Philips Sonic Edge 5.1 sound card review!!

[Mem]

Over@[url="http://www.icrontic.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=231&page=1"]Icrontic[/url] .

Conclusion
Well, what can I say, I love it. This thing rocks! Philips have exceeded all expectations and provided a card that is, by all standards, fantastic. Whilst this card may not have features such as THX Certification or 96 KHz playback and recording like the Audigy 2 does, for a retail price of just under $40, this card is unbeatable value. And it sounds great!

 

[Dug]

I really like Philips and my Acoustic Edge.

This looks like a really solid card at a good price. Something Creative labs should consider doing.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: Dug
I really like Philips and my Acoustic Edge.

This looks like a really solid card at a good price. Something Creative labs should consider doing.

You got that right. I picked up my Seismic Edge from an E-bay auction for about $25 - delivered. My SB Live! was dying, so it needed a good replacement. The Phillips 5.1 sound card was the way to go, based on many opinions that I read. Well, sure enough, this card is a keeper! Toodle-Loo, Sound Blaster.

Reading through the review was refreshing. It's good to see someone else get the limelight for a while. I guess now my question is: what's the difference between the Sonic Edge and the Seismic Edge? Hmmm...

 

[AbRASiON]

Xian @ Id recommends this card for doom 3.

 

[holdencommodore]

what's the difference between the Sonic Edge and the Seismic Edge?

Totally different DSP, different control panel (Sound Agent 2)....

Cheers

 

[tapir]

I bought my brother one of these cards @ BB yesterday for his Duron system for $45. It does seem like a steal, however I'm not sure if I should have gone with the Seismic Edge because of the different DSP. enabling hardware sound seems to take a hell of a lot out of my FPS in UT2003. I haven't seen a review to test this so I'm not sure, but I'm going to look into it. other than that it seems like a great card.

 

[BFG10K]

enabling hardware sound seems to take a hell of a lot out of my FPS in UT2003.

That's normal - due to the way UT2003 handles hardware sound it actually gives you a performance hit when you use it. It happens on all sound cards.

 

[vash]

With the Philips Acoustic Edge card, I was very pleased with the sound and stable drivers for games. I have since moved to a Hercules GTXP. Between the two, the Philips AE had a little more punch for the bass, but not by much. The only reason I upgraded was for the external box for all my peripherals. Without a doubt, the external box, for all my cabling needs, is the best decision I made for my sound card.

vash

 

[codehack2]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

enabling hardware sound seems to take a hell of a lot out of my FPS in UT2003.

That's normal - due to the way UT2003 handles hardware sound it actually gives you a performance hit when you use it. It happens on all sound cards.

Actually the true reason for this is that Philips uses a CMI8378 Chip on the card, which is a HSP (Host Signal Processor), rather than a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). This was confirmed at 3dsoundsurge. Based on that fact, the $45 MSRP price on this card is rather high for being C-Media based.

CH2

 

[holdencommodore]

The Philips Sonic Edge doesn't use the 'regular' CMI drivers though. The QSound technologies implimented into the card totally transform the card, and Philips should be given credit for the work put into it. The drivers are still under optimisation. Version 3.00 of the Sound Agent 2 was released recently, which has many improvements.

Cheers

 

[codehack2]

Originally posted by: holdencommodore
The Philips Sonic Edge doesn't use the 'regular' CMI drivers though. The QSound technologies implimented into the card totally transform the card, and Philips should be given credit for the work put into it. The drivers are still under optimisation. Version 3.00 of the Sound Agent 2 was released recently, which has many improvements.

Cheers

True enough... QSound is actually a big deal. Just recognized your name... you wouldn't happen to be "Holden" from the 3dss forums? You seem to be in the know on the CMI & Phillips scene. What are your thoughts on this card? Beyond QSound, what other advancements has Philips made with their implementation of the 8378 chip? Any of the past constraints removed? More Sowftware 3d sounds? Less CPU utilization?

Thanks for your input,
CH2

 

[holdencommodore]

hehe... yep, that's me!

Personally, I am quite impressed with the Sonic Edge, as with the entire Edge range. Given that the QSound processes (like QRumble, QSizzle, QSurround, QMSS, EQ etc..) are implimented in software, and not in hardware, the CPU usage is quite reasonable - around 15% max and it can only get better. This is on par with the current WDM drivers from C-media. The card produces less noise then standard CMI cards, and much better sound quality, which may be partly becasue of Philips PCB design. The card does have 32 hardware 3D sound sources.
I can't comment about the drivers as I am part of the beta testing team.

The Philips PSC705 Seismic Edge offers lower CPU usage, although possibly more expensive.

Cheers

 

[codehack2]

Originally posted by: holdencommodore
hehe... yep, that's me!

Personally, I am quite impressed with the Sonic Edge, as with the entire Edge range. Given that the QSound processes (like QRumble, QSizzle, QSurround, QMSS, EQ etc..) are implimented in software, and not in hardware, the CPU usage is quite reasonable - around 15% max and it can only get better. This is on par with the current WDM drivers from C-media. The card produces less noise then standard CMI cards, and much better sound quality, which may be partly becasue of Philips PCB design. The card does have 32 hardware 3D sound sources.
I can't comment about the drivers as I am part of the beta testing team.

The Philips PSC705 Seismic Edge offers lower CPU usage, although possibly more expensive.

Cheers

Great stuff.... Do you think that we might be seeing a trend here? Philips abandoning their own DSP and becoming more of an integrator? BTW... I've actually got the psc705, how do you feel it compares to the psc605?

Thanks Holden,
CH2

 

[holdencommodore]

Can't comment on future products, sorry! The relationship between QSound and Philips (one of their biggest partners) is very strong, so you won't be seing future cards will other API's.

IMO, both PSC705 and PSC605 are good. The PSC605 is aimed more towards budget entry level users looking to get most features for the money, and this is why they have gone for a different chip. PSC705, on the other hand, targets a more midrange level. Each card has it's own strengths (but both more or less sound the same), it just depends at which level the consumer is willing to go for.

Cheers