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: Qualitative Analysis
For our qualitative audio analysis, we would like to stress again that listening to analog outputs on PC audio cards is a very subjective and difficult task. Digital should be used where possible, but the majority of people still run analog. And so the quality of analog output is still of the utmost importance.
-- 16-bit/44.1kHz/2-Channel Test: The Mangroves Live at Tir na Nog
This recording was done using a DigiDesign ProTools LE Digi 002 setup on a G5 at a local bar in Raleigh. Though the 1 room + 2 vox + 5 instrument mic setup (for a three piece indi/rock band) left a little to be desired, and the mix down was less than stellar, this gig makes an excellent test track. On the Gina3G and Intel solutions, it's easy to separate the noise and the music, but on the Audigy 2, the audience sounded a little smashed into the band. This problem wasn't as bad on the Audigy 4, but the crowd noise on the other cards seemed a little less muddy and thick. It's likely that any 44.1kHz audio source with a lot of high end will produce a muddled low end on Audigy cards because of the poor IMD at high frequencies. Just because we can't hear the high fequencies that are interfering doesn't mean that we can't hear the product of their interferance.
-- 24-bit/96kHz/6-Channel Test: Creative Labs Demo DVD-Audio
It was hard to decide on what media to choose, so we just pulled a track that we liked from the Creative sample disk. We went with Mannheim Steamroller - Leonardo from their American Gramaphone album. The track fits their normal eclectic style and mixes intricate rhythms with walking melodies. The synth harpsichord on drums is quite interesting. We used PowerDVD to play back the DVD-Audio on all 4 cards, and didn't have any problems. The voicing was clear all around, and try as we might, we couldn't discern one card from another. If we really cranked the volume to painful levels, we could hear some noise on the Intel solution. Unfortunately, there is no way to play DVD-Audio out over a digital connection to a receiver. This makes the analog signal quality of the card of the highest importance if DVD-Audio listening is going to be performed on the PC.
-- DVD-Video Tests: The Matrix / Dream Theatre Live at Budokan
We wanted to test a movie and a live audio performance with our DVD test. The Matrix is always fun to watch, so we just couldn't help popping that one in. And who's better live than Dream Theater? OK, so that may be totally subjective, but they at least create a lot of sound, and being a drummer, it's hard not to want to sit and listen to Mike Portnoy for multiple hours. Both The Matrix and Dream Theater Live at Budokan took full advantage of our 5.1 surround system, though we preferred listening to Dream Theatre using the higher quality headphones in stereo while watching. And so, we listened both ways on each card just to cover the bases.
And what do you know, but we just couldn't find favor with any of these cards. Each did as good of a job as the last playing back these higher quality audio streams.
The only discernable differences in our listening tests came in at 16-bit/44.1kHz on the Audigy series of cards. Tying it back to RMAA, we can point to the poor IMD performance. On a design level, some sites point out that this problem could stem from the fact that the creative DSP is locked at 16-bit/48kHz, and 44.1 is not an even multiple of 48 (as 96 and 192 are). This odd multiple resampling could be causing the issues, but that seems likely only if the DSP were enabled (some EAX/EQ/filtering turned on). In our RMAA tests and during playback, we made sure to disable these features, so this shouldn't have been a factor.
It is possible to have your favorite media player upsample your 44.1kHz media up to 48kHz, which would cause less problems than forcing a native 48kHz device to operate at 44.1kHz. Check the help files for resampling options.
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DerekWilson - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
Sorry for the confusion guys,We had originally just picked on card from each end of the market (onboard, addin, pro) and then decided that we needed to do both the audigy 2 and 4 because they're so similar. It's really meant to be an intro piece on sound and a look at an example of each market segment.
We certainly weren't trying to be all inclusive, and we do want your feedback. These cards will be our "comparison point" cards in each market segment. When we look at onboards solutions, we'll talk about how it compares to the ALC880, and on the Pro side, we'll match up the Gina3G with whatever we're looking at.
And when we do a targeted review as for proaudio we will absolutely spend time setting up a workstation and running some latency tests and we'll talk about asio/gsif support more in depth.
We will be reviewing more sound cards :-)
We didn't want to review all of them at once and spoil the fun though. :-D
MarkM - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
I second #5's request -- esp concerning the onboard, which is more relevant for most new builds>on board nvidia audio would be interesting as well as an older sb live 5.1 card for reference
LoneWolf15 - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
Not a single card based on the VIA Envy24 setup...no M-Audio Revolution, no Terratec, no Chaintech AV-710 (all Envy24-based)...I can't believe Anandtech left one of the largest enthusiast chipsets out of the roundup. There's just not enough representation here of available solutions to make a good comparison, it's either Intel or Creative, and Intel isn't an option for AMD users.If you're going to make onboard comparisons, why not (even if it's a poor solution) add the ALC850 found on most Socket 754/939 boards, seeing as AMD users can't exactly get Intel/Azalia HD audio?
hondaman - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
More cards please!!! Soundstorm, older audigy/Live and m-audio sure would have made this article a whole lot better, as thats what a lot of people are using.bob661 - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
If mid-range cards are an order of magnitude better in objective sound tests than onboard solutions, I might actually go back to buying sound cards.I would like to reaquest testing the onboard Realtek's on the Athlon64 motherboards. I would be interested in seeing how they perform compared to mid-range and high-end sound cards.
EddNog - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
Yep; gotta' have at least a halfway decent setup, from head to tail. I'm pretty happy with my setup:foobar2000 kernel streaming FLAC/Monkey's Audio to
Echo Audio Mia MIDI with sample rate locked to 44.1, out via 75ohm impedance silver coax S/PDIF to
Onkyo TX-SR501, out via silver cabling to
a pair of Paradigm Studio/20 Rev. 3 sitting on
Atlantis Reference stands
"I'm lovin' it."
-Ed
OrSin - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
Most people are not gaming with 800 sound cards.I would be suprised if gamers are using $100 sound cards. When people list out thier RIGS 8 out 10 don't even lsit thier sound card. And the other 2 have $100 or less cards. I'm all for a review of $200+ cards but almost all are not using them for gaming.
Also in order to hear better sound from $100+ card you need a better and better speak system. Not just speaker, but a good in home setup. I threw down $1000 on a speak system and it sound ok. WhenI had my friend come over and setup it up right. It sounded great. It more then just buying them and plugging them in. It take a lot to get a quailty setup. High end sound cards only will not do it, so for some it just not worth going beyond a $100 card.
Araemo - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
[Self-serving]Could we get an onboard audio review for the Soundstorm on the Abit NF7-S v2? ;P[/self-serving]
Seriously though, good review.. but I'd like to know where my current system stands.
And does anybody know how much "THX Certified" is worth? I have logitech Z-2200s connected to my nForce onboard right now(My Audigy developed an odd crackling noise during gameplay that I couldn't get rid of.)
yodel - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
YellowWing - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
What about AC3 digital encode? The next PC I build will be a HTPC, and digital encode for a single connection to my receiver is of great importance. I doubt if any of the sound systems analog sections would be used.What is the overhead of the digital encode? Does it slow a frame rate or not seem to matter?
Can you hear the difference between the digital and analog output with a good home theater setup?