Which sound card is right for me? (I want good sound quality)

[Triumph]

I'm looking for a new sound card and have been reading old posts about them. Everyone seems to like either the Philips Acoustic Edge, the SBLive line of cards, or the Aureal sq2500 (or some such number). Also the old MX400 seems to please many people. I am not a hardcore gamer, and I only have a 300a-450 cpu, so maybe clock cycles are something to worry about? Here's what I would like in a sound card

-Good sound quality, high S/N ratio, good frequency response. My old card is noisy when you run it through the stereo
-At least 2 outputs. I send one to my computer speakers and one to my home stereo
-Back to the good sound quality thing: I like to record from tapes/vinyl etc and record onto CD's.
-Don't care too much about 5.1, 4.1, A3d, yadda yadda, but if it's there, great
-Not too worried about price, I will balance options/prices once I know them

I can't think of what else I want right now. Thanks again!

 

[smp]

Um.. I got a soundblaster live value hooked up to my stereo.. I hear no noise.. it sounds crystal to me.. I could be deaf though.. I use it to listen to music mostly.. I'm pretty sure that it has two outs as well.. I only use one, so I might be wrong.. but yeah, it's sweet for sound quality. I don't know anything about other types of sound cards.. maybe you want to check them out.. but that's my take on the sb live value.

 

[Draven]

I have a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I have been very happy with the performance of the card. I can jack my speakers all the way up and I don't hear any sort of "hiss" at all. The music playback is top notch, and it has a Front Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Mic In, Line In and the VersaJack, which is either another line in, a Sub/Center out or a digital out, depending on what you select with the software. I have been really happy with the card. It supports A3D 1.0 and EAX 1.0/2.0. I got mine from ebworld.com with the passport deal for about $80 bucks. If you can get a good deal, I say go for it.

A review:
Sharky Extreme Review

 

[NoreagaCNN]

I recommend any SBLive card but I've been hearing good things about the Phillips Accoustic Edge, but do not get an Aureal Card as they are dead, .

Laterz,
Nore

 

[Smith]

Any good PCI card will be better then what you have. I have the Aureal SQ2500 which is not made anymore, but beats most of todays cards IMHO. You might want to try a SBLive Value card, it would be a good bang for the buck for your needs.

 

[thorin]

SBLive any model (Value, 5.1, Platnum, mp3, gamer), however the value is the same as the rest except for software and the platnum.

Thorin

 

[HeinekinMan2]

I'm using a Creative Ensoniq PCI soundcard. I've seen some people dog this board but I like it. It's sound quality seems very good to me (I could be deaf too!!), crystal clear, no noticeable distortion, compatible with all the games I play, etc.

Ensoniq was bought out by Creative Labs some time ago. But at one time Ensoniq was known for manufacturing very high quality soundcards with specs that audiophiles deemed acceptable (one of the reasons why I chose this board). Not sure if the one I bought is anything like what Ensoniq made though.

This board was cheap cost-wise ($25.00 or so), is a PCI-based board, and only requires one IRQ. The SB Live requires two which I didn't want to deal with.

 

[Triumph]

i've read that one of the irq's on the SBLive can be disabled, so that's not really a problem. does anyone here do any amount of audio recording/editing?

 

[beestung]

<< SBLive any model (Value, 5.1, Platnum, mp3, gamer), however the value is the same as the rest except for software and the platnum. >>



Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the SBLive! Value cards didn't have the SPD/F jack whereas all the retail cards did? Quick check on the specs on www.soundblaster.com says this. But... if you don't have digital speakers, it doesn't matter, eh? Not really worth an extra $40-50 for old games and a digital jack.

-Jason

 

[Triumph]

everyone seems to like the Philips cards, but there's only like 3 people that sell them??? whassa deal wit dat?

 

[DainBrammage]

Sb LIve Values now have a Sony &amp; Philips Digital Interface. I ve got on.
You dont hav eto have digital speaker on your comp. You can run it straight to your home amplifier for MP3 crazyness.

I to was using an old Ensoniq 1370 PCI It was a great card and still is. It was even capable of being used for 4 spkr surround( with a splitter). Great card for 15-20 bucks. Then I went for the SB Live Value-----Dollar for Dollar you wont find a better supported card than the SB LIve! Value

 

[joeryu]

the versa jack on the santa cruz will suit you perfectly for the out to your stereo, and it takes less cpu cycles than the philips, and guess what, i have one for sale . heres my thread SANTA CRUZ

 

[Wingznut]

Another vote for the Santa Cruz. Awesome card!

 

[noxipoo]

get the new Philips Acoustic Edge card. Its the best.

 

[divinemartyr]

Triumph,

I do high-end audio recording/editing but you're going to need a high end card to do so. If you truly want the top of the line card, in respect to recording, you're looking at a totally different animal. The Yamaha DS2416 is the best card available to do this, and if you look around can be had for about $400.

If you just want a simple audio card, I recommend the AOpen AW744Pro. It has an optical out (which is GREAT to send to your home stereo) and 2 1/8&quot; stereo output plugs. These are generally used for front and rear speakers, so it would be best to use the optical for your home stereo and the front output for your multimedia speakers. If your multimedia speakers are 4 channel setup, use both the front and rear outputs. This card is only about $30 and will do you just as well as any Live! card AND has an optical out like the costly Live! 5.1 platinum's live drive. It does not do 5.1 decoding but this seems unimportant to you, as it is to me as well.

divinemartyr


Oh, if you want to purchase the AOpen card, you can find it here.

 

[Mem]

I would recommend a SBlive card,my own SBLive 1024 Value OEM has Digital out which can be found real cheap nowadays.

 

[Shockwave]

I use the Soundblaster 5.1 X-Gamer, I am happy, but thats not why I posted.... Wouldnt the other equipment in your setup have more of an effect to sound quality then the sound card? At what point is the sound card the &quot;bottleneck&quot; to good sound? I thought amplifiers were the biggest culprit to adding to S/N ratio, that and the media type (record, cd, mp3 @ 128/256 etc>)?

 

[Triumph]

thanks for all of your input: i still can't decide!

divinemartyr: unfortunately i don't have optical inputs on my home stereo, so that doesn't help me any. i realize that professional cardss were hundreds of dollars, that's why i'm trying to find the best sounding regular card.

i'm kind of leaning towards sblive value over the acoustic edge because it's cheaper and there aren't many places to buy the philips (i.e. no price competition). does anyone have the sblive value in a retail package? everyone seems to be selling OEM. i think i need to just look at the features of each one of them. thanks for all the input.

 

[Mem]

Triumph ,you can view or download the SBLive 1024 manual from here .This will give you general info on features etc.

 

[Wingznut]

I've owned both the SBLive! and the Santa Cruz. The SC really is a much better card. Imho, the SBLive! is one of the more overrated pieces of hardware out there. (Sorry, LXi )

You can pick up a SC from EBWorld for $70.

 

[Snoop]

If you go take a look at the reviews, the Santa Cruz is the card you need.
Good review of the Santa Cruz

 

[Triumph]

boy that's a long review! well i still haven't decided between the sblive, the acoustic edge, or the santa cruz. i think i'm just going to go by price.

 

[merlocka]

I have a SBlive Value and just picked up a Philips Seismic Edge card (not as cool as the Acoustic Edge).

For mp3 playback, they sounded identical to me through comp speakers, stereo, and headphone. Both sound pretty good.

 

[nortexoid]

my vote goes for the Aureal SQ2500...

runner up - Philip's AE or Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

next, some generic PCI w/ 4 speaker out

next, an ISA piece of crap w/ terrible quality...

next, any sound blaster...

 

[Radboy]

If you're checking out soundcards, this one is fun to peruse (maroon PCB).