Any old sound card?

[Al]

Hi all.

 

Some of you will remember my recent thread about getting a Mac, but im also considering the PC route.

 

In short, I wonder what the consensus is as to whether it is worth spending much on a soundcard with the AVI ADM9.1s, or if any old card with an optical connection will do, as the speakers will be handling the conversion to analogue?

 

As a slight aside, what do people think of getting a motherboard with an optical connection?

 

Soundcards im considering are:

 

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio - aprox £45 GBP

Asus Xonar D1 7.1 Soundcard - aprox £55 GBP

Asus Xonar DX - aprox £60 GBP

Asus Xonar Essence STX - aprox £145 GBP

 

I'm not sure the prices are really relevant but there you go. I think its worth mentioning I cant really stomach the idea of something like a Lynx right now.

 

[Al]

read on here about the [email protected] card which seems to promise bit perfect output to the DAC. However, it has a coax out and not an optical out. While i have a coax lead and a coax-optical adaptor, i was hoping to eliminate them from the chain this time around.

 

Also, ive seen no mention of this card with Win7.

 

[Al]

I mean, you wouldnt want me making a dreadful mistake would you?

 

[Audio_ELF]

A quick look at ESI's website shows...

The ESI [email protected] has a optical connection as well as the electrical (co-ax) Digital connection.
The ESI [email protected]'s optical connection is limited to 24/96 (co-ax supports 24/192)
ESI have support for Windows 7

 

My personal thoughts would be to look at either a motherboard with Optical output, or use the ESI [email protected] But that's a gut reaction rather than anything scientific. You could also consider the ESI Maya44 which is limited to 24/96 on both digital connections.

 

Eloise

 

[Al]

Thanks Eloise.

 

[Al]

assuming i play nothing higher quality than CD rips, and i set the [email protected] to the relevant sample rate, would the DAC in my speakers re-sample the audio again, and render the [email protected] pointless?

 

Also - would i need to change the rate manually if playing something hi res for example? This probably wont matter, but its worth checking.

 

[ramagochi]

Hello,

 

Try with a old RME Digi96/8 PST or PAD, is very easy find it in eBay at nice price (100 Euro +/-).

 

http://cgi.ebay.es/RME-DIGI96-8-PAD-Audiokarte-Analog-I-O-ADAT-I-O_W0QQitemZ110488910737QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDE_Technik_Computerzubehör_Multimedia?hash=item19b9a6fb91#ht_971wt_1167

 

[Al]

That link isnt quite working for me. is that the US eBay?

 

[ramagochi]

No, is Austria

 

ebay link

 

 

 

[Al]

Thanks.

 

[Al]

mixer has had its way with my music? How does it know what sample rate to use?

 

[bixby]

Another decent card is the E-mu 0404 pci card. About $75 used on ebay and has optical and spdif coax out. Gets the bits to your dac just fine. software Interface is a bit hard to learn though.

 

[Al]

bixby.