Audiophile 2496 sounds just like SBLive!

[rec guy]

I just bought the M-Audio Audiophile 2496, hoping to get better sound
than my Sound Blaster Live. Audiophile is 24 bit, 96 khz. SB is 16
bit, 44.1 khz. In Audobe Audition, I try recording the exact same
thing (a short piano piece) on each card for a back-to-back
comparison, but both recordings sound the same. I have a basic
understanding of bit depth and sample rate, but I don't know how the
bit depth and sample rate of my sound card relates to the BD and SR
that I set my recording session to, and what occurs if I then convert
the BD and SR. So could it have something to do with those settings?
Please let me know, in plain English, when I will be able to hear the
difference between different BD's and SR's, and between these two
sound cards. So much rave about the Audiphile cards, and negativity
towards Sound Blaster, and I can't hear the difference!

 

[christiaan]

Well, it also depends on what you send into the soundcard (tell us what you use).
It also depends on what you use for monitoring (tell us what you use).

What struck me most was the difference in noiselevels when I went from an sblive to an audiophile. The sblive is a coffeegrinder compared to the ap.

 

[rec guy]

I use a tascam portastudio 424 as my mixer and an atr30 mic. Speakers are a 5.1 by Cambridge Soundworks. But I use the same equipment each time I record; I only change which sound card I use, and it sounds the same everytime. I have heard that I won't notice a difference till I record more tracks; could this be true?

 

[gordone]

I'm not too familiar with your mic/mixer, but I think the problem may be with your front-end (mics/mixers). They are not feeding your soundcard with the best signal, so you may not notice too much of a different when you upgrade the soundcard. I bet if you upgrade your mics/mixer/pre-amp, you'll notice a difference. I've been using the Delta 44 for years and it sounds great. I feed it with Soundelux/Neumann mics going into a Great River pre-amp.

Remember - Your chain is only as strong as the weakest link!