SOUND CARD QUESTION... AGAIN

[smellyfuzz]

Hi Everybody,

Assuming I'm willing to spend $50.00 to $100.00 on a sound card,

can anyone tell me what makes one sound card better then another ?

I have been considering a Monster, Sound Blaster, or maybe a Turtle Beach

but how do I choose a sound card by the specs?

What is considered good sample rate or signal to noise ratio ?

What the f... is all this bit crap?

I mean when one looks at a S.C. box, they will see a bit for everything...

High Performance 32 bit PCI Subsystem control logic
16-bit stereo full-duplex Codec with fixed 48K sampling rate
16-bit full-duplex for concurrent recording and playback
16-bit ISA slot
On-board 24-bit Motorola 56301 DSP
24-bit 96kHz balanced inputs and outputs
24-bit 128x oversampling digital-to-analog converters


Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[ola]

One soundcard is better than another if it fulfills both these criteria:

1. It sounds better
2. It is better suited for your needs

A good sample rate is 44.1kHz, as that is supported by many audio devices. CD players for example An even better one is 96kHz or perhaps a gazillion but rule #2 from above applies here as well. if you only have support for 96kHz, you cannot make CDs.

You don't select a soundcard by the specs - you select it by reviews and preferrably listening to it.


I hope you didn't find all this on one soundcard box

>High Performance 32 bit PCI Subsystem control logic

Uhm, no idea. Maybe just a fancy word for "fits in a PCI slot"

>16-bit stereo full-duplex Codec with fixed 48K sampling rate

The card supports only 16bit/48kHz (CD tracks are 16/44.1) but can record and play at the same time. SB Live!, right?

>16-bit full-duplex for concurrent recording and playback

As above but the sample rate isn't mentioned. Full-duplex simply means that you can record and play sounds at the same time.

>16-bit ISA slot

The card fits in a so called ISA slot. Most, but not all nowadays, motherboards have ISA slots. This card is of old design and you can get something a lot better.

>On-board 24-bit Motorola 56301 DSP

A more serious Audio card with a so called DSP chip, which helps the computer with calculating effects such as reverb and compression.

>24-bit 96kHz balanced inputs and outputs

Now were talking. This card supports the highest resolution on sound files (used by DVD for example) and the line inputs are balanced, which helps in reducing noise that can be added when you are using long cables. This does not cost $50-$100

>24-bit 128x oversampling digital-to-analog converters

The output supports 24-bit sound files.



Search the net for more elaborate explanations of "bit depth", "sample rate", oversampling" etc. The best way to learn is to do your homework. If you want advice on which cards to consider, we need to know more of your needs. However, $50-$100 is rather limiting.

/Ola