Sound Card recomendation please?

[chiwawa626]

Ive had the sblive value card since i built this computer ( 1 or 2 years i forget since things change so fast...) Anyways i know the sblive .. it sucks. Ive had problems with win2k/xp when they came out and all that hassel. But what really pisses me off is the amount of feedback or noise thats in this card. I do a lot of line in recording when i hookup my dj mixer and turntables for cooledit pro and i get a lot of noise static feedback beacause of the card. I want another card something less crappy, something that is really clean/crisp, good for recording and has 4.1 support for my Z560s. Please reccomend me a card.

 

[Biggs]

Do a search for semi-professional sound cards like DAL CardDeluxe, RME Digi96/8, Aardvark Direct Pro, Lynx One/Two, M-Audio Delta, etc.

 

[440sixpack]

The Hercules Game Theatre XP has lots of inputs, but I've never used if for that kind of stuff though so I can't really comment on quality. Better card than my old Live! anyway, not so many crashes.

 

[chiwawa626]

oh yeah, i dont want to spend too much money rite now so i can settle for a simple regular card, but just something a little better then that sblive...like anyone, with ur sound card when u turn up the volume all the way how much static crap do u hear?

 

[aswedc]

Santa Cruz

 

[yellowperil]

The Santa Cruz is probably your best option right now. It has a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the SBLive! so you should have a bit more flexibility in recording. But if you are serious about recording you should check out one of the 'pro-sumer' cards that Biggs mentioned. I have the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and it has a much lower noise floor and cleaner DACs compared to the Santa Cruz (my last card).

 

[Mem]

Looks like you don`t want another Creative card,so the Philips AE is another very good card,it actually sounds better then the Santa Cruz IMHO and has everything you need.

 

[qIat]

Unless you use headphones all the time, in which the Snata Cruz would be your best bet, the Philips Acoustic Edge will be the sound card to get. I've had mine for over a year now and I love it.

 

[PuppettMaster001]

Originally posted by: aswedc
Santa Cruz

 

[toadstool]

Another vote for "Turtle Beach Santa Cruz". I'm using it in combo with Klipsch 5.1 speakers, so it'll definately support your 4.1 setup. It's a great sounding card.

 

[Insane3D]

The Santa Cruz is nice, but the Philips cards are better in my experience. If you only need 4.1 sound, go with the Rythmic Edge II @ Newegg for $29 shipped. It has the same Thunderbird Avenger DSP as the Seismic Edge II and the top of the line Acoustic Edge, it's just a 4.1 vs. a 5.1 SC. For $10 more you can get the Seismic Edge II 5.1 soundcard, which adds support for a center channel. If you need SPDI/F inputs, got with the top of the line AE for ~$50. All three are awesome cards. Also, another bonus of the 4.1 Rythmic Edge II is the coax SPDI/F input versus the standard mini-din connection of most other cards.


Philips Soundcards @ Newegg

 

[ALstonLoong]

no one recommand hercules ? seems like not many ppl like it

 

[sakic19]

Santa Cruz

 

[sakic19]

my quote thing not showing up right ... darn it

 

[FrancesBeansRevenge]

I am also trying to decide on a sound card for my new rig.

My speakers are Logitech Z-560s... so I only REALLY need a 4 channel card.
However, I want GREAT mp3 playback sound so I am willing to go for a higher end card (not counting professional cards I mean ).
Games are a close second in priority. I do NO recording, or mixing, MIDI, etc.

My choices are:

SonicFury(aka Santa Cruz): Hear nothing but praise about this card.

Phillips Seismic Edge: Not heard much, but everything has been good.

Creative Audigy: Well, initially I had discounted the Audigy because of my hatred of Creative's previous products.... I had tons of crackling issues with my SB Live Value.... and
Creative's early Win2000 drivers.. err.. left much to be desired.
However I have read some really great reviews of the Audigy... mostly saying that for music and mp3 playback quality its the best. And I havent seen any rash of threads about Audigy issues that you used to with the Live!

Here is a recent roundup of soundcards with the Audigy coming in best in music/mp3s:
http://tech-report.com/reviews/2002q2/soundcards/index.x?pg=1

So, I am leary of Creative, but seriously considering an Audigy now. Any comments/issues?

 

[Mem]

So, I am leary of Creative, but seriously considering an Audigy now. Any comments/issues?

Had my Audigy since last November in a VIA board(Epox 8KHA+) which I use for gaming and some music etc,anyway I`ve had no problems with it and it has been excellent for me on stability,gaming and driver install(in WinXP),it does sound better and clearer to me then my old SB Live,I can hear fine detail better in gaming like CS etc & sound is overall better,remember sound quality is always subjective and depends on the many things like your hearing and quality of your speakers etc.


Btw sometime in August the new Audigy drivers are being released just like the new set that are now available for download for SB Live.It`s probably the best card for gaming IMHO.

 

[Insidious]

Creative just released some new drivers/software for the sblive! family.

have you given them a try.

Finally got me back to where I was before I gave up win98SE.

get'em here

Might be worth a try.

 

[bluemax]

The stuff you want to do is just begging for a REAL sound card. Not a gamers' thingy.
An EgoSys 24-bit 96kHz audio card doesn't cost much more than a retail SB Audigy (MP3/Gamer) so why not just bite the bullet and spend $100-150 and get a sound card you'll never need to replace?

You're doing pro-sumer recording, you WILL see the difference between a pro-audio card and a gamer card. Even one as good as the Santa Cruz. And they don't cost a fortune either. If not $100, $150 would do it for sure. And it'll come with some good software if you don't already own some.