M-Audio Revolution 7.1 audio card $65 this week-good deal?

Thump553 · « **on:** 8 Apr 2003, 08:24 pm »

I'm not sure what circle to post this in, so if this is wrong, please forgive me. CompUSA has the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 audio card this week for $99.99 less a $35 mail in rebate, net cost $65. The online reviews I've seen of this card praise its audio qualities to the sky. Does anyone have any experience with it?

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Apr 2003, 10:19 pm »

Hi, Thump553. I moved this from the Digital Domain because maybe some geek here might be able to help you. I haven't heard of this card but I'm certainly no computer expert!

Are you thinking HTPC for DD/DTS for music?

Thump553 · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Apr 2003, 10:47 pm »

I don't have a home theater (wife factor insurmountable). But I do listen to a lot of music over my computer, either CDs or SHN format. I'm currently using a Turtlebeach Santa Cruz soundcard. I usually listen to Sennheiser 600 headphones plugged into a DIY CMOY headphone amp fed by the Santa Cruz. I'm happy with this setup, but was wondering if the Revolution would be a step up.

EchiDna · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Apr 2003, 11:43 pm »

Quote from: Thump553

I don't have a home theater (wife factor insurmountable). But I do listen to a lot of music over my computer, either CDs or SHN format. I'm currently using a Turtlebeach Santa Cruz soundcard. I usually listen to Sennheiser 600 headphones plugged into a DIY CMOY headphone amp fed by the Santa Cruz. I'm happy with this setup, but was wondering if the Revolution would be a step up.

I've got a revolution and it is great... however, never having heard the turtle beach, I can't comment on what is better in that comparison... I do have a Hercules Game Theatre XP though, and the REVO beats it hands down.
I'm using it for primarily 2 channel sound through my DIY AKSA 100 amp (see signature).
I realise that doesn't really help you, but for $65, sheesh, the added benefit of 24/192 should sell itself!

Woodsea · « **Reply #4 on:** 9 Apr 2003, 12:33 am »

I posted this deal on AVS forum yesterday...this card for all intensive purposes over there is the best deal under $250 for a HTPC. It does make gaming slower and not as driver friendly as Audigy's.

JoshK · « **Reply #5 on:** 9 Apr 2003, 12:51 am »

EchniDna,

Nice work on your AKSAs I've been meaning to say! Makes me want to stop everything and do a pair.

EchiDna · « **Reply #6 on:** 9 Apr 2003, 02:25 am »

Quote from: JoshK

EchniDna,

Nice work on your AKSAs I've been meaning to say! Makes me want to stop everything and do a pair.

Thanks

you can't go wrong with the AKSA kits, I went for overkill on the heatsinks so I can add another pair of channels in there in the future if I decide to... simple to build, even for a novice who can follow the very clear instructions. you only need to source transformers, a chassis and a bit of mains wire, the rest is included. damn good fun

All I need now is to get my HTPC fully operational and quiet...

Woodsea, just how much does it slow down gaming? Can you 'feel' it in gameplay or is it a case of bench mark scores falling 200 3Dmarks etc???A gamer using a recent video card in a 2ghz plus system with plenty of ram will never suffer any noticable difference between 3 and 5% cpu utilisation, even on the latest games at max resolution, it is all but impossible to hit 100% utilisation, and hence produce a bottleneck. Plus the audigy series cost a hell of a lot more than $65!!

Woodsea · « **Reply #7 on:** 9 Apr 2003, 01:16 pm »

I have no personal exp with it, but according to a recent review it averaged about 5fps slower...but that is definetly nitpicking. The reviewer really enjoyed the sound in Q3 better with this audio card in.

EchiDna · « **Reply #8 on:** 9 Apr 2003, 11:38 pm »

Quote from: Woodsea

I have no personal exp with it, but according to a recent review it averaged about 5fps slower...but that is definetly nitpicking. The reviewer really enjoyed the sound in Q3 better with this vid card in.

yeah thats what I thought... sigh... 5 fps... when on a decent video card you can get 180+ so that is like a 2% reduction in things that out eyes cannot even see...

personally I play the game more than look at my FPS

LAN · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Apr 2003, 10:51 pm »

I've had this card for a while. The sound quality is excellent. It's a good flat frequency response and is smooth (not harsh or metallic).

I don't game with it but did test it with them. Basically if you are going to use 3D surround sound (Directsound 3D), you'll get a frame rate hit. That hit could be a problem if your CPU is slow.

This is a great deal at that price point. Easily the best sound for the $$$.

Woodsea · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 Apr 2003, 10:53 pm »

Dead deal as of midnight 4/12

Thump553 · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Apr 2003, 02:59 pm »

Just a quick report back, even though that particular rebate deal is over. I did break down and buy the card, and am very impressed with it. It is a substantial improvement over my Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (which was a huge improvement over my Soundblaster Live!). It is extremely quiet and clear.

I listen to music over my computer using Sennheiser 600 headphones and a DIY headphone amp. Putting the M-Audio Revolution card in has, in my mind, pushed this setup over the line from good/decent into (the start, at least) of high quality playback.

I do some gaming (Diablo II) and haven't noticed any drawbacks.

One thing I don't like is you don't have the option to have a seperate audio cable from the CD reader to the audio card. The problem is that if I am using the other device on that IDE chain (a CDRW) I get occassional pauses in the output-I suspect the IDE chain is getting overloaded with data. As a practical matter, this means I don't listen to music over the computer when I'm burning CDs, which puts a cramp in my style.

Phat Phreddy · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 Apr 2003, 02:35 am »

The ommission of the CD link to soundcard is done on purpose so I understand...

When using a digital link (such as that) you are slaving the clock from the source... The clock is where you will get jitter and so the highest quality clock is important... The clocks that come in cheap PC CD and DVD drives are not usually of any serious quality at all so by using DAE for your audio it solves this issue and any SPDIF signals are clocked in the card (the final place in the output chain in the PC and hence the lowest jitter possible)...

I have no issues with DAE and multiple access over the IDE... Have you checked to make sure your IDE channel is set to DMA (pref Ultra DMA mode 5 IIRC) and has not dropped back to PIO mode etc due to bad disc reads... That could have a similar effect...

subhuman · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Jun 2003, 04:52 pm »

Phreddy's got it... most "pro" sound cards don't have that lo-fi consumer internal spdif connector - it'd be like dissing Wadia for not having 1/8" audio out jacks like your SB Live

I don't get any skips playing back from CDs even under intensive PCI/IDE traffic - I suspect you have your CD drive set to something other than DMA mode, or you're using a motherboard with a VIA chipset (and maybe updating to this week's drivers will fix it).