External DAC vs. Sound card

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Mr. Wolf

Supreme [H]ardness
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Oct 8, 2006
Messages
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I'm downsizing my PC tower to an SFF so internal space now is a premium for me. Would an external DAC like the EMU 202 give me comparable audio to the Auzentech Prelude? My setup will be DAC/Prelude -> XR57 set to 5.1 -> speakers.

Thanks for any/all comments!
 
Yeah, the DAC's stereo only output concerned me. I'm looking for ways to keep the insides of the SFF as clutter free as possible. Eliminating the sound card would help, but not if the audio wouldn't be as good, especially for games.
 
Question:

The DAC will not give you the effects in the game that a Prelude will give... right?

So... DAC for music and Prelude for Games?
 
spaceman said:
Wolf, doesn't the SFF mobo have an optical output? If so, just use the XR-57 dac.

I am struggling to figure how you will get surround for games unless your mobo supports it.

Shit. Creative has the perfect solution. Too bad.

USB to 5.1 external solution X-FI

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=209&subcategory=669&product=17751&nav=1
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Yeah, you're right about the mobo. That's what I'll probably do. It's just that I really like the Prelude. There's definitely an improvement over mobo optical. That little Creative thing is intriguing.
 
i can say you will like the usb x-fi card.ive been using one for over a month now,and everything sounds great.
 
Send me the Prelude for "testing"


lol

Shoot. I really am going to have to get a sound card. I am sticking with XP pro for gaming.

If you sell the prelude cheap......;)
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Yeah, the DAC's stereo only output concerned me. I'm looking for ways to keep the insides of the SFF as clutter free as possible. Eliminating the sound card would help, but not if the audio wouldn't be as good, especially for games.
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So digital is better cause it's digital? Stereo headphone/stereo dac, unless you want to use a 5.1 DSP mode.
 
Nenu said:
How can you infer that from what he said??
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I don't know, he tried to run with one of my posts along a similar line a few days back though. I've pretty much decided that the internet is full of a large number of very confused people...many of which want to make sure those that aren't confused become so as well. :confused:
 
ashmedai said:
...I've pretty much decided that the internet is full of a large number of very confused people...many of which want to make sure those that aren't confused become so as well. :confused:
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hehe I agree with that :)
its like stirring mud sometimes!
 
Calpis said:
Give one of these a shot
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010360057 50001315 1102608535&name=ASUS

It sounds good to me and its soo much better than my audigy2. It does 5.1, dolby digital live, and dolby headphone. My biggest gripe is that the optical and headphone out are on the same jack.

Edit: Btw, as far as I can tell, this thing doesn't use any cpu whereas the creative one uses a bunch.
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Way to twist a thing.

The Xonar is a nice card if you dont want full EAX or OpenAL support, it can only emulate EAX 3, 4 and 5.0 and often doesnt do it justice.
Creative cards hardly use any CPU, that is one of the major good points of it being a HARDWARE sound accelerator so it takes the load off the CPU - AND can do a whole lot more in the same timeframe.

For true DDL 5.1 and full EAX/OpenAL support along with top sound quality, the Auzentech Prelude is the best card to buy.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Yeah, I'm just going to stick with my Prelude.
Click to expand...

Best choice for EAX gaming.

Kool Bubba Ice is pretty experienced. I think he expects the knowledge level around here to be higher than it actually is. Not a knock on him. He is just used to head-fi and the point he is trying to make (I think) is that there are analogue sources which are better than digital.

Problem is, with computers, gaming, and the budgets around here; digital is dominant.
 
Nenu said:
Way to twist a thing.

The Xonar is a nice card if you dont want full EAX or OpenAL support, it can only emulate EAX 3, 4 and 5.0 and often doesnt do it justice.
Creative cards hardly use any CPU, that is one of the major good points of it being a HARDWARE sound accelerator so it takes the load off the CPU - AND can do a whole lot more in the same timeframe.

For true DDL 5.1 and full EAX/OpenAL support along with top sound quality, the Auzentech Prelude is the best card to buy.
Click to expand...

Oh, by the cpu usage, I was alluding to their usb x-fi. I haven't used it personally but the reviews that I've read complained about some of it's absurd cpu usage. Sorry if that didn't come across.
 
spaceman said:
Best choice for EAX gaming.

Kool Bubba Ice is pretty experienced. I think he expects the knowledge level around here to be higher than it actually is. Not a knock on him. He is just used to head-fi and the point he is trying to make (I think) is that there are analogue sources which are better than digital.

Problem is, with computers, gaming, and the budgets around here; digital is dominant.
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Yes. Just cause it's digital doesn't mean it's better then analogue. Yes computer are digital friendly. And can still sound good..Personally stereo is better. IMO.
 
kool bubba ice said:
Yes. Just cause it's digital doesn't mean it's better then analogue. Yes computer are digital friendly. And can still sound good..Personally stereo is better. IMO.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on the stereo tip. Folks just can't comprehend it mostly b/c they have not experienced stellar stereo sound. Most of the people here are youngsters with a limited amount of exposure to real sound. Not everyone, just the majority.
 
spaceman said:
I'm with you on the stereo tip. Folks just can't comprehend it mostly b/c they have not experienced stellar stereo sound. Most of the people here are youngsters with a limited amount of exposure to real sound. Not everyone, just the majority.
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Well for me, I want a USB DAC for the fact that the audio coming out of my dell through the analog connection sounds like crap. I'm hoping USB can sound better.
 
USB = digital interconnect.

The thing digital excels at is getting data from A to B with absolutely no change. USB audio devices have a quality solely dependent on the quality of the USB audio device - your computer is no longer a meaningful factor.
 
Lately, for PCs, I like the usb dacs. Did not use to be the case but in the past year or so they have really improved. The jitter issue has been resloved and getting the sound out of the EMI festival inside the case really helps clear up the signal. I use a Trends Ta-10 to convert usb to coaxial into my receiver. Works pretty well. Not the greatest for music but that is due to the receivers dac. I need to upgrade to an external dac and separate amp.
 
I tend to favor S/PDIF interconnects more. But it's the same idea: get the signal out of the box where you can handle it better without degrading it in the process.
 
spaceman said:
I'm with you on the stereo tip. Folks just can't comprehend it mostly b/c they have not experienced stellar stereo sound. Most of the people here are youngsters with a limited amount of exposure to real sound. Not everyone, just the majority.
Click to expand...
Im only 36!!
 
You kids make me laugh. At 41, I'm damn near headed for the glue factory on [H]. :p
 
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