[]|[ GorE]

My new motherboard came with the ultra crappy VIA VT1617A 8 track audio solution.It DOESNT come with a headphone amplifier as the data sheets state.
So the volume they gave out was very low even on my efficient Koss KTX pRo.
(the koss ktx were opened by me and they have the same drivers belonging to the KSC55,50 and Sporta Pros.).
My Koss have been thouroughly burnt in using my moms hairdryer and are not damaged.

The card houses the Crystal CS4382-KQ DAC which is the same DAC used in the Audigy2 ZS cards.
The ADC is a Wolfson 8775.

Results of the DAC using RMAA using gold plated ISO certified mini to mini cable by Osheeba Japan:

FR : +0.03,, -0.22
Noise Level : -96.3
Dynamic Range : 94.9
THD :0.0030
IMD :0.0046
Stereo Crosstalk : -96.3

The above results are for 24bit 96Khz with no effects whatsoever.
The card has an ST opamp on board.

Using udial.ape i found the following:
Master Volume above 70% clips and distorts.
Wave volume above 65% distorts.

the card does resample to 48Khz internally BUT theres something different about the resampling algorithm.
Playing UDIAL without Resampler PPHS or SSRS causes NO noise or distortion whatsoever.I hear dial tone along with some very high frequency tones.
Adding Resampler to the DSP stack causes the noise to appear.

Excellent detail.Very airy.Good bass on my Koss.Dont use the sound cards driver EQ.

Feature Review :
CMSS : Clips and distorts sound heavily in 2 channel mode.
EQ : Distorts sound and kills details sometimes.Works fine sometimes.
Karaoke : Advanced mode 2 is awesome .Manages to remove vocals only while keeping everything else intact.


RightMark 3Dsound results:
63 Hardware Voice Streams.
Supports EAX 3 with all features like occlusion etc.

CPU Load of DirectSound3d 44Khz Streaming 32 voices at 16 bit 48Khz:
2 channel/headphone mode : 5% or so.
5.1 channel : 9% or so.

All above tests were done on an XP2400 ,512MB ram and crap made in Daman and Diu 300W PSU.(Where the hell is daman and diu?)
.

Verdict:
Sound Quality:Very good indeed.Better than Realtek ACL650,VT1617A and AD1980,Original Live and nForce1 APU.
Support for EAX 3,2 and A3D.
Creative have shot their own feet by releasing this card.
Wonder how many people are gonna buy the Audigy2 after trying this one.

 

[Glassman]

many, because this doesn't use hardware DSP, so the framerates will drop as with any other non-EMU10kx card.. if only someone clever stolen the EAX software and let it run on any other card instead of Sensaura etc. that would rock.. not for me though, I play - music

 

[wali]

This soundcard is Creative's response to Chaintech Av710... I don't see any reason for someone to buy this creative card while A2-ZS can easily be found for $40.


Edit: The original live with A2zs drivers is another great option.

 

[Soundstorm]

The original Live do not have a CS4382 DAC like the Live 24bit, they use crap like Creative or Sigmatel AC97 codec, the DACs inside those aren't exactly what one would listen to and the I2S codec on the rear outputs isn't that great either. Live 24bit is clearly better than any original Live, but like the A2/A2ZS it will be facing formidable competition from the AV-710, which already sounds better than the Live 24bit's big brothers and only costs $25 at Newegg.

 

[]|[ GorE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundstorm The original Live do not have a CS4382 DAC like the Live 24bit, they use crap like Creative or Sigmatel AC97 codec, the DACs inside those aren't exactly what one would listen to and the I2S codec on the rear outputs isn't that great either. Live 24bit is clearly better than any original Live, but like the A2/A2ZS it will be facing formidable competition from the AV-710, which already sounds better than the Live 24bit's big brothers and only costs $25 at Newegg.

The 24 bit Live has the SAME DACS as the A2 ZS and has the SAME DSP as the Audigy LS.This DSP does the processing of EAX ,NOT the CPU.
I also forgot to mention that the card supports 7.1.

Whos got 7.1 ?

POST ANY questions you have got about the card.I could post some pics but he max file size allowed is 26KB and i aint gonna compress the pics to such ****** quality.

 

[]|[ GorE]

Low quality CARD PIC.



Oh and the RMAA tests were done using same cards loopback through Line-in.
I also repeated the tests getting the same results each time.

 

[Glassman]

I'm affraid it's not really a DSP.. EMU10k2 is old enough to be used on lesser cards, manufacturing cost have to be way down, but they still use it, even on proffessional E-MU cards despite the obvious limitations.. if they were to design new DSP it would be some that would replace EMU10k2, not some dedicated to budget cards..

hmm, you are right after all, it has to be DSP:

 

[MrYman]

How does this Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External compare
to some cheaper portable amps ala SuperMini or SuperMacro?

My headphones are Sennheiser HD600, sources: "NEX ia" portable MP3 player,
PocketPC Loox720 & Notebook. Since I listen music mostly via my notebook
(at work), it's probbably better to buy an external USB sound card than
connecting SuperMacro to notebook's headphones audio out connector?

Whatchathink?

(BTW, I use Sennheiser MX500 for portable MP3 player, too weak for HD600.)

Link for SB Live! 24-bit: http://www.soundblaster.com/products/Live24ext/

 

[]|[ GorE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrYman How does this Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External compare to some cheaper portable amps ala SuperMini or SuperMacro? My headphones are Sennheiser HD600, sources: "NEX ia" portable MP3 player, PocketPC Loox720 & Notebook. Since I listen music mostly via my notebook (at work), it's probbably better to buy an external USB sound card than connecting SuperMacro to notebook's headphones audio out connector? Whatchathink? (BTW, I use Sennheiser MX500 for portable MP3 player, too weak for HD600.) Link for SB Live! 24-bit: http://www.soundblaster.com/products/Live24ext/

All i can say is that the card can certainly POWER my cans.
I used to listen to the AD1980 at 80% volume max but with my new live its 65% master volume and 25% wave volume.
I have also noticed slightly clearer sound (more airy and a wee bit lacking midbass;which is good for my koss really.The koss do have bloated bass) by choosing 2.1 as the output device rather than the headphones out from the Creative mixer.

 

[mencargo]

Seraching about the CS4382 DAC I found this thread.
I'm looking for a good DAC, and I happen to own a SB0410, so I'm thinking to give it a try, I have heard good things about this card with hard mods, but I can't find details about the mods.
Any help of guidance?
 
Thanks!

 

[nagual]

Like this:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/525212/creative-live-24bit-opamp-cap-mod
 
?

 

[mencargo]

I don't know how I missed that, thanks!