[aphex944]

I've been indecisive over which USB audio card I should get. The only real PCI card that has caught my attention has been a Terratec Aureon 5.1.. uses pretty good opamps and a Wolfson DAC. All other popular solutions for computer audio(Revo, AP2496) use shrieking JRC 5532 opamps. Which are easily replaced, but it's still having to replace them.

I've seen most of these USB audio solutions, and a lot of cards, use AKM DACs. Can anyone comment on these and how they sound?

I'm really interested in the Sonica, simply because it outputs directly from the DAC(no crappy opamps in the way), and has exactly what I need, a line-out. There's also the Edirol UA-1A, but it uses a very similar DAC, just a 48khz version of the one in the Sonica I believe.

Going with a digital-out isn't an option, since I am outputting into an analog-in on a headphone amp.

Should I just go ahead and go with the Sonica? I don't want all this TruSurround 8.1 Mega Surround Processing In Your Face crap. Just want clean audio out of my PC!

:

 

[usc goose]

i've always been super happy with my sonica theatre. very clean, very simple.

 

[lan]

I can understand your rational for concern with the DACs and those cheap 5532 opamps. Is there no way for you to try them out from a local store? Specs are one thing but how it's implemented is another.

Sonica and Edirol as bus powered. That makes their outputs kind of weak. It also puts them at the mercy of the PC's power supply.

I don't my Sonica to be too engaging. The music doesn't have soul. It is clean though.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally posted by lan It also puts them at the mercy of the PC's power supply.

not necessarily, you can get a self powered USB hub and upgrade the powersupply on that...

 

[picklgreen]

I like the Stereo Link 1200.

http://www.stereolink.com

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by aphex944 Should I just go ahead and go with the Sonica?

Yes. (Although, I have to admit, I haven't heard anything else, so this is more on an absolute scale -- I.E. it certainly sounds good enough -- than it is for comparison's sake.)

 

[erikzen]

Would running a USB sound card like the Sonica cause a conflict with an internal sound card if you wanted to run both?

 

[Xeno7651]

Yes it would. You can only use one at a time.

 

[lan]

There isn't really conflict per say. Applications allow you to target only one soundcard. Of course if you had multiple applications going on, I guess you could use both but that's not common thing to do.

 

[erikzen]

What I mean to say is can I use the USB sound card for straight audio and use the internal soundcard for other computer related sounds? I didn't mean to try and have both running at the same time. Basically, I wanted to know if I could install the USB card without having to completely disable the internal card. I don't mind switching through the control panel. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Xeno7651]

You can select which sound card you want to use under Control Panel>Sounds. That means you won't completely disable the internal soundcard once you installed the usb one.

 

[lan]

Yeah that's totally possible. What I like to do is set in the control panel the "gaming" card to be used as default. When I listen to music I set the appropriate card to use in the application.

 

[erikzen]

Makes perfect sense now. Thanks guys!

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by erikzen What I mean to say is can I use the USB sound card for straight audio and use the internal soundcard for other computer related sounds? I didn't mean to try and have both running at the same time. Basically, I wanted to know if I could install the USB card without having to completely disable the internal card. I don't mind switching through the control panel. Sorry for the confusion.

Should anyone read this thread in the future and wonder about the same under OSX, the answer there is also yes. It's what I do. System sounds through built-in soundcard to speakers, music through Audiophile USB. SoundSource is a free app for instant toolbar switching/separation of the sounds. Detour is a cheap app to do a lot of customization.

 

[waffenschmidt]

Is anyone aware of a sound card switcher application for Windows? I use XP, and I know I can go into Control Panel and switch from between my Sonica and the on-board audio, but I'm way too lazy for that. So, I end up hearing the system sounds through the headphones that I leave hanging up next to my desk (I leave my amp running).

It would be ideal if there were a way to assign system sounds to one card and audio to another, but I suppose that would be way too much to hope for.