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  • Sound card recommendation

    As I'm going to buy a new computer as usual there are many decisions what to buy.
    And as always I'd like to keep a price on the reasonable level, whatever it means
    I am a bit outdated what sound card I should choose so maybe anyone here has any experiences.
    I only focus on two parameters: quality of the sound and good drivers which work without problems.
    And of course no sky rocket price.
    I don't care of 7.1, 5.1, any games sound effects, etc.
    Frankly speaking I need sound card mainly for audio editing and similar use.
    Any help is much appreciated.
    Thanx
    Last edited by Craig Maier; 12-07-2020, 01:19 PM.

  • #2
    Probably one question that will arise is this: Is it for a workstation computer or for a laptop.

    Craig
    "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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    • #3
      Yes, I forgot to mension it is workstation.
      And of course internal sound card, not USB connected.

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      • #4
        ric29,


        Good question regarding an A to D and D to A converter. In my Music Handbook (available on this web site), I gave some general answers and included engineering considerations. Let me describe some of the equipment that I have used.

        1. Sound Blaster Card. At first (15 years ago) I used a sound blaster module that seemed to be O.K. After some experiments I found that the 96 kHz rate was not really performed, rather it was "simulated" in software. The company ran into some trouble over this and changed to an actual sampling method later on.
        2. When I bought a "fancy" custom audio system from Tracertek about 10 years ago, they had a Realtek chip set that is on the Asus mother board. My lab measurements on the converters showed that the sample rates were correct and the signal to noise value was O.K.
        3. Currently, I am in the process of upgrading my 10 year old system. The change from Windows 7 to 10 caused the Realtek drivers and others on the Asus motherboard to not work and instead generic Microsoft drivers are now in place. The system, though, does work.
        4. I have tried a Focusrite Converter that is USB powered and have mixed results. An external USB device is very useful, but the USB device's driver and the Windows driver do not seem to communicate with each other.

        So, one lesson is that in today's world of tech, you can be obsolete real fast so spend the time to learn as much as you can about how the hardware and software works.

        I would recommend that if you want a new system, the Realtek integrated chips on the motherboard seem to work O.K. However, the best approach is to dig into the various audio products and learn about them and the needed software drivers for communication. This is what I am doing now.

        Marc

        Marc

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        • #5
          Tracer Technologies (a Distributor of Diamond Cut Software products) recommends the following for people who need an external sound card:

          https://www.tracertek.com/index.php?...-usb-soundcard

          Craig
          "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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          • #6
            Marc, huge thanx for these comments and information.
            Frankly speaking, I haven't thought abot chips on the motherboard. I have to take a deeper look at this solution.
            Thanx again

            Thanx for the link Craig. Anyway I prefer internal solution instead of another USB connection bit I have to say it looks interesting.

            Thanx again guys

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            • #7
              Let us know what you decide to purchase.

              Craig
              "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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              • #8
                Based on few hours of investigation and deep analyse of technical details, drivers, etc. I've considered two sound cards as worth of buying: Asus XONAR Essence STX II and Sound Blaster Audigy RX
                Every card has pros and cons so it is a bit difficult to make the right choice. I hope to find the answer in few days.

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                • #9
                  Let us know the final decision and how your choice works.

                  Craig
                  "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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                  • #10
                    After two months of deep testing I can say Sound Blaster Audigy RX is the right choice.
                    Rock solid drivers with the smooth installation, the quality of the sound is excellent and no problem so far.
                    Every audio software I use including players work correctly with this card without any issues.
                    My DCForensics has got a new breath
                    One comment is necessary - I have used not original drvers from Creative but widely available drivers modified by experienced user without all not needed bloated software - just clean drivers.
                    So in case anyone who will look for a good and stable internal soundcard for the reasonable price I can strongly recommend SB Audigy RX as a good solution.

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                    • #11
                      Thanks for the feedback; it is greatly appreciated.
                      "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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                      • #12
                        ric29,

                        Can you provide any info on the clean driver you used ?

                        Marc

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                        • #13
                          ric29,

                          If you check out my post #6 in DCart10 forum under A to D converter you may find a better sound solution then a chip set on the motherboard or PCI bus.

                          Marc

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                          • #14
                            Marc, I have used drivers called SB Audigy Series Support Pack 6.2 by Daniel_K which can be found in many places in the net.
                            Here is author's blog site http://danielkawakami.blogspot.com/2...t-pack-62.html
                            Few months later still works like a charm.
                            And thanx for the information

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                            • #15
                              ric29 - are those SB drivers compatible with WDM / Direct X?

                              Craig
                              "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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