BSNES audio static
Moderator: General Mods
8dB difference for DACs (playback) is plenty,but the difference in the ADCs (recording) between the X-Fi Platinum and Elite Pro is much greater.Firon wrote:Not when your noise floor is already far too low to hear... It'd really only matter for recording.
I'd go for an E-MU (This is _not_ Creative,they were bought by Creative recently)
1212m is an older generation card by todays standards (= a professional variant using the Audigy 2 chip),but still one of the best out there,has better specs than the Auzentech X-Meridian,but without the extensive surround capabilities.
Creative cards use E-MU chipsets,but everything else on them sucks,while nothing sucks at all with E-MU Professional boards - it's like a night and day difference.Think of an E-MU card as if Auzentech designed a card based on Creative technology - a souped-up version of a Creative card with _none of the design flaws_ ,pro sound quality and rock-solid pro-oriented drivers.
I can't wait to see their upcoming next generation of cards
Imagine that X-Fi chip and X-RAM potential finally being used for good as a killer DSP,not that resampling and EAX crap Creative uses it for.
There is no SRC crap in E-MU cards.Various samplerates are supported natively.
Add some really killer converters an op-amps on top of that and you have a winner.
You may also try other excellent cards,like the latest M-Audio Audiophile card.Great value and top quality.No SRC crap at all.
Last edited by kick on Sun Jan 14, 2007 5:57 pm, edited 3 times in total.
I googled all cards mentioned here.
And indeed some of them kick the X-fi's ass when it comes to stereo, but none of them stand a chance against the X-fi for surround or gaming.
I read several reviews for the Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1.
There is no doubt that the audio quality for this card is outstanding, it does have some flaws though.
It doesnt seem to be able to directly decode dts/dd over spdif without additional software. And it cheats to get the 192khz rating (it seems to sample at 48khz and interpolate to 192khz), its not really noticable though when listening to music.
The final flaw is a CPU usage up to 40% with dtsconnect.
In my case the best card of choice for my gaming/media pc is still the X-Fi, however i wouldnt mind having the x-mer's dac's on my X-fi
And indeed some of them kick the X-fi's ass when it comes to stereo, but none of them stand a chance against the X-fi for surround or gaming.
I read several reviews for the Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1.
There is no doubt that the audio quality for this card is outstanding, it does have some flaws though.
It doesnt seem to be able to directly decode dts/dd over spdif without additional software. And it cheats to get the 192khz rating (it seems to sample at 48khz and interpolate to 192khz), its not really noticable though when listening to music.
The final flaw is a CPU usage up to 40% with dtsconnect.
In my case the best card of choice for my gaming/media pc is still the X-Fi, however i wouldnt mind having the x-mer's dac's on my X-fi
Post the review where it says it cheats to get 192kHz. The X-Meridian can do 24-bit 192kHz in 7.1 Channels (something that no X-FI card can do) in literally every review I have seen. Also, X-FI lacks DTS connect.tetsuo55 wrote:I googled all cards mentioned here.
And indeed some of them kick the X-fi's ass when it comes to stereo, but none of them stand a chance against the X-fi for surround or gaming.
I read several reviews for the Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1.
There is no doubt that the audio quality for this card is outstanding, it does have some flaws though.
It doesnt seem to be able to directly decode dts/dd over spdif without additional software. And it cheats to get the 192khz rating (it seems to sample at 48khz and interpolate to 192khz), its not really noticable though when listening to music.
The final flaw is a CPU usage up to 40% with dtsconnect.
In my case the best card of choice for my gaming/media pc is still the X-Fi, however i wouldnt mind having the x-mer's dac's on my X-fi
Edit: Typo
Last edited by Clements on Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Then,I think the very expensive X-Fi Elite Pro is the best solution for you (if you got the cash).The best of both worlds.
Who the #$%# needs 192kHz anyway? It's just a silly marketing trick with no benefit at all. Actually,sound quality is even worse at 192kHz than at 96kHz.That's for all currently availabe soundcards.Google a bit for sound quality tests at 192kHz and you'll see.
Also,did you know that X-Fi cards also "cheat" to get higher samplerates? During processing,the X-Fi splits the sound into "bands" of 48kHz,processes each band separately and then merges those bands to form an Nx48kHz stream (48,96 or 192kHz)
It doesn't output 'true' 96kHz like the Audigy2 series,for example.
Many criticize the X-Fi cards because of this.
Who the #$%# needs 192kHz anyway? It's just a silly marketing trick with no benefit at all. Actually,sound quality is even worse at 192kHz than at 96kHz.That's for all currently availabe soundcards.Google a bit for sound quality tests at 192kHz and you'll see.
Also,did you know that X-Fi cards also "cheat" to get higher samplerates? During processing,the X-Fi splits the sound into "bands" of 48kHz,processes each band separately and then merges those bands to form an Nx48kHz stream (48,96 or 192kHz)
It doesn't output 'true' 96kHz like the Audigy2 series,for example.
Many criticize the X-Fi cards because of this.
Last edited by kick on Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:01 pm, edited 7 times in total.
I went for the platinum because i cannot afford the elite pro, and i personnally do not use dtsconnect or dolby live because i use my pc as the reciever(which i why i need on the fly decoding of dts and ac3 over spdif)
here is the link to the cheat > http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound/399/9/
If the Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 did on the fly decoding of dts and ac3 over spdif and used less CPU i would definately try to get one to replace my x-fi
here is the link to the cheat > http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound/399/9/
If the Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 did on the fly decoding of dts and ac3 over spdif and used less CPU i would definately try to get one to replace my x-fi
Okay i finished my research.
I will be comparing the X-fi elite pro with the X-meridian because the other cards dont do 7.1.
X-fi
pros
-Does hardware decoding of all dolby and dts modes(except the new hddvd and bluray ones)
-Has better support in games
-Lower CPU usage
Cons
-Natively works at 48khz and uses SRC for all other frequencies (error rate is below -130db and thus not hearable for human beings.)
X-Meridian
pros
-Best analogue outputs available on any 7.1 card.
-After replacing op-amps sound quality can be better than some pro recievers.
-Cheaper than the X-fi
cons
-Natively works at 48khz and uses SRC for all other frequencies (error rate is below -130db and thus not hearable for human beings.)
-All decoding works in software, no hardware decoding of any kind (even the ddlive and dtsconnect is done by the cpu not the soundcard)
- Distortion is common if volume is set above 75% in windows (this is a big problem as winxp uses an SRC method that is even worse to that in the the audigy4 series to lower the output volume, only 100% volume is bit perfect output)
Conclusion.
The X-meridian is the card of choice for those who do all their decoding in software and only use the pc for music and movies, and have the card hooked up directly to the amps or speakers, dont get this card for the digital out.
The X-fi Elite Pro is the card of choice for those who need or want the card to do hardware decoding of audio streams and play games.
Basically the best card would be the X-fi with the board design and parts of the X-meridian.
------
I hope the next generation of cards will combine these great features, the whole SRC thing cannot be avoided and is even used in studios when creating the audio tracks (although their SRC hardware uses timing delays instead of resampling). Vista is using a new SRC system for the volume control that will solve a lot of problems and has also moved the distortion to -130db, and again if you leave the volume slider at 100% SRC will be disabled like in winxp.
I will be comparing the X-fi elite pro with the X-meridian because the other cards dont do 7.1.
X-fi
pros
-Does hardware decoding of all dolby and dts modes(except the new hddvd and bluray ones)
-Has better support in games
-Lower CPU usage
Cons
-Natively works at 48khz and uses SRC for all other frequencies (error rate is below -130db and thus not hearable for human beings.)
X-Meridian
pros
-Best analogue outputs available on any 7.1 card.
-After replacing op-amps sound quality can be better than some pro recievers.
-Cheaper than the X-fi
cons
-Natively works at 48khz and uses SRC for all other frequencies (error rate is below -130db and thus not hearable for human beings.)
-All decoding works in software, no hardware decoding of any kind (even the ddlive and dtsconnect is done by the cpu not the soundcard)
- Distortion is common if volume is set above 75% in windows (this is a big problem as winxp uses an SRC method that is even worse to that in the the audigy4 series to lower the output volume, only 100% volume is bit perfect output)
Conclusion.
The X-meridian is the card of choice for those who do all their decoding in software and only use the pc for music and movies, and have the card hooked up directly to the amps or speakers, dont get this card for the digital out.
The X-fi Elite Pro is the card of choice for those who need or want the card to do hardware decoding of audio streams and play games.
Basically the best card would be the X-fi with the board design and parts of the X-meridian.
------
I hope the next generation of cards will combine these great features, the whole SRC thing cannot be avoided and is even used in studios when creating the audio tracks (although their SRC hardware uses timing delays instead of resampling). Vista is using a new SRC system for the volume control that will solve a lot of problems and has also moved the distortion to -130db, and again if you leave the volume slider at 100% SRC will be disabled like in winxp.
Here's a good read:
http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=119630
Feature comparison (XM7.1 vs. X-Fi):
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/auz ... idian2.php
The Auzentech Meridian 7.1 is fantastic as an audiophile/HTPC card.
It may be not that good for gaming (if hardware processing and EAX is all that important to you,the X-Fi is still your best choice for gaming).
If you go for sound quality though,the X-Meridian beats even the X-Fi Elite Pro,hands down.
Take that,Creative!
I'd go for the X-Meridian.
http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=119630
Feature comparison (XM7.1 vs. X-Fi):
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/auz ... idian2.php
The Auzentech Meridian 7.1 is fantastic as an audiophile/HTPC card.
It may be not that good for gaming (if hardware processing and EAX is all that important to you,the X-Fi is still your best choice for gaming).
If you go for sound quality though,the X-Meridian beats even the X-Fi Elite Pro,hands down.
Take that,Creative!
I'd go for the X-Meridian.
Yeah if you replace the op-amps the x-meridian is unbeatable and compares to high end receivers in sound quality.
the feature index chart on the driverheaven review is completely wrong though. (the one about DD and DTS modes)
I hope Auzentech releases a x-meridian 2 that actually decodes all the DD and DTS modem in hardware so they wont strain the cpu and force me to buy or download decoders for all the different codecs.
To get back on topic though.
An Auzentech Meridian 7.1 with LM4562s opamps seems to currently be the best soundcard for console emulation (considering some consoles support more than 2 channels and emulation creates the sounds in software anyway)
the feature index chart on the driverheaven review is completely wrong though. (the one about DD and DTS modes)
I hope Auzentech releases a x-meridian 2 that actually decodes all the DD and DTS modem in hardware so they wont strain the cpu and force me to buy or download decoders for all the different codecs.
To get back on topic though.
An Auzentech Meridian 7.1 with LM4562s opamps seems to currently be the best soundcard for console emulation (considering some consoles support more than 2 channels and emulation creates the sounds in software anyway)