Audigy 2: best solution for audio capture?

[ride159]

I've seen some positive reviews of the Audigy 2 and its overall numbers, but I can't find any information on how well this card performs audio capture (which is most important for me).

Anyone know how well this card does with audio capture, or more importantly, a better audio capture solution?

I am currently using cheap onboard AC 97 that leaves some quality to be desired.

Thanks.

[kaitsuburi]

Required reading here (http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=7941) :cool:

That thread got me started on looking for a quality soundcard. I have the Terratec DMX Fire 2496 now and it's absolutely awesome! Get some quality cans (around-the-ear headphones) and I guarantee you'll be amazed. Capture is a breeze, you have a user-friendly interface, a wealth of options and the quality is great. You can read a good comparison of the Terratec and Audigy here (http://www6.tomshardware.com/video/20020115/terratec-04.html).

The Head-Fi thread above also mentions the Izotope Ozone Plugin (http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/tryozonewinamp.html) for Winamp. I purchased it 2 years ago, even before I read that thread. It absolutely rocks -- try it out!

-kaitsuburi

[Xayd]

You would be much better served with one of the low-end M-Audio cards than an Audigy 2, such as the Delta 24/96.

It'll cost you about the same amount of money, but it has alot more recording options and will give you better quality than the Creative card will.

The catch is the M-Audio delta cards don't support Direct-X, so you'll need your on-board sound still for games and such, but you shouldn't have any significant problems running 2 sound cards in the same PC, you'll just have to specify which apps use which card.

BTW those prices in the above thread are a bit dated, the 24/96 cards are now 149 dollars shipped from http://www.newegg.com for those in the states.

The 410 and 1010 cards are in the 200 to 300 dollar range for those that need more analog ins and outs.

[kaitsuburi]

One more reason I love my Terratec 24/96 -- it's got good support for other things than audiophile activities, i.e. gaming etc. Something that M-Audio has been lacking, hence necessitating 2 sound cards.

I got my Terratec DMX6 Fire 24/96 for about $200 here in Japan about 6 months ago; I'm sure prices in the US are lower.

-kaitsuburi

[ride159]

Thanks for the responses, either of those 24/96 cards should do the job nicely.

[Xayd]

I just clicked through a few links and wow, the DMX 6Fire is a great buy now.

I remember looking at this card when it was reviewed on Tom's Hardware awhile back but it was almost 500 dollars, which was a big turnoff obviously ;). Looks like it's down in the 225 dollar range now, though, which would be great for someone considering an Audigy 2-priced card or higher.

[Swan]

Originally posted by kaitsuburi
You can read a good comparison of the Terratec and Audigy here (http://www6.tomshardware.com/video/20020115/terratec-04.html).

kaitsuburi, the review on Tom's Hardware Guide is from January 15, 2002 and refers to Soundblaster Audigy Platinum version 1.
The Audigy Platinum 2 does have 24 bits/ 96 kHz capability for recording. This is from (http://www.americas.creative.com/products/product.asp?product=472&category=461&maincategory=461).
"Sound Blaster® Audigy™ 2 Platinum gives you the ability to record audio at an amazing 24-bit/96kHz quality"

I have version 1 of the Audigy and am very happy with it.
The Firewire connectors came in handy when I got a ADVC-100 (Analog to digital DV capturing device) and the remote is nice too.

I can't say that I have had any problems with it in the 1 1/2 years I've used it.
I capture (record) audio, mainly from vinyl and create CDs and have never had any reason to complain about quality.
A audiophile musician may want a more professional card, but I'm more than happy with the Audigy Platinum.

[kaitsuburi]

Originally posted by Swan
kaitsuburi, the review on Tom's Hardware Guide is from January 15, 2002 and refers to Soundblaster Audigy Platinum version 1.


Yep, it's quite an old review. The specs on the Audigy 2 are nice, and I'm sure the quality/stability is great too. It's just that I've been hanging around audiophile communities on the web quite a bit and that I happen to be a little bit of a headphone maniac myself that swayed me towards the Terratec card (it has a very high quality headphone output).

So it really depends on what you need/expect from your soundcard, as Swan implies. It's my impression that most audiophiles (I could probably call myself an amateur one :D heh) would favor Terratec over Creative; not because there is something majorly problematic with the latter, but because they care about the filtered turntable input, the built-in headphone amp or the ASIO interface on the former -- not really crucial if you just need to do high quality capture.

Can't go wrong either way, I think, especially since both the Audigy 2 and DMX 6Fire are in the same price range.

-kaitsuburi

[Swan]

maniac myself that swayed me towards the Terratec card (it has a very high quality headphone output).

Now that's a important annoyance I had with the Audigy 1, I forgot to mention it, kaitsuburi.
It has a headphone jack and a volume control in the front bay, but the volume from it is not powerful enough to run my AKG K240 headphones (yes, I am a headphone freak too) at the volumes I want.
I have hooked up the output from the headphone jack to a separate amp for maximum pleasure. :)
Perhaps this has changed in the Audigy 2. Let's hope so.

Is using studio headphones like the K240 (not the type that comes with Walkman's and Mp3 players, the Audigy 1 has no problems with that) is possible from the headphone jack in the Terratec?

[kaitsuburi]

The impedance on the AKG K240 is 55 Ohms, if I am not mistaken, so I think the DMX 6Fire will have no problem driving them to quite a high volume. I have been using Audio Technica A1000 (40 Ohms) and Sennheiser HD280Pro (64 Ohms) on the headphone out and I have never turned the volume more than half way (it's already unbearably loud at that point). I have briefly tried the Sennheiser 600 (300 Ohms, notoriously hard to drive) and even they were running loud enough.

Comparing the specs of the Terratec here (http://www.audiomidi.com/common/cfm/product.cfm?Product_ID=1868) (the Terratec site is not accessible right now), and the Audigy 2 here (http://www.soundblaster.com/products/audigy2/specs.asp), I noticed that nothing is mentioned about amplification on the headphone out for the Audigy 2, whereas for the Terratec it is quoted to have "60mW output power" on the headphone out. I am not sure what that would imply for how many Ohms of impedance the headphone out can take, but IMHO it is quite powerful and it sounds great :D

-kaitsuburi

[Swan]

kaitsuburi, thanks a bunch for the interesting info.
According to the label on my AKG's the impedance is 600 ohms.:eek:
These are the ones I have http://www2.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,15,id,429,pid,429,_language,EN.html

[kaitsuburi]

Originally posted by Swan

According to the label on my AKG's the impedance is 600 ohms.:eek:


Wow! That's twice the impedance of the Sennheiser 600!! Most probably, you'd need a dedicated amp to hear the best of them. I am suddenly not so sure the headphone out of the DMX 6Fire could drive them to full potential...

-kaitsuburi