Wanted: your say on my soundcard upgrade
Oct 17, 2008 at 11:19 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14

moriez

Headphoneus Supremus
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Guys,

Now that Ive sold my headphone amp I almost forgot that I have money in my PayPal account
popcorn.gif
. Id like your advice on a internal soundcard upgrade.

Facts:

- I listen to a lot of music from my computer using a budget Audigy 4 card.
- I am a regular gamer. One not so demanding game from late 2002.

Now, Id like to get a more beautiful sound for the music I play. What would be a good upgrade without degrading the gaming experience? I dont need any mumbo jumbo like 5.1, 7.1 and what not. Its pure for headphones and over two speakers listening. My budget is around $150 but cheaper is preferred.

Also I would like to know if its a good idea to connect the soundcard differently to my home-amp then with the current 3 meter long budget mini to minis. If so how?

Thanks for thinking with me.
 
Oct 18, 2008 at 12:58 AM Post #3 of 14
For music, most of the modern sound cards are more than capable. I don't have a Prodigy HD2, but I heard is a very good sound card. Now, if you want to spend a little more you have a lot more choices (~$150):

ASUS D2X (CMI8788)
Auzentech Prelude (X-Fi chip)
HT Omega Claro+ (CMI8788)
HT Omega Claro Halo (CMI8788)

I've directly compared the Prelude and Halo (both with upgraded OPAMPs), and while there are some difference, I wouldn't say one is better than the other.

j.
 
Oct 19, 2008 at 12:10 AM Post #4 of 14
Thanks fellas.

The Prodigy HD2 is my favourite. Its a money thing really. I will connect the soundcard to my home-amp and from my home-amp I will listen through headphones. Will I bypass the integrated headphone amp of the HD2 then? In that case it will be of no use to start swapping op-amps and will render the integrated completely useless wouldnt it?

Would a spdif to rca cable be the preferred way to connect for best quality?
 
Oct 19, 2008 at 3:21 AM Post #5 of 14
Quote:

Originally Posted by moriez /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Thanks fellas.

The Prodigy HD2 is my favourite. Its a money thing really. I will connect the soundcard to my home-amp and from my home-amp I will listen through headphones. Will I bypass the integrated headphone amp of the HD2 then? In that case it will be of no use to start swapping op-amps and will render the integrated completely useless wouldnt it?

Would a spdif to rca cable be the preferred way to connect for best quality?



If you buy prodigy HD2. You connect your headphone directly with its headphone output. That's going to be sufficient to drive most headphones. You can not swap OP amps for headphone output, because those OP amps are on-board. (two 4580s)

If you want to connect it with your receiver, you're going to use RCA cable.
However, there're another 3 OP amps (5532s in sockets, that you can see in the picture of HD2) for RCA line out. You can swap them arround, but I am not sure if you can bypass them or not.

So, you're not going to bypass OPamps when you use headphone out or line out.

You're going to use SPDIF if you really want to bypass any OP amps. I don't know about SPDIF to RCA cable, but make sure your receiver has SPDIF input.
 
Oct 19, 2008 at 8:17 AM Post #6 of 14
Thanks.

Im getting the picture more clear now. I wont use the headphone output directly because the home-amp is near me for turning the volume. I will indeed use RCA plugs as I have no SPDIF on my amp. Still Im able to swap OP amps then. Fair enough. 1% left to complete decision.
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 1:39 PM Post #8 of 14
Well, I got the HD2 and boy oh boy, does it smash the Audigy 4. Hahaha, its fantastic! So much more real music to be heard compared to the mud the Audigy put out. At default settings and using ASIO a major recommendation for anyone looking for an upgrade.
 
Nov 2, 2008 at 8:43 AM Post #13 of 14
Auzentech Prelude (X-Fi chip)
 

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