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What's the best sound card for music?

That's easy, the new Lynx Studio Lynx TWO. Check out its specs shamelessly pulled from the website:

200kHz sample rate / 100kHz analog bandwidth
Four 24-bit balanced analog inputs and outputs ("A" Model)
Two 24-bit balanced analog inputs and six 24-bit balanced analog outputs ("B" Model)
Six 24-bit balanced analog inputs and two 24-bit balanced analog outputs ("C" Model)
+4dBu or -10dBV line levels selectable per channel pair
24-bit AES3 or S/PDIF I/O with full status and subcode support
Sample rate conversion on digital input
Non-audio digital I/O support for Dolby Digital® and HDCD
32-channel / 32-bit digital mixer with 16 sub outputs
Multiple dither algorithms per channel
SMPTE time code reader and generator with MTC conversion
Composite video genlock
Word, 256 Word, 13.5MHz or 27MHz clock sync
Extremely low-jitter tunable sample clock generator
Dedicated clock frequency diagnostic hardware
Multiple-board audio data routing and sync
Two LStream? ports support 8 additional I/O channels each
Compatible with LStream modules for ADAT, TDIF and AES/EBU standards
Zero-wait state, 16-channel, scatter-gather DMA engine
Windows 98 / ME / NT / 2000 / XP Drivers
Macintosh ASIO 2.0 Drivers, Available Summer 2002
LynxTWO-A Suggested US List Price $1095, Available NOW!
LynxTWO-B Suggested US List Price $995, Available NOW!
LynxTWO-C Suggested US List Price $1195, Available NOW!
 
That looks like a nice soundcard. However, if you were looking for a price with a few less digits then the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz gets lots of praise for it's good music playback.
 


<< That looks like a nice soundcard. However, if you were looking for a price with a few less digits then the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz gets lots of praise for it's good music playback. >>


yes yes yes. santa cruz 0wns for accurate music playback.
 
For a wee bit less, you can get the Lynx Studio L22, based on the Lynx TWO but just a bit cheaper. To the best of my knowledge these are the only 2 24bit/192KHz soundcards available in the market today. If you desire 24/96 though, there are several cheaper solutions, such as the Lynx Studio LynxONE, M-Audio Audiophile 2496(most popular card for HTPC enthusiasts), M-Audio Delta DiO 2496, Delta 1010, Delta 410, Terratec EWX 24/96, DMZ 6FIRE 24/96, Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe(reviewd by SGHT and highly recommended there).

For reviews and more information, check out PCAVTech or the Soundcard Performance Benchmarks...

I hope this info is what you're looking for. I'd hate to look like an idiot recommending all these soundcards when all you're looking for is an SB Live! or Audigy... 🙂
 
Well he did say the "best sound card for music", and the TBSC, while very good(I own one in my PC) is not the "best sound card for music". It is however, arguably the "best consumer sound card for music". Its closes competitors are the Hercules GTXP and the Philips AE, and leaves all Creative cards in the dust. It does not however compare in any way to any of the cards I mentioned in my previous post, not to mention my first post.
 
Personally I haven't tried these other cards listed but I do have an Audigy MP3 and it is incredible for music, I never really thought a sound card would make that much difference but it did. I don't play games on the PC so all this is for is music while playing my MP3s streaming from my MP3 server.
 


<< yes yes yes. santa cruz 0wns for accurate music playback. >>



Actually wrong while good there are better cards,in latest PC Format( UK April edition) the Philips Acoustic Edge(90%) was reviewed as "the best sounding card here" of the roundup beating the Audigy and Sonic fury (Santa Cruz),the Terratec Soundsystem DMX 6Fire 24/96(92% score) was reviewed as good choice for recording.


For the record the Audigy beat the Santa Cruz on score in the review but the Audigy only came third(88%) and sound quality was quoted as " very close to the Audigy" for the Santa Cruz(84% score).
 


<< Well he did say the "best sound card for music", and the TBSC, while very good(I own one in my PC) is not the "best sound card for music". It is however, arguably the "best consumer sound card for music". Its closes competitors are the Hercules GTXP and the Philips AE, and leaves all Creative cards in the dust. It does not however compare in any way to any of the cards I mentioned in my previous post, not to mention my first post. >>


I did say the best, but I didn't realize they were $1000.00, I can't spend more than $300.00
 
$200-300 US would easily get you a pro-audio card at least at the moderate levels. And those will most certainly wipe the floor with an el-cheapo "gamers" card- at least for recording and playback.

But then there's the whole issue of "how good do you really need"? If you're just playing MP3 files and DVD movies and games, you don't need pro-audio gear. Get yourself one of the three big boys in the "gamers" arena: SB Audigy, TB Santa Cruz or Philips Acousic Edge. Nice n' cheap, work great.

I'm thinking an Audigy myself for the cheapest card to support AISO low-latency for certain pro-audio applications... maybe. [shrug]
 
For the record the Audigy beat the Santa Cruz on score in the review but the Audigy only came third(88%) and sound quality was quoted as " very close to the Audigy" for the Santa Cruz(84% score).

And we'll just take the word of one review site and make it as fact? There are countless reviews of soundcards out there and judging sound quality is almost purely subjective. A lot more people seem to like the sound quality of the SC better than the Audigy (including myself), especially for music playback. Some review sites also like the SC better than the Audigy. Everyone has their tastes but I think the majority feels that the SC is better for music while the Audigy is better for gaming. I have both cards and tend to agree with that.
 


<< And we'll just take the word of one review site and make it as fact? There are countless reviews of soundcards out there and judging sound quality is almost purely subjective. A lot more people seem to like the sound quality of the SC better than the Audigy (including myself), especially for music playback. >>



There`s always one member that`s going to get the wrong end of the stick,my point was the Philips AE came top for sound quality(NOT THE SANTA CRUZ OR AUDIGY) and Terratec DMX 6 fire was best for recording in the review,yes sure there are many sites that will give different opinions but it just happened I picked up PC format today and was giving their verdict,don`t get so touchy , I was not putting the Santa Cruz down.

At the end of the day no opinion is right for everyone.



 
Oh, did I come across as touchy? I apologize then😉. Honestly, I don't care if they put down a particular soundcard; I don't have any particular loyalties (thats why I have different sound cards). My point is that reviews should be taken as part of the whole picture and not the whole picture itself.
 


<< My point is that reviews should be taken as part of the whole picture and not the whole picture itself. >>



Agreed 😉, the best way is to hear the sound cards in question but not many buyers get the chance so they have to look at reviews & opinions from other people,anyway nothing beats your own ears.

🙂

 
RME Hammerfall with RME ADI 8 DS. You will have mad headroom & a WONDERFUL multitrack audio setup...for slightly less than $2000. 😛

-dejacky
 
Well $300 can buy you a lot. However, as some other people already mentioned, it depends on how good you want it to be. For around $160 you can get the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 which is as good as any normal PC user can ever hope to get. It has true 24bit/96KHz support, a 104dB SNR and excellent frequency response. It also does analog and digital I/O via true coaxial RCA connectors rather than minijacks. It however does not have any 3D audio API support, and will only play games in stereo.

If you do not have speakers worthy of this soundcard-by that I include ALL multimedia speakers other than perhaps the Videologic Sirroco and Swans M-200 speakers-then don't bother.
 
The sound card doesn't matter at all if you listen to it through a pi$$ poor amp & speakers (this includes ANY system that has the world "Computer" on the amp or speaker packaging).

Any sound card is cheap when compared to good stereo/multi-channel audio equipment.

My recommendation:

Santa Cruz: ~$50
Hi-Fi Stereo Amp (100W per channel): ~$100
2 Bookshelf Speakers: $150
Powered Sub Woofer: $150

This is just an example of a system that is decent for the money.
You can find cheaper systems, but you get what you pay for, especially with audio equipment.
 
I suggest JBL S38 studio bookshelfs. I got a pair for $245 and a Rotel 2ch power amplifier (100wpc) for $150 and the combo is amazing. I am shopping for a sound card because the sound is a 6 out of 10 from my Sound Blaster PCI 512.

Radio shack gold series interconnect (stereo mini plug to dual RCA) $6
Home Depot 12 gauge speaker wire ~$3 for 10 ft
Audioquest silver spades $3

When I listen to this combo on a separate home theater receiver and dedicated CD player the sound is astounding. Studio speakers will put a lot of computer speakers to shame.

Link to pictures of my custom speaker stands, computer, and JBL speakers.
 
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