Theatron DTS (with C-Media 8788) - Lots of pictures (56k beware)

cirerita said:
ok, more tests.

X-Meridian Drivers: a new sound device named Auzuntech Meridian appears in the device manager! It seems that I actually have a $200 card. But I get no sound from the 192khz output.

Razer Barracuda AC-1: same thing as X-Meridian. New sound device named Razer Barracuda, but no sound from the 192khz output.

b_Enspirer: the sound device is named C-Media, not B_Enspirer. No sound from 192khz output.

Couldn't find Inferno drivers.

There are two options: Clubd 3D actually disabled the 192khz output -but not through the drivers- or the 192khz is NOT disabled and my receiver doesn't support that signal.

in the Xear 3D control panel, when I switch to 192khz the Audio System Status is ON even if I hear no sound at all.
Click to expand...
You said before your receiver can't accept a 192kHz digital input, so testing with the card's spdif output won't give any concrete result. To really know it whether the card support 192kHz or not is by playing a 192kHz source and use the analogue output, if there is a sound from analogue, then your card can support the 192kHz sample.
 
again, here are my receiver specs:

The remainder of the unit is very sensibly laid out - a Cirrus Logic Crystal CS493236-CL lies at its heart, backed up by three Crystal CS4391 192kHz 24-bit digital-to-analogue converters. This is essentially the same 'DSP' board as found in the AVR 4000 and similarly, it offers MPEG1 Layer-III (MP3) decoding plus the ability to accept 96kHz 24-bit PCM signals from a suitable source (the digital receiver is a Crystal CS8414).
Click to expand...

it says it accepts 96/24 pcm signals, but that it also has three 192/24 D-->A conversors. I don't get it. What does it actually mean?

I'll have a true 192khz source soon. Problem is sending the PURE 192khz source through the analogue. I'm not sure as to whether PowerDVD supports 192/24 or not...
 
ok, I have a 192khz/24bits stereo unprotected DVD-A (classical music). I'm sending the signal through the analogue output. In PowerDVD I set the audio output to 2 speakers stereo. If I go to the information tab it says: "sampling rate: reserved". I think it's downsampling the signal to 96/24.

Is there any other software which would allow me to send the pure 192/24 signal to the receiver?
 
Maybe the latest PowerDVD deluxe can play it, how about WinDVD? Have you disabled the SPDIF output in Xear3D?
 
I'm using the latest PowerDVD Ultra (for HDDVD and Blu-Ray) but I keep getting the "sample rate: reserved". I tried the latest WinDVD demo but the files wouldn't play.

yes, spdif is disabled in Xear3D.
 
If the DVD-A is not protected, can you use Media Player classic or other programs? The problem is with DVD-A, if you can record a sound at 24 bit 192kHz and you can play it back, then your card can support 192kHz, you just can't play a DVD-A at 192kHz because no suitable player is available.
 
thanks, I'll give a try whenever I can.

It seems that the Creative DVD-A player actually supports 192/24. I dowloaded the latest version, but I cannot make it run. Apparently, you need a Creative sound card to make it work...
 
The Creative player uses the MLP decoding hardware of Creative cards unlike PowerDVD/WinDVD which use a software codec, which makes all pertinent non-Creative cards incompatible.
 
Is there any other software player which supports 192/24?

WinDVD dropped DVD-A support from version 7 onwards.
PowerDVD supports 24/96 direct only.
Creative DVD-A **might** work, but I cannot test it.
 
phide said:
The Creative player uses the MLP decoding hardware of Creative cards unlike PowerDVD/WinDVD which use a software codec, which makes all pertinent non-Creative cards incompatible.
Click to expand...

QFT!
 
so, basically, if you don't have a Creative card then there's no way to test 192/24 files via software???
 
cirerita said:
so, basically, if you don't have a Creative card then there's no way to test 192/24 files via software???
Click to expand...
If you can find a 192/24 file that is not a DVD-A. Btw if you use this Winamp plugin, it can resample the sound to 192/24(not a true 192/24 source) and if your card can support it, you should hear a sound.
 
well, I downloaded Winamp and that plugin, and sure, it seems to work. An mp3 source is upsampled to 192/24 and I can hear the track with no distortion thru' the analogue output.

However, if I manually convert that mp3 track to a 192/24 wav (using dbpower) I get no sound at all. If I convert the mp3 track to 96/24 wav it plays fine, though. Weird, huh? Maybe the 192/24 conversion is no good, I don't know.

00051.png
 
more info: I converted a 96/24 wav file to 192/24 file with r8brain and it plays fine in Winamp (without resampling) and I definitely can hear the track over the analogue output.

I would say that the 192khz output is then ENABLED in the Theatron DTS. I wonder why it's being sold as 96/24 capable only???
 
alg7_munif said:
Either they disable it just for the Theatron or the Inferno can't do 192kHz as well. They look the same and they have the same manual, are they the same? Have you tried using another driver from other company? The Inferno has a lower quality OPAMPs compared to the b-Enspirer and the stock OPAMPs on the X-Meridian. Btw the same circuit board is not a coincidence, according to an e-mail replied to me from Auzentech before this:

Regarding the DAC, yes, we use the same DAC from Bluegears, but they are in different placement and that is the technology that Auzentech have. The placement of the DAC in the BlueGears board are far from the output and the other components. The BlueGears sound card is the same as the Sondigo sound card which is all supplied from the same Taiwanese company Formosa 21 which use the C-Media reference board for mass production.

We have engineered our board with difference DAC placement and additional component to produce better sound quality. An analog signal degrades the further it travels along a circuit. We enhance the quality all along the board. We use double layer PCB and many additional engineering technology involved in the design and development of our board.

BlueGears and Audiotrack Prodigy 7.1 uses the same JRC 4580 SMD type OPAMP. We use different vendor (AUK). The biggest advantage of our OPAMP would be that we are swappable.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Wow. That's empty market speak if I've ever seen it. DAC placement is "additional engineering technology"? Oh my....
 
JakCrow said:
Wow. That's empty market speak if I've ever seen it. DAC placement is "additional engineering technology"? Oh my....
Click to expand...
At least the sound is good and better compared to the other X-card. With DIY OPAMPs socket, the X-Meridian can be much better with much less risk of turning a sound card into an expensive paper weight and without even voiding the warranty. Why do some people really hate this card so much and some really love it so much. The trend is most people who hate the card have never heard the sound from the card and most people who love it are the people who already heard the sound.
 
cirerita said:
The Theatron OPAMPs cannot be upgraded, right? How can that be double-checked?
Click to expand...
The OPAMPs of the Theatron and other sound cards are soldered onto the board, the change them you need to have a good soldering skill but when you change them, to warranty would be void. On Auzentech's card, the OPAMPs can be changed without any soldering required, just take them out from their sockets and put in the new ones.
 
alg7_munif said:
At least the sound is good and better compared to the other X-card. With DIY OPAMPs socket, the X-Meridian can be much better with much less risk of turning a sound card into an expensive paper weight and without even voiding the warranty. Why do some people really hate this card so much and some really love it so much. The trend is most people who hate the card have never heard the sound from the card and most people who love it are the people who already heard the sound.
Click to expand...

I ended up going with the Bluegear's card because it was cheaper, so the only thing I hate about the X-Meridian is its price :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top