[seagrasser]

Well,

This is my first real post on this forum which has been a wealth of knowledge already. Thanks for that.

My problem arises from my home PC integrated sound processing. It is flat dull and noisy. As integrated sound goes, I've heard much better.

That said, the PC is begging to be upgraded, but with what? I have read here on the forum really good things about Terratec EWX 24/96. Seems like it might be an aging platform given 192 khz processors. On the other hand I should be able to obtain one rather cheaply.

Any thoughts? I listen to stereo music....all kinds. I just want good music to sound like it was recorded and bad music not to sound more awful than it already is without breaking the bank.

Thanks in advance,

Jason

 

[sgrossklass]

What's going to be connected to the card? The EWX24/96 seems to be a fairly decent card but please note that the converters typically used on these Envy24 boards (AK4524/28) seem to fare better on the recording side. Last time I checked these went for 50..60 EUR or so, not exactly super bargain pricing. A 6Fire or Aureon Sky/Space would be cheaper. You could also splurge and go for an ESI Juli@ (my fav, good hardware and easy handling) or EMU 0404.

 

[Brent Hutto]

I don't understand sound cards and so forth very well. So I have three questions:

1) Can you use an E-MU 0404 to play music from Foobar or whatever and drive a headphone, either with or without a headphone amp?

2) If you can use the 0404 for that application will it avoid the 44.1KHz-to-48KHz conversion that would happen with a Sound Blaster?

3) What's the difference between an ESI Juli and the E-MU 404?

 

[003]

I perfer the Juli@, even though the dac on the 0404 is technically better, thats not all that counts. It's how the dac is implemented that makes the difference.

Plus, the digital out on the Juli@ is exactly the same as the Lynx Two, making it the best choice for use with an external DAC, which you will eventually get.

Also, the Juli@'s drivers are (fairly) easy, the drivers for the 0404 are hell (very complicated, lots of manual stuff).

EDIT:
If the 0404 is the same as the juli@ then no you can not drive a headphone with just the sound card, they both have an unamped line out, the way it should be.

 

[wjat]

whats a decent external sound card/dac that i could use between my laptop and desktop? i was looking at the waveterminal u24, is that a decent one?

 

[seagrasser]

To clarify:

I do have a headphone amplifier

May get a DAC later

Want to keep it under $100

Really only interested in stereo.

Would like to keep it as simple an interface as possible.

Any suggestions?

Jason

 

[003]

The Juli@, it's $129 shipped from j&R.

 

[jvs]

Juli@

 

[Pete7]

After hearing what my equipment sounded like with a decent CD player as the source at a mini-meet, I opted to quit using my computer(modded Emu 0404) as a source and bought myself a semi-decent CD player. Even though I used lossless files, there's no comparison with regards to how much better the sound quality is.

 

[DrDobs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seagrasser Well, This is my first real post on this forum which has been a wealth of knowledge already. Thanks for that. My problem arises from my home PC integrated sound processing. It is flat dull and noisy. As integrated sound goes, I've heard much better. That said, the PC is begging to be upgraded, but with what? I have read here on the forum really good things about Terratec EWX 24/96. Seems like it might be an aging platform given 192 khz processors. On the other hand I should be able to obtain one rather cheaply. Any thoughts? I listen to stereo music....all kinds. I just want good music to sound like it was recorded and bad music not to sound more awful than it already is without breaking the bank. Thanks in advance, Jason

I feel your pain. I recently just ordered and received the Juli@ PCI card as well. $129.00 delivered from djdeals.com and though I haven't yet plugged it and and used it, from what I've read around here and elsewhere, this is a great card for the $$. Other good choices would be EMU 0404 and the Creative Labs SoundBlaster X-Fi Extreme Music edition. All these cards will set you back between $100 - $130 but all offer great sound for the dollars.

On the cheap, you may want to consider the Chaintech A710. Can typically be had for less than $30.00 and uses a similiar audio chipset to the Juli@.

Jon

 

[Rempert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brent Hutto 1) Can you use an E-MU 0404 to play music from Foobar or whatever and drive a headphone, either with or without a headphone amp? 2) If you can use the 0404 for that application will it avoid the 44.1KHz-to-48KHz conversion that would happen with a Sound Blaster?

1) You can use foobar to play music in two channels with just about any sound card, including the Emu 0404. Emu 0404 has L and R 1/4" outputs, which means you cannot just plug a headphone straight into it (unless you only want to hear one channel!). With a proper cable or adapters, you can drive a headphone from this soundcard without an amp. I listened to A900s from this soundcard without an amp for several months, and it wasn't too bad. However, an amp would be strongly reccommended with this soundcard. Although the output stage is capable of driving headphones (to a certain extent), it is really designed to be used as a line out.

2) Yes. 0404 can operate at sample rates of 44.1 khz, 48 khz, or any multiple of these up to 192 khz. You set the sample rate in a session of the mixer software. So if you set it to 44.1 khz, it will not resample audio that is already at that sample rate.

I will leave the comparison against Juli@ to people who have heard both.

 

[Scrith]

I've used E-Mu 1212M, M-Audio Audiophile USB, and Soundblaster Audigy.

The 1212M (or 0404M, I suppose) is a great start if you want an internal sound card that can output analog or digital.

For strictly digital output (or a notebook computer requiring an external sound card) I'd recommend the M-Audio Audiophile USB (or M-Audio Transit, for optical output). I know there are critics of USB-based audio out there, but personally I've done an extensive test between the two (reported elsewhere here on head-fi) and I found the USB solution sounds slightly better.

 

[seagrasser]

Thanks for all of the input guys!

I will keep researching your suggestions and have ordered an chaintech av710 as a stop gap. For $25 I can use it as a paperweight later if need be. It will surely be better than what I have now.

The Juli@ really does seem like a fantastic card with a really nifty design.

Who knows, maybe I can do some A/B testing if I get both.

New used headphones are on the way also. I feel that I may have caught the bug that seems to be going around this forum.

Thanks again,

Jason
Headphone Novice....Music Fanatic

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7 After hearing what my equipment sounded like with a decent CD player as the source at a mini-meet, I opted to quit using my computer(modded Emu 0404) as a source and bought myself a semi-decent CD player. Even though I used lossless files, there's no comparison with regards to how much better the sound quality is.

Were you using an external DAC with your 0404?

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seagrasser (...) I have read here on the forum really good things about Terratec EWX 24/96. Seems like it might be an aging platform given 192 khz processors. On the other hand I should be able to obtain one rather cheaply. (...)

How cheaply? If it's just a little more than the AV710, then I'd recommend to go for the Terratec...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: The lack of 24bit/192kHz sampling rate is rather unimportant in practice. And I'd still rate the EWX 24/96 as a nicely clean & priceworthy ENVY24 design.