[carlineng]

Just curious if anyone here knows whether sound cards require burn-in. I'm running an Audigy 4 Pro with Windows Vista 32-bit. I play my music from foobar via kernel streaming. For some reason, the sound is fuzzy when compared to my Audigy 2 ZS notebook.

 

[Hancoque]

A bit off-topic: As you're using Vista it isn't necessary to use kernel streaming anymore. You can set a global sample rate in Vista and if it matches a native sample rate of your sound card it should give you very good results as the OS's internal resampler is of high quality and all calculations take place with 32-bit floating point precision. The advantage is that other programs can still use the sound card.

 

[Jigglybootch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hancoque /img/forum/go_quote.gif A bit off-topic: As you're using Vista it isn't necessary to use kernel streaming anymore. You can set a global sample rate in Vista and if it matches a native sample rate of your sound card it should give you very good results as the OS's internal resampler is of high quality and all calculations take place with 32-bit floating point precision. The advantage is that other programs can still use the sound card.

You actually trust Vista to do what it's supposed to? You're a braver man than I.

 

[hakuryuu]

The funny thing about Vista is that, despite what the popular opinion is, if you have a moderately up to date system that is stable it does exactly what it advertises, and does it better than xp. Oh it has some things that need to be tweaked, but a lot of that will be fixed in the upcoming service pack based on snippets i've read. If anything, now that drivers are becoming relatively mature(not vista's problem), sound output is better in vista thanks to kernel level audio control.

 

[TheVinylRipper]

Astronomers use electronic sensors, ADC's and amps to capture light waves that have traveled through space since well before our solar system formed. They don't "burn in" the CCD's and other devices they use for this purpose.

The reason burn in can effect the sound of headphones or speakers (cartridges too) is that they are at least partially mechanical in nature. It is the mechanical part that must be exercised to reach its full compliance in order to maximize sound quality.

It's like a new pair of standard jeans, they are stiff and scratchy when you put them on the first time but they gradually get softer, more flexible and more comfortable as you wear and wash them.

 

[Jigglybootch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hakuryuu /img/forum/go_quote.gif The funny thing about Vista is that, despite what the popular opinion is, if you have a moderately up to date system that is stable it does exactly what it advertises, and does it better than xp.

Meh. I still think Vista sucks.

 

[judas391]

i use vista on our school computers.. imho, for the basic user, it's just a pretty and more complicated version of windows xp

 

[LawnGnome]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheVinylRipper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Astronomers use electronic sensors, ADC's and amps to capture light waves that have traveled through space since well before our solar system formed. They don't "burn in" the CCD's and other devices they use for this purpose. The reason burn in can effect the sound of headphones or speakers (cartridges too) is that they are at least partially mechanical in nature. It is the mechanical part that must be exercised to reach its full compliance in order to maximize sound quality. It's like a new pair of standard jeans, they are stiff and scratchy when you put them on the first time but they gradually get softer, more flexible and more comfortable as you wear and wash them.

Brand new electrolytic capacitors DO burn in. They require a period of time for the electrolyte to "form".

Electrolytic capacitors are fairly finicky and can change performance characteristics greatly over their life span.

Do some searches and you will see electrolytic "forming" is well known.

 

[TheVinylRipper]

I've known about forming electrolytics since some time in the sixties..

But the electrolytics today are a far cry from what they were back then.

Just like people think nicad batteries have a "memory" effect and have to be fully discharged each time before charging.

That hasn't been true for at least a decade.

 

[LawnGnome]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheVinylRipper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've known about forming electrolytics since some time in the sixties.. But the electrolytics today are a far cry from what they were back then. Just like people think nicad batteries have a "memory" effect and have to be fully discharged each time before charging. That hasn't been true for at least a decade.

I don't know what you are thinking, but NiCd (nickel cadium) batteries DO have a memory effect, and do require deep discharges to "reset" them every once and awhile. Still widely known. And it is due to the chemical nature of the NiCd battery.

However, you are probably mistaking NiCd for NiMH (nickel metal hydride). NiMH has pretty much 100% replaced the NiCd battery in the market over the last 6 or 7 years. And the NiMH battery does not have the "memory effect".

But the NiCd suffers from it.

 

[poo]

I guess they require as much 'burn in' as anything else... so it depends if you believe in it or not.

 

[flashnolan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheVinylRipper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've known about forming electrolytics since some time in the sixties.. But the electrolytics today are a far cry from what they were back then. Just like people think nicad batteries have a "memory" effect and have to be fully discharged each time before charging. That hasn't been true for at least a decade.

I have to side with the LawnGnome on this one. Technically and emperically in my own use I have verified that Nicad and NiMH batteries for that matter still have a memory effect. Nicad is much worse of the two, but they both DO have memory effect.

At my church we have NiMH batteries in our lapel mics. The batteries used to be good for 7 services on a single charge. However, after just six months of use (three times a week) they are only good for one service since the other tech guys throw them on the charger after every service. The batteries have "learned" that they can only last 45 minutes now. They provide full voltage during those 45 mintues, but they drop off fast right after that time mark.