M-Audio Audiophile 2496 - Will it work with games??

  • Thread starter Thread starter ChezUK
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ChezUK

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I'm looking to buy a new soundcard for my PC, but I need digital inputs and decent sound quality.

The card will be used as part of my DJ setup, for recording and mixing purposes.

I only need 2 channel output (if I want to watch a DVD, I'd rather sit in my lounge!) and have been looking at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

What I need to know is whether I will be able to use this card for games/mp3 playback etc....

Thanks in advance
Chez
 
Sure you can use it for mp3 play back. And it can be used for games, sure. But it's stereo mind you, no real surround sound for games or dvds. And remember it doesn't have EAX or any of those fancy gaming things that the SB cards have.

But i believe it does work. Anyone else?
 
Thanks for your reply ambi.

I will only be using it in stereo (connected directly to a stereo power amp)

I assume mp3 and other audio formats will sound far better through this card than through an Audigy2, Terratec DMX or my onboard audio??

I don't need support for eax, as long as I get good quality stereo sound from my games (I'd rather have quality than quantity in this respect)
 
Well i've heard/assume yes it is a lot better.

My friend just got a delta 66, which i'm told is pretty much the same as the 2496 in terms of ad/da quality. He upgraded from a SB live and even through his cheapish Altec lansing multimedia speakers he said the sound was crazy, and he could hear things he couldn't hear before, and the bass was tightened up a lot.

So i'm guessing the difference on real monitors would be huge.

The audiophile is regarded as a "real" card amoung the audio folk and SB cards are looked down upon. And if you are using the AD/DA converters and recording things/sending them to other devices the quality is worth it. I have a 4.1 set of klipsch multimedia speakers at the moment, and when i get a new card (delta 44/66/1010), i'm planning on taking out my SB completely and just using the 2 front speakers of the klipsch, plus monitoring speakers.

But again i'm hoping someone with more direct experience will hop in and shed some more light for you.
 
ChezUK said:
Thanks for your reply ambi.
I assume mp3 and other audio formats will sound far better through this card than through an Audigy2, Terratec DMX or my onboard audio??
Click to expand...
Playback:
Onboard audio, depends (on board audio is really moving up)
Audigy2 - it'll either be a tad less, the same, or a tad better at playback.
Terratec DMX, no idea.

It's recording quality is where audiophile card will step above the others.

I'm a gamer as well, so I keep my Audigy card inside for games, 'cause EAX surround rocks! and I use my audigy for all other playback except home recording, which I use my Delta 44.
And my on-board audio is actually almost as good or better than my audigy (Asus A7N8X Deluxe board) (mixed reviews on the comparison, which is why I stick with the audigy unless I need two more free PCI slots).

If you're recording (which you are), get the audiophile.
 
Thanks guys, that clears things up quite a bit.

Does anyone know of any good UK suppliers (preferably online) for the audiophile??

Thanks
Chez
 
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