Winter Audio Reference: On-Board, Consumer, and Pro Solutions
by Derek Wilson on February 3, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
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Audio Quality: RightMark Audio Analyzer 24/96
We've already discussed that RightMark is only as good an analysis tool as the equipment on which it is run. Thus, it does a good job of presenting an overall picture of input and output. If a device shorts itself on input capabilities while maintaining good output, however, its ability test high will fall short. This pushes manufacturers to produce balanced products in order to see good RightMark scores in reviews, but also skews reviews against products that have good output, poor recording, and only use a loopback test.
The other issue that we've run into when testing with RightMark is that when using loopback, input and output grounds are not separated sometimes. This means that running line-out to line-in on the same card can add a ground loop and distort numbers artificially. We could avoid this if we had high quality transformers to build a circuit where we could isolate one side from another. Unfortunately, we don't have the components to build anything of high enough quality on hand. Furthermore, any component that we put between the input and the output of the card would affect the signal and, thus, the test.
In most cases, we can get a good enough picture using loopback, even in situations where a ground loop is created. But we've decided to run one test in a two-card setup in order to get a better picture of what's going on. This gives us a better idea of how things stack up without distorting the picture artificially. In this case, the Intel solution is not capable of recording 24-bit audio, so we set up the Gina3G to record the Intel solution at 24/96 on a separate computer. All other tests were run using loopback. As the Intel and Gina3G solutions were required to loopback to the same physical device, there is the possibility that a ground loop could have raised the average noise slightly.
For our first test, the Audigy 4 is obviously the top card in terms of noise and dynamic range. The Audigy 2 comes in second. The Gina3G wins out in the swept IMD test with its very flat response. We are sad to see that the Intel solution performed so poorly here.
| Test | Echo Audio Gina3G | SB Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro | SB Audigy 4 Pro | Intel HD Audio |
| Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: | +0.01, -0.10 | +0.02, -0.10 | +0.02, -0.09 | +0.14, -0.22 |
| Noise level, dB (A): | -102.8 | -107.1 | -109.6 | -82.2 |
| Dynamic range, dB (A): | 102.7 | 106.8 | 108.9 | 82.5 |
| THD, %: | 0.0054 | 0.0014 | 0.0019 | 0.0030 |
| IMD, %: | 0.0062 | 0.0019 | 0.0023 | 0.025 |
| Stereo crosstalk, dB: | -102.8 | -102.4 | -108.6 | -76.2 |
Frequency response
Noise level
Dynamic range
THD + Noise (at -3 dB FS)
Intermodulation distortion
Stereo crosstalk
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SkillS - Friday, June 13, 2008 - link
Pleas Do not review audio cards here,your knowledge of the subject is highly limited,
your testing methods with adapters for christ sake are more then questionable,
your pairing of pro audio cards with "demands" like EAX are laughable ,
and it all leads to one thing - Confusing Buyers,
Please stop this nonsense.
Stick to something you DO have a clue about.
NEVERwinter - Monday, April 11, 2005 - link
so..., where's the roundup?I'd like to see these cards (compared to those already in the article):
envy24 (terratec DMX xfire 24/96)
envy24ht (terratec aureon universe, audiotrak prodigy 7.1, m-audio revolution 7.1)
realtek alc850 onboard
nvidia nf2 soundstorm
turtle beach santa cruz?
lynx, emu, motu and digi002 is also a good addition
by the way, i read somewhere that revolution 5.1 has better DAC than revo 7.1. is that true?
flachschippe - Thursday, March 10, 2005 - link
That should be "head-related *transfer* function" (HRTF), not "head-related transform function". The transfer function of a signal-transferring system is the reaction of the system's output signal to an impulse input signal.S0me1X - Saturday, February 5, 2005 - link
#83For the pure digital out card, go with AV710 because it can be flashed with Prodigy 7.1 firmware. Then you can install Prodigy 7.1 drivers (which are much better than Via's OEM drivers). This gives bit-perfect digital out for only $25.
Note that the AV710 only supports digital out via Toslink. So if your receiver does not accept toslink, then EMU0404 is the only choice.
Link to AV710 on newegg
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?desc...
Link to info about flashing to Prodigy firmware
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=75...
The AV710 has decent 2 channel analog out (in high res mode), but the EMU0404/1212 better.
DerekWilson - Saturday, February 5, 2005 - link
Disdain for 2 channel?I actually mentioned that I prefered listening to the dream theatre dvd in 2 channel ... i prefer all music listening in 2 channel actually ...
There are not many good 2 channel 24/192kHz DVD-Audio offerings out there ... does anyone have any good suggestions? Most of the stuff I like is mixed into 6 channel. Which just feels wrong for anything but techno or orchestral stuff that tries to put you at the prime listening point of a music hall or something.
Also, note I used rather nice 2 channel headphones while the sonic quality of my surround solution was no where near as good. It was more to test compatibility.
We are certainly open to suggestions on what and how to test to better suit our readers though :-)
Derek Wilson
sparky001 - Saturday, February 5, 2005 - link
#70 - S0me1XThanks for the comment on what I should use. I thought I should clarify. I need two seperate PC's (HTPC's) one is for my room and needs analog out. The other is for a the lounge room and will use digital out into an Onkyo 701 reciever.
What cards should I use for this?
#80.
Correct I would like to see the reviews a little more accomodating to 2 channel audio. All CD's are stereo and they are still the dominant format.
Maleficus - Saturday, February 5, 2005 - link
CSMR - Saturday, February 5, 2005 - link
Everyone's asking for so many things to be reviewed. It makes more sense IMO to do a general article on how to get good sound from a PC. Something for beginners, like the excellent articles on taking pictures which have appeared recently. PC audio is really quite simple; but you won't know how it works without digging for information.Gooberslot - Saturday, February 5, 2005 - link
I'd like to see the AV-710 and the Revo 5.1 reviewed. That emu 0404 doesn't look too bad either.I do wish the reviewer didn't have such disdain for 2.x solutions. Not everyone has room or money for a surround sound system.
LocutusX - Friday, February 4, 2005 - link
For those of you with Audigy 2's who want to get the highest quality possible from 44.1KHz sources - you don't necessarily need to spend the $$$ buying a new sound card.Instead, configure either Foobar or Winamp to resample to 48KHz in the output plugin. Both have versions of the high quality "SSRC" plugin available. For Winamp, you need to search for DirectSound 2.0 with SSRC output plugin. There is also an ASIO plugin with built-in SSRC resampling. The results of ABX double-blind tests seem to suggest that going this route is an effective substitution for one of the better Non-Resampling cards...