Recommended Audio/Video Cards
? on: April 14, 2009, 07:25:56 AM ?
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hi, all!
i thought this might be a good idea, cause most of us are using their computer to listen to their music. some are already owning a BDA-1, SP1...SP2 and some will get a SP3. so these units deserve good audio/video sources, right?! and it could be useful for everyone who has in mind to create his own computer.
so far i found two cards that could be interesting:
-Auzentech X-fi hometheater HD 7.1 with HDMI 1.3a, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD.
- ESI Juli@ with balanced ins and outs (analog), good for AC3 and DTS, playback and recording at 44.1, 96 and 192 khz.
i haven't tried them. but reading the specs they promise good results.
al 
Are you looking for 5.1 or 7.1 playback of audio? If not I would suggest a used RME sound card as has been suggested. For 2 channel playback it is a happy medium between sound quality and cost. Has ASIO native support, DTS passthrough and the drivers are stable. Another that I tried was the Audiotrak 7.1 HiFi which also has native ASIO support. Unless you have a surround processor I would not think the SQ would be that good with the on-board DACS of the card for surround sound playback.
On another note: Slysoft will be providing a free HD player that will bitstream HD audio for FREE!!!! There will be no need for the HDMI connection the day it is released. Of all the forums I frequent, there have been nothing but bottlenecks in the process for most with HD audio output. I've owned both Power DVD and TMT, they both were a pain in the a&&. Slysoft will allow HD bitstreaming on XP, Vista, and Win7 in the near future. Some say that the time and expense of HD audio is not worth the effort as the SQ is not as great a difference as expected.
I have the SRC from mega nerd, using ASIO @ 88.2 sample rate to my Tri Vista 21 and Like it. Sound card is RME 9652, with BNC terminations and a true 75ohm cable. Foobar .083 is my preference for audio playback. Another to try is Cic's Player which uses the SRC from Mega nerd or SOX for sample rate conversion. I believe the SNR for both SOX and SRC are greater than 145db.
There is no specialized software for 192k sampling other than the DAC chipset supporting this rate as well as driver implementation support. Audiotrak 7.1 Hi Fi supports 192k sample rate and the RME only supports 96k. Foobar will support whatever sample rate per the ASIO drivers as well as Cplay.
For the highest and most accurate video playback I found the MadVR 10 has been the best. You can download it at Doom9/software players. If you are not savvy about filter priorities, you may struggle as it requires YV12 output to the renderer. MPC-HC has support for MadVR at this time. I'm sure Mr. Mad can chime in here as I see him occasionally at AVS in the CRT forum. With MadVR and anyDVD running this has the best software PQ of all players I have tried.
HDMI will be obsolete when Slyplayer is released. Double your money by folding it in half and sticking it in your pocket. I commend them for their excellent products that relieves me of RIAA/industry constraints for fair use. Please note that I refer to Slysoft for HD audio from Blueray/HdDVD Playback only. For Hi Res downloads from HDtracks etc., None of this matters for playback other than the soundcard, DAC chip-set, and driver support.
Just my.02
MAK
