[rgathright]

I am tired of trying to get the onboard audio working that came with my A7N8X MB the way I want it to work. So I need a sound card that has either toslink or coaxial inputs and outputs. It does not need to have a DD5.1 decoder. My A/V receiver will do that for me. I will be connecting my satellite audio to this card. I know that a lot of members like the Revo, but I do not think it has the inputs I want. Also there are a lot of cards that have the DD5.1 decoder built in, but I do not need that either. I also think the Creative Audigy Platinum 2 is overkill for what I need the card to do.


M-Audio has a lot of them, but I do not know anything about them.


Any ideas???

 

[thomaspf]

I am using the M-audio DIO24/96 with good success. This card automatically defaults to setting the professional bit in the S/PDIF bit streams. You should make sure you receiver can live with that.


Cheers


Thomas

 

[rgathright]

thomaspf


The M-Audio DiO is one of the ones I have been looking at. How do I check to see if my A/V Receiver will work with this card.

 

[dchao]

Would Herculas Fortissimo III 7.1 fit your requirement?

 

[rgathright]

dchao


This has only a digital (toslink) output. I want an input and an output.


Thanks anyway.

 

[rgathright]

Does anyone have the Delta 410 or any of the TerraTec brands?

 

[kromkamp]

Zoltrix Nightingale Pro 6 or aopen aw850d for a low-cost solution.


Andy K.

 

[shokunin]

Quote:

Originally posted by rgathright Also there are a lot of cards that have the DD5.1 decoder built in, but I do need that either.

Really? I thought it was the other way around, the SB Audigy being the only one that I'm aware of. Most of the soundcards people are using have absolutely no hardware DD decoding capabilities. While anything coming from an internal DVD player is going through software decoding.


I'm looking for a card with DD decoding capabilities, but haven't been too lucky (besides Creative SB Audigy). My other choice is to use AC3filter

 

[The Machine]

Sound Blaster Extigy. Was on sale at CompUSA for $149-$50mail in - $20 instant rebate. I think the sale ended yesterday though.

 

[rgathright]

shokunin - I meant to say I do not need the DD5.1 decoder, being my receiver does it.


The Machine - Is this card completely external?

 

[The Machine]

Quote:

Originally posted by rgathright shokunin - I meant to say I do not need the DD5.1 decoder, being my receiver does it. The Machine - Is this card completely external?

Yes. Connects via USB.

 

[tsteves]

As far as the Maudio cards go, Delta's are more for if you need analog I/O, although some support Digital as well. The Delta Dio 2496 is Digital only, but with both Toslink and coax digital I/O. The Audiophile has Digital I/O (coax only) but also stereo I/O.

It sounds to me like out of the Maudio's, the Dio 2496 or Audiophile would do what you want for the lowest price. Music stores sometimes have them fairly cheap. I've used three different Maudio cards for HTPC, and they sound very nice.

I haven't tried the Zoltrix, aopen aw850d, TerraTec, Sound Blaster, etc.

For higher end cards, the RME and Lynx seem very highly thought of, see thread

I've been using the digital I/O on my P4G8X MB lately, but I feel like I'm missing something.

 

[rgathright]

By being connected via USB does it affect the quality of sound vs being connecting by PCI?

 

[The Machine]

Quote:

Originally posted by rgathright By being connected via USB does it affect the quality of sound vs being connecting by PCI?

I wouldn't think so. Pick one up at a local store and be careful to not damage the box when opening it. If it does not suit your needs take it back.

 

[rgathright]

OK, I have narrowed my choices to these three cards. I would like to get some input from some members that actually have these cards.


1) M-Audio Delta Dio ($189) Have read mostly positive comments.

2) Sound Blaster ($130) Some negative comments along with the positives. Will be easier on the install, being it is exterior via USB.

3) TerraTec Aureon Sky ($130) Not very comments at all. It sounds like a good card, but would like some firsthand comments.


Thanks

 

[rgathright]

Does anyone know about the Zoltrix Nightingale Pro? It is only $40 and it has the digital input and output.

 

[kromkamp]

Doesnt the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 have SPDIF input? Its cheaper, better, and you dont need to deal with the Professional SPDIF bit issue.


Andy K.

 

[rgathright]

kromkamp

I was not able to see what type of connections this card had with the cables. Do you know if it has either a coaxial or toslink inputs and outputs?


What are the professional spdif bit issues with the DiO?

 

[tsteves]

I think you can get around the "Proffesional" thing with the Delta Dio by saving your settings as default or to some other name. This worked with the Delta 66 in any case. Every now and then things might tend to reset themselves, but you can easily just load your saved settings.

The Audiophile has analog stereo I/O, Digital SPDIF (coax) I/O and midi I/O. No Toslink I/O though, so if you need this you'll need a converter or to get the Dio instead.

 

[SIMJEDI]

I've recommended this peice of hardware many times as it seems to be the simplest thing that I have seen so far. No software to worry about (if you have Win98SE and up) and seems pretty future proof. It has it's faults but if all you are worrying about is input then it seems pretty fair looking.
http://www.zipworld.com.au/~wyse/awedomain/ua1d.html

Also read the other reviews at the bottom of the page.