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jeffslife
Joined: 17 Apr 2010
Posts: 4181
Location: ohio usa
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 Link Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 5:37 pm Post subject: What is an affordable GOOD sound card? |
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I talked my wife into ripping all of her thousands of CD's onto her computer and after a couple years she finally got it done. They are ripped in WAV lossless format using the best quality recording possible. She has complained that the CD player still sounds better than the music on the computer. She's right. So what would be a reasonablly priced sound card? All I want it do to is play CD music to output to her stereo. She has a desktop PC with Windows 7. Any help is appreciated.
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Jeremy112
Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 2645
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
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| Link Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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I've always used Creative labs brand sound cards. Their Audigy series mostly.
That series is now out of date, but the card still rocks compared to lowly built in or cheapo cards. I would go with a Sound Blaser X-FI if you want a better card with a good price.
I haven't ripped anything with my card, but I have it setup to output 24-bit 96khz, the sound is exquisite from it, and a better card is usually loaded with features (much like a preamplifier for a stereo)
Cannot go wrong on better sound for the PC, it's usually the most over-looked thing in a computer, people expect their new PCs to have good sound without even questioning it... 
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Jeremy112
Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 2645
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
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| Link Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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Also, when you rip your music, rip it in FLAC for lossless audio, MP3 is lossy, and yes I don't care if you're ripping them in 320kbps it will still sound worse than flac.
Use shark codec to make flac compatible with all windows functions.
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jeffslife
Joined: 17 Apr 2010
Posts: 4181
Location: ohio usa
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| Link Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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I didnt see flac as an option to rip with. She was using Windows Media Player. It ripped in WAV lossless format. She also wanted to be able to burn a cd to put in the jeep and stuff and WAV just made sense. I thought WAV would be an exact copy of the CD. She has spent a couple years copying her discs. I cant tell her to start over.
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Jeremy112
Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 2645
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
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| Link Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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Wav is a bloated lossless format, inferior to FLAC, flac wont be an option because its not native to windows.
with Shark Codec, VLC Media player, and IMG burn, you can do everything you want in a professional format, if she wants her audio files to sound like the CD's then this is the best way to go.
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fuchs
Joined: 27 Jun 2012
Posts: 153
Location: the NL
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| Link Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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| jeffslife wrote: | | I thought WAV would be an exact copy of the CD. |
it is. If the CD was ripped properly. Which is a different discussion.
The quality of the Digital->Analog chips on the sound card will be a major factor in what you actually hear.
I've decided years ago that a cheap Denon DAC, would give me pretty good sound quality for little money. I bought it for the DVD-player originally, but in the meanwhile I've also connected my computer to that DAC. So they both benefit from the reasonable soundchip in the DAC that is actually making the analog audio.
I have a super-cheap $10 CMedia sound card with digital outputs, that does not resample (this is crucial, it should not resample). Sounds great. The analog outputs of the card are not used at all.
If you don't need to connect multiple devices, a reasonable soundcard would be the simple option.
Probably anything would sound better than on-board audio
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Link Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Jeremy112 wrote: | | Wav is a bloated lossless format, inferior to FLAC, flac wont be an option because its not native to windows. |
There is nothing "inferior" about wav other than that it's uncompressed, so significantly larger. It's infinitely more portable however, as WAV is supported much universally.
| Jeremy112 wrote: | | with Shark Codec, VLC Media player, and IMG burn, you can do everything you want in a professional format, if she wants her audio files to sound like the CD's then this is the best way to go. |
Or, she could just leave them all in WAV, because if it was ripped properly, that should also sound like the CDs. I am curious why you'd call FLAC "professional". FLAC is primarily a hobbyist/audiophile format. Some boutique content owners and now quite a few manufacturers are supporting it, but I don't see why you'd call FLAC "professional" as though somehow WAV isn't.
I wouldn't have ripped to WAV, either - but the ship sailed. It's done. Fortunately, it can easily be batch-converted to anything else Jeff or his wife might want to make, from MP3's for the car, FLAC if you want to go that way.
SC
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jeffslife
Joined: 17 Apr 2010
Posts: 4181
Location: ohio usa
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| Link Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:16 am Post subject: |
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She used WMP to rip all her CD's. I dont know how it could be done improperly. MP3 is out, she wont use it. I just want what she has to sound as good as possible without busting the bank.
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Jeremy112
Joined: 28 Sep 2006
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Location: Fond du Lac, WI
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| Link Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:20 am Post subject: |
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All 3 programs I mentioned are free. It is worth the little bit of time to get familiar with them and use the format. Flac is a direct rip of the track on the disc, bit for bit. You won't get any closer other than getting it from the master at the recording studio
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Jeremy112
Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 2645
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
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| Link Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:24 am Post subject: |
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| ecrabb wrote: | | Jeremy112 wrote: | | Wav is a bloated lossless format, inferior to FLAC, flac wont be an option because its not native to windows. |
There is nothing "inferior" about wav other than that it's uncompressed, so significantly larger. It's infinitely more portable however, as WAV is supported much universally.
| Jeremy112 wrote: | | with Shark Codec, VLC Media player, and IMG burn, you can do everything you want in a professional format, if she wants her audio files to sound like the CD's then this is the best way to go. |
Or, she could just leave them all in WAV, because if it was ripped properly, that should also sound like the CDs. I am curious why you'd call FLAC "professional". FLAC is primarily a hobbyist/audiophile format. Some boutique content owners and now quite a few manufacturers are supporting it, but I don't see why you'd call FLAC "professional" as though somehow WAV isn't.
I wouldn't have ripped to WAV, either - but the ship sailed. It's done. Fortunately, it can easily be batch-converted to anything else Jeff or his wife might want to make, from MP3's for the car, FLAC if you want to go that way.
SC |
I don't know anyone who uses .WAV files for anything. Its just merely more universal due to the fact its a Microsoft codec built into windows.
As I said in my above post, flac is worth the bit of time and effort it takes to get familiar with it. I've been using it for almost 3 years and I wouldn't switch to anything else.
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Link Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 3:19 am Post subject: |
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| Jeremy112 wrote: | | Flac is a direct rip of the track on the disc, bit for bit. |
So is WAV.
| Jeremy112 wrote: | | You won't get any closer other than getting it from the master at the recording studio |
Assuming the disc was ripped correctly, you can rip to WAV or rip to FLAC, and the two files will both be bit-for-bit and play back identically. Most recording software on the PC records to WAV files, so technically that's a little closer to the master at the recording studio.
| Jeremy112 wrote: | | I don't know anyone who uses .WAV files for anything. Its just merely more universal due to the fact its a Microsoft codec built into windows. |
You must not know anybody who does any recording. Most people doing any low- to mid-range audio recording and production are recording to WAV on a PC. They often record to WAV, downmix to WAV, then convert to a distribution format, whether MP3, ALC, FLAC, etc.
| Jeremy112 wrote: | | As I said in my above post, flac is worth the bit of time and effort it takes to get familiar with it. I've been using it for almost 3 years and I wouldn't switch to anything else. |
I have nothing against FLAC. It's fine. But neither is there anything wrong with WAV. Assuming the same ripping method, the two will play back exactly the same, the WAV files will just be larger. They're both LPCM, and no difference from sound quality standpoint.
The only significant advantage to FLAC besides file size, is that like mp3 or mp4 containers, the file supports metadata and cover art. WAV does not.
That said, there is no reason that Jeff couldn't batch-convert all the ripping that his wife did, from WAV to FLAC, and there is probably some software he could use to scan the library and fetch metadata and cover art.
Now, to get back to Jeff's original question...
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ecrabb
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Joined: 13 Mar 2006
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Location: Utah
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| Link Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 3:39 am Post subject: |
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What I'd suggest is getting the analog-to-digital conversion the hell out of the noisy interior of the computer. None of the hifi guys are using internal sound cards anymore. Even on desktops, they've all gone to external DACs, mostly USB, and with great success. The nice thing about a USB DAC is that you can grab it and put it on another computer, whether desktop or laptop.
If I were looking for a very low-budget USB DAC, I'd probably try one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/HiFimeDIY-Sabre-ES9023-TE7022-COAX/dp/B00BQKEVKS
It's supposedly amazing for the money. It uses the same ESS 96/24 DAC chip that's used in some much more expensive standalone DACs, i.e. $500+.
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fragzero
Joined: 30 Aug 2012
Posts: 344
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| Link Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 9:16 am Post subject: |
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Take a look at head-fi.org, a huge international forum about headphones but also a lot of info about PC audio.
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RayN999
Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 207
Location: Minneapolis, MN
TV/Projector: Sony VPL-VW60 and Toshiba 65H84 CRT RPTV
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| Link Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 2:13 am Post subject: |
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For around $99, there's the Schiit Modi, seems to get decent reviews and is a DAC I'm considering myself to feed the T-amp driving the Stax SR-5/SRD-7 setup I have here. There's another inexpensive Chinese CM6631A DAC on eBay for around $59 that I'm looking into as well. That's the same chip used in the Schiit, but either should sound a bit better than the laptop audio out.
Ray
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SisterOfMercy
Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Posts: 155
Location: Zwart Nazareth, The Netherlands
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| Link Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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| jeffslife wrote: | | She used WMP to rip all her CD's. I dont know how it could be done improperly. |
Well, using WMP to rip CD's is doing it improperly - by default 
Exact Audio Copy is the way to go. Either code them into a lossless format like flac, or keep them in wav files. Be sure to keep the files gapless, conversion should not add empty space.
Then play with a good player, either via an USB audio card (preferably only a USB to digital interface), or through an cmedia 8738-alike card with dogberts cmediadrivers: http://code.google.com/p/cmediadrivers/
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akajester
Joined: 09 Jul 2008
Posts: 934
Location: Wisconsin
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| Link Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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I just bought an asus xonar dx, which is a pci express card with 7.1 analog outputs. It was $50 shipped on ebay. I've heard good things about them.
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CasetheCorvetteman
Joined: 09 Nov 2008
Posts: 6319
Location: Australia
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| Link Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 1:48 am Post subject: |
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| akajester wrote: | | I just bought an asus xonar dx, which is a pci express card with 7.1 analog outputs. It was $50 shipped on ebay. I've heard good things about them. |
Been using the XONAR DX for a few years now, HUGE step up from anything Creative ive ever used, i had an X-Fi that came with a mobo ( PCI-E card included, not onboard ) and i wasnt overly impressed.
I always used CD-EX to rip music to MP3 format, sound was perfect.
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thewolfman
Joined: 28 Mar 2011
Posts: 1311
Location: Sweden
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| Link Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 2:39 am Post subject: |
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I to am about to buy a new sound card, but the more I read about it the more confused I get. I soon will get a 11.2 Yamaha RX-V3067 in dec along with the rest of the speakers from a guy I gotten to know. The hazel with shipping full range speakers by car has gotten me 5 out of the 11 so far. He lives quite a long away from me so the next shipment will be in like nov/dec.
Anyways.. the problem that has gotten my attention is the fact that 7.1 is not supported via S/pdif that I use for 5.1 now. And I doubt that my upcoming receiver will handle 72Hz @ 816p via HDMI from the PC then routed back to the pj. It could, but than I would have to go back to 1080p @ 60Hz again and that I wont do. So that leaves me with some problems to solve..
In order to keep 72Hz via HDMI to my pj, I thought of buying a new graphics card that has 3 HDMI outlets: One for the image to my pj, the second only for sound to the receiver and the third for my monitor. All receiving the same movie at the same time, could that work? HDMI supports uncompressed 7.1 surround sound so like that idea. The XBMC handles the sound processing automatically so should send out the proper DTS/Dolby Digital that I want.
If I go with a new sound card, like below, it says very little if It can handle DTS-HD, only Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect. If I knew it handled DTS-HD I would go for that solution. Even if it means having 7 analog RCA across the room under a rug.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/pre-cebit-asus-hdmi-crazy-launch-triple-hdmi-input-capture-card,4870.html
Sorry for hi-jacking the thread a little.
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CasetheCorvetteman
Joined: 09 Nov 2008
Posts: 6319
Location: Australia
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| Link Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 5:50 am Post subject: |
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If youre getting a new video card youll do ok with a GTX 760, HDMI out, 2x DVI and a Display port out. You wont need anything else, the DVI outs are the same for video as HDMI.
And yep, itll work, that is how i do it.
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fragzero
Joined: 30 Aug 2012
Posts: 344
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| Link Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 7:19 am Post subject: |
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Hmm i can try this tonight, on my main pc i have a 2560x1440 monitor which i run at 72hz and a cable to our DLP projector in the livingroom so i have the setup. I'll disconnect the projector and see what happens!
HD7950 + catalyst 3.10 Beta.
I'll let you know!
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