'll find a review at: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/...lia/index.html
in which they also compare to SB2 & EMU.

I'm very impressed with mine (use it for Music Listening and Home Studio)

regards,

Louis

 

[1UP]

labeleen, how do you rate your Juli@ against your Revo 5.1 (analogue outputs)?

 

[labeelen]

1UP,

Lately I was more into gaming with 5.1 surround sound (read: Far Cry & Doom 3) so I only had the Revo 5.1 in my system.

I just added my Juli@ to do a few a/b tests for you. (this is just a first impression, let me know if you want me to do some specific tests)

Although both cards share the same AK4358 DAC they do sound different. In both cases I used the line-out to a headphone amp to my Philips SBC HP890 headphones.

I would describe the Juli@ as being more neutral, having more low-frequency control and giving a more detailed presentation.

In comparisson the Revo sounds warmer and a little constrained. (don't get me wrong it plays seriously good music but the Juli@ should perform better as it costs twice the price of a revo5.1)
Another advantage of the Revo is that it is less vulnerable to PC background noise (it will be dead-silent in whatever PCI slot you put it in)

In my opinion both cards address a totally different audience:
- The Revo 5.1. is a very good all-round card that fullfills the needs of music enthousiasts, gamers and basic home studio use. I find it also very convenient that it has a dedicated Headphones-out.

The Juli@ on the other hand is targetted at a more professional audience, offers better recording quality (better ADC), more neutral sound and beter (zero-latency) monitoring capabilities. But has the limitation of 2 channel in /out and it is very 'picky' with respect to the PCI slot you put it in ... if you put it to close to the video-card you will hear the mouse movements through the speakers

In other words ... I'm happy with both of them.

cheers,

Louis

 

[pbirkett]

<speculation>

The EMU 0404 should sound better than the Juli, because it uses a better DAC chip (AK4395) which is one of AKM's best DAC chips.

</speculation>

 

[labeelen]

<speculation>

The Revo5.1 should sound the same as the Juli@ as it uses the same DAC

</speculation>

not!

... higher spec'd DACs don't always sound better than lesser spec'd DACs, the design of the card and the other components in the chain can make a major difference.

 

[ColdFlame]

Thanks for your replies guys.

I'm leaning towards getting a regular CD player as the source mostly because of the cost (I can get NAD 521BEE for $300) and also because, frankly, I'm not at all convinced that 0404 et al sounds at audiophile level. I'm afraid for me investing in a PC sound card would be a waste of money. I think I'd much rather get a CD player that I can later reuse somewhere else (or sell) when I move up to a better CD player in a future.

I think my system will look like this:
1. Source: NAD 521BEE ($300)
2. Amp: Antique Sound Lab MG Head ($350)
3. Headphones: Sennheiser HD-600 ($300)
4. Kimber Kable interconnects($100-150, my beloved PBJs has been discontinued

)

I might jump up to Music Hall CD-25 as a source ($550) and I might not. We'll see.

Again, thanks for your help and see you around.

 

[yeeyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbirkett <speculation> The EMU 0404 should sound better than the Juli, because it uses a better DAC chip (AK4395) which is one of AKM's best DAC chips. </speculation>

I can confirm this.

I have listened to both cards and EMU 0404 sound better than Juli@, more details and better dynamic. The performance of Juli@ playback is dragged by the 8-channel DAC, else it would be a well all rounded card.

 

[yeeyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by labeelen Did you consider ESI's new Juli@ ? - It has very high quality sound - It has gold plated plugs (both ballanced and un-ballanced) - It has very stable & extensive driver support - Price/performance is very good You'll find a review at: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/...lia/index.html in which they also compare to SB2 & EMU. I'm very impressed with mine (use it for Music Listening and Home Studio) regards, Louis

While I admit that Juli@ is a very impressive card that I listened before, but Digit-Life should compare this card with EMU 1212m and not 1820. 1212m simply use better ADC and DAC if compare with either Juli@ and 1820, and of coz, the performance (recording and playback) are better too.

When compare with EMU 0404, Juli@ win in terms of recording performance, but losing on music playback performance (due to the AK4358 DAC vs AK4395 DAC).

To be fair, there is other area Juli@ excel 0404 such as support AC3 pass through, balanced output and etc, but NOT in music playback, for sure.

 

[mikechai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeeyy I can confirm this. I have listened to both cards and EMU 0404 sound better than Juli@, more details and better dynamic. The performance of Juli@ playback is dragged by the 8-channel DAC, else it would be a well all rounded card.

Just want to check with you. On what headphone/speakers you did the comparison?

 

[yeeyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikechai Just want to check with you. On what headphone/speakers you did the comparison?

I listen at my friend's house. If my memory served me right, he was using Cambridge SoundWork speaker. But honestly, you can hear the different without using any High End speaker.

If you able to borrow one from your friend, you can have a listen and judge urself.