[wonderwall]

My cheapo Best Buy brand 5.1 soundcard is not only malfunctioning in the optical department but also preventing my computer from booting down or rebooting correctly. I know this because I uninstalled it and deleted drivers and suddenly my PC was powering off and on smoothly.

What I need is a soundcard with optical output but also decent headphone out as well. I purchased and tried the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro which was a waste of money. Murky sound, awful software and a faint buzzing to go along with my music and make the quiet parts not so quiet. I would prefer something external, with USB or maybe firewire connection so that I can use it with my macbook as well. Some functional EQ software would be nice, just to give my AD700s a lil boost in the bass department but that is in no way necessary.

Here's the difficult part. I am working with a very limited budget. I have some bills I put off which collected interest so I am kind of screwed in that department. So the most I could spend on a soundcard is $100. If I could get something for less, yay!! The only thing I know of though is Creative's external X-Fi which I have read a lot of negative feedback on. Software/driver issues and other such things.

So there you go. I am open to any suggestions that aren't "save your money for a while and buy $400 worth of different components, you'll be glad you did".

 

[obobskivich]

well, before reading the $100 tick I was gonna suggest M-Audio or E-MU, as it'll get you the OS X compatability (Creative afaik still doesn't support mac with the X-Fi boards, I could be mistaken regarding the external unit though)

at around $100, thats kind of tough (since Creative is out, due to mac), E-MU 0202 *might* fit your budget if you find a decent price, and you might be able to pull one of the M-Audio USB interfaces off for around $100-$150 (bit of a strech, I just don't remember what their cheapest offering is tbh)

I can tell you though, FW is probably entirely out of the question, unless you find something used, its just "rare" in the consumer segment, and most of the boxes are expensive (most of them have tons of features which drive the price up)

 

[Zathan]

I ordered a pair of AD700 recently and I'd like to upgrade from onboard sound to something better. I'm using a shuttle desktop system and I'm a bit limited when it comes to sound card choices. It must be PCI (no PCI-E slots) and low profile (not full-size).

I'm pretty sure the Asus Xonar D1 would fit in my system but I'm not sure if this is the best option in terms of SQ. I'm also thinking about the HOTUSB1 from HOTAUDIO, fits my budget (80$USD max).

EDIT: Audiotrack Prodigy CUBE is really appealing at 125$USD free shipping worldwide on eBay. It would stretch my budget to its limit though hmm

 

[wonderwall]

I was really considering going with the Behringer UCA202 but I've seen a few negative comments about how it's really more for recording and not music listening. So it looks like it might be the M-Audio Transit or that Edirol thing... *sigh* There goes my money. :x

 

[Alydon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif well, before reading the $100 tick I was gonna suggest M-Audio or E-MU, as it'll get you the OS X compatability (Creative afaik still doesn't support mac with the X-Fi boards, I could be mistaken regarding the external unit though) at around $100, thats kind of tough (since Creative is out, due to mac), E-MU 0202 *might* fit your budget if you find a decent price, and you might be able to pull one of the M-Audio USB interfaces off for around $100-$150 (bit of a strech, I just don't remember what their cheapest offering is tbh) I can tell you though, FW is probably entirely out of the question, unless you find something used, its just "rare" in the consumer segment, and most of the boxes are expensive (most of them have tons of features which drive the price up)

^^^ What he said. ^^^

Both the EMU 0202 USB and M-Audio transit are decent choices that'll work w/ OS X and XP/Vista and can be had for $100.

Other options might be a Trends Audio UD-10 or Silverstone Ensemble EB01 USB DAC since they're both w/in your budget as well, but I don't know if either of them have OS X support or not.

As for the UAC202, I've never used it myself but I wouldn't put much stock in complaints about it being geared towards recording or whatever. So long as it has decent playback output quality who cares?

Most Behringer gear is designed w/ recording in mind, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be a good choice for just playback as well. Heck EMU sound cards are "geared towards recording" as well and many people here have purchased them primarily for playback because their products simply sound great...

@Zathan, the Xonar D1, Audiotrak Prodigy HD2, and Auzentech Forte are all decent choices that'll fit into a low-profile PCI slot. I couldn't tell you which of them sound the best tho since I've only heard the D1. Otherwise any of my above USB choices would work for you too since you seem willing to stretch your budget a bit...

 

[obobskivich]

alydon:

X-Fi Forte is PCIe x1

but I agree 100% with your point, one issue I'd raise with Behringer, their stuff has a nasty tendancy to die on me, not sure if this is indicative of overall QC, or if I just have bum luck with Behringer