[GCTonyHawk7]

Hey, I am in search of a high quality new sound card, and am having trouble finding one that meets my specific needs. Here's what I need:

- Surround output to my speakers (either analog or digital, my speakers have both) (Would prefer onboard Dolby so I can amp one of my speakers more than others)
- Output to my headphone amp (At the SAME TIME as speakers, nothing I hate more than unplugging and plugging in headphones every time I want to use em) (Obviously, this is just stereo)
- Line-in that can record and monitor over the headphones and speakers at the same time (Use this for my Nintendo Wii, I play and listen using my computer, but also use it for recording)

So, with those specifications, I would not think it is too hard. I currently have an onboard Realtek sound card and want to upgrade to a higher quality card. The main issue I'm finding with most cards is that they won't output to both headphones and my speakers at the same time. When I want to use my headphones, I'd like to mute the speakers and put the headphones on; don't want to deal with plugging in cords and stuff. The recording line-in is also an issue for me, as it has to record high quality audio at the same time outputting that to both outputs.

Again, my current setup does this perfectly by using three analog cables for my surround speakers, assigning one of the jacks to "Stereo-out" for my headphones, and plugging in a line-in for recording. I did try the Razer AC-1 and it didn't do any of this and in general just sucked. I've been looking at the Asus Xonar D2 and the Auzentech Prelude, but I don't think either of these do what I want. Are there any sound cards for under $200 that will do this for me?

Just for basic information, I use it for mostly music, sometimes movies. Really don't use PC for gaming.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[MaloS]

Under $200 - no. If you can twitch and stretch your budget - E-MU 1616 will do all of the above + more, except for Dolby (digital outputs optical/coax, 5.1 analog output, barrage of line-ins + microphone preamps, headphone output on the front, and in order to stop sound from headphones you just have to twist the volume knob down).

=).
Oh, and you can sell P2 if you get it.

 

[indikator]

i would like to recommend ESI Juli@, it
- got digital output
- got stereo in and out (both can be bal or unbal)
last time I used it I'm really impressed as it synergized very well with my phones, and it is just 140 bucks plus some more for adapters....

 

[GCTonyHawk7]

Hmmm, those are interesing solutiond. Not looked into those less-consumer based cards. The thing about those, do they output surround sound? Also, do they work with Vista 64? Hmmmm.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

[Catharsis]

I just recently purchased a USB Soundblaster Live! 24-bit external and WHAT a difference. I had Grado SR60s and a PA2V2 amp and the external soundcard made probably the biggest improvement to my onboard sound.

The distortion is way less, the bass is punchier (without being muddy), and the insane highs that people complain about the the "bright" Grados is tamed to non ear shattering levels.

The noise when music isn't playing is virtually non existent. I'm not sure about the ASIO thing, but the card allows you to select 44.1khz, 16-bit playback from a range of options.

It doesn't do anything fancy but it does support 5.1, and line-in and has all the usual (and disable-able EAX features). It also has optical and SPDIF ports as well. Getting a headphone amp for these Grados was not nearly as impressive as upgrading to this external soundcard. And for only $69 CAN.

Anyone else try this (apparently) rare card?

 

[GCTonyHawk7]

Hmmm, that does sound like an interesting idea. Have you tried speakers and headphones at the same time? Also, have you played with the inputs? The thing I would be worried about is the bandwith of the USB. Sending sound out and in of the computer in multiple streams could flood the gates so to speak.

Any experience with these things?

 

[Catharsis]

I haven't tried speakers AND headphones yet, but I'll give it a try and let you know (that certainly would be a pain in the ass).

PCI does have a significantly higher bandwidth than USB. USB 1.1 has a transfer rate of 12MB/sec, and 2.0 has a transfer rate of 60MB/sec. I know that this particular sound card has stated USB 1.1 is adept at 24-bit 48khz use, but to use 96khz (DVD), a 2.0 USB is necessary.

I'm assuming all you need is a 2.0 cable swap? I'm a bit of a computer n00b to most people on this forum, so someone else might be more readily available to comment.

 

[GCTonyHawk7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catharsis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't tried speakers AND headphones yet, but I'll give it a try and let you know (that certainly would be a pain in the ass). PCI does have a significantly higher bandwidth than USB. USB 1.1 has a transfer rate of 12MB/sec, and 2.0 has a transfer rate of 60MB/sec. I know that this particular sound card has stated USB 1.1 is adept at 24-bit 48khz use, but to use 96khz (DVD), a 2.0 USB is necessary. I'm assuming all you need is a 2.0 cable swap? I'm a bit of a computer n00b to most people on this forum, so someone else might be more readily available to comment.

Hehe, the cables are the same. Only the devices changes in the switch to 2.0.

Try it out and let me know how it goes.

 

[Nocturnal310]

Try XMOD then.. it has X-Fi also