WTB: New sound sound is the best for music...

[LehighBri]

Hi there,

I am in the process of building a brand new sysytem, and would like to put a great sound card in it that plays MUSIC the best. I'm not so much concerned about gaming as I am music.

I previously had a SB Audigy and loved it, but was wondering IF there is anything better?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Brian48]

It's not as good for gaming as well as the Audigy, but the Santa Cruz is an excellent choice if music is your top priority. I've both and I'd be hard pressed to choose one over the other.

 

[illmustard]

another vote for the santa cruz, esp now you can get it at compusa for 49.99

 

[PliotronX]

I have no experience with it, but I've read of a nice quality improvement over the Santa Cruz with the Audiotrak Maya 7.1 and 7.1 Gold and they're not that much more expensive.

 

[Biggs]

If you're really concerned about music, you should look into "semi professional" soundcards like the CardDeluxe, Lynxone, Lynxtwo, M-Audio Delta, RME Digi96/8. etc. Also, depending on the type of music you listen to(i.e. stereo or multi-channel), you would need to access how many outputs you need for the soundcard of your choice. Another alternative is to get a cheap sound card with an S/PDIF(i.e. coax/toslink) out, than pair it witth a good quality DAC, dejittering device(optional), then a receiver and/or amplifier.

 

[flood]

Originally posted by: Biggs
If you're really concerned about music, you should look into "semi professional" soundcards like the CardDeluxe, Lynxone, Lynxtwo, M-Audio Delta, RME Digi96/8. etc. Also, depending on the type of music you listen to(i.e. stereo or multi-channel), you would need to access how many outputs you need for the soundcard of your choice. Another alternative is to get a cheap sound card with an S/PDIF(i.e. coax/toslink) out, than pair it witth a good quality DAC, dejittering device(optional), then a receiver and/or amplifier.

My thoughts exactly.
an outboard DAC will sound much better than any sound card in a comparable price range.

 

[mrzed]

If you mean MP3 when you say music, just go with the TB Santa Cruz. The semi-pro audio cards are great, but the loss in quality you experience with MP3 will make the difference almost meaningless.

If you listen to high quality audio on your PC, then the least expensive semi-pro card I know of is the M-Audio audiophile. link list is over $200, but they generally go for about $170.

 

[LehighBri]

Thanks for the help!

Does anyone know of any sites where they compare a bunch of these high end cards? I'm specifically interested in how much CPU utilization each has to make sure it NEVER skips on me Thanks again!

Oh, one more thing. I also want to make sure it's at least 5.1 compatible and/or can be input into a Dolby Digital receiver.

 

[Mem]

Different replies here but the Philips AE sounds better then the Santa Cruz for music ,and is a great cheap card with excellent sound quality,if you want better sound then you are looking at the expensive professional cards which`ve been already meantioned by Biggs.

 

[paralazarguer]

Does anyone know of any sites where they compare a bunch of these high end cards? I'm specifically interested in how much CPU utilization each has to make sure it NEVER skips on me

Here be da link for you.

 

[LehighBri]

Thanks, that review was perfect! Looks like I'm sticking with my Audigy with gold connectors...

 

[RanDum72]

Any decent sound card will do as long as you have decent speakers. Just keep your Audigy and buy better speakers. The Altec Lansing 641's are said to be the most musical and accurate of all PC speakers but Klipsch Promedias or Logitech Z-560's (and the like) would definitely improve sound over lesser speakers. Better yet, you can hook a receiver and power some serious speakers.