New Sound card??

[Greenbeast]

First post here, found this place while searching for sound cards....

Right i've been reading up but can't seem to decide.

Looking for a new sound card to better my onboard one (yeah, not exactly diffcult i know)

I have a spare PCI slot but could go external too

I play games, listen to my FLAC collection and play dvd, ts files and DivX from this machine

Basically my requirements are fairly simple....

1) Coaxial S/PDIF output (to use my existing coaxial lead going to my A/V Receiver)
-for 5.1 on films
-for stereo for music

2) Decent Headphone output, only have some basic Sennheiser 'phones at the mo but no doubt will upgrade at a later date. starting to use these more and more

would like the option to turn off the headphone output when using S/PDIF (currently getting annoying sound from 'phones on my desk when using receiver), although if the card is external i could simply unplug the 'phones

no need for 5.1 analog

any assistance would be appreciated

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenbeast /img/forum/go_quote.gif Basically my requirements are fairly simple.... 1) Coaxial S/PDIF output (to use my existing coaxial lead going to my A/V Receiver) -for 5.1 on films -for stereo for music 2) Decent Headphone output, only have some basic Sennheiser 'phones at the mo but no doubt will upgrade at a later date. starting to use these more and more would like the option to turn off the headphone output when using S/PDIF (currently getting annoying sound from 'phones on my desk when using receiver), although if the card is external i could simply unplug the 'phones no need for 5.1 analog

AudioTrak Prodigy 7.1 (and any of its variants).

 

[Greenbeast]

thanks, looking into it


also should mention budget is <£100 ($180US)

 

[dmented7]

hmm, I am also looking for a new soundcard, and the Prodigy 7.1 HiFi looks really good: http://www.audiotrak.co.uk/home_thea...gy71hifi.shtml
unfortunately, it's not out yet, so no word on price..

Also, how well would the DAC on this card compare to an external one (costing about a £100 ($195)

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmented7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm, I am also looking for a new soundcard, and the Prodigy 7.1 HiFi looks really good: http://www.audiotrak.co.uk/home_thea...gy71hifi.shtml unfortunately, it's not out yet, so no word on price.. Also, how well would the DAC on this card compare to an external one (costing about a £100 ($195)

Very good IMO. Certainly FAR better than the built-in DAC of my Revolution 7.1: organic and neutral, with a good level of details revealed. The control panel is very intuitive and usablity is thus very high. The built-in headphone amp is decent too, driving my Grado and even AKG to great sonic results.

Cheers!