Best sound card for music playback

[Stargazer78]

I need perfect sound quality for my music listening festish on my PC.

I have quite a budged (up to 500$), so the first thing i did i went to look for professional cards.

However, most of these little babies are geared towards recording and are designed to work on recording devices.

For instance, i was going to get this card :

http://www.rme-audio.de/english/hammer/d9636.htm

For 380$ sounded like a good deal.

However, with optical ADAT i/o, s/pdif and coaxial i/o 'only', lack of internal amplification, and a missing CD player internal connector ( i think) , this little bastard can basically be used only for recording throught a pre-amp and a bunch of other professional crap i don't need (though i'm also willing to buy .

I mean, i've been playing guitar for 6 month. Perhaps in 1 year the card recording capabilities will come in handy, but for now i just need to be able to play music at the greatest quality possible.

BTW, i don't play games, so i have no use for a consumer card either (such as audigy or turtle beatch)...

 

[Woody419]

What speakers are you hooking up? You won't get audiophile quality out of any speakers made for a pc, the goal of manufacturers is price, not performance. I like my Z560's, but they are not in the same league as my living room speakers. The consumer cards you don't want to have great sound, but are limited by the amplification and speakers. Go for high quality stereo, for $500 get a used NAD from eBay, pair it with some good little speakers and enjoy. Or for the best sound bypass the computer completely for listening to music, add a standalone cd player to the NAD, and don't use the stock cables either, Audioquest, Straight Wire, & Monster Cable make some great gear.

 

[Krye]

I'll reinforce what Woody419 said. If you really really *really* want to spend that kind of cash for a playback fidelity surpassing "consumer cards" then you should invest in a stereo/speakers. Get yourself a mp3/cd player and burn your 256kbps (or higher if you like) MP3s to cd and listen away.

Now if you just want to make your listening pleasure on your PC the best it can be, get a turble beach santa cruz, and the best home stereo setup you can afford and hook up your stereo around your PC. I've seen it done, heard it done, and yes, I'll admit that it even sounds better than my Klisph ProMedia v2.400s.

 

[NesuD]

I'll third that. But if it has to be pc based i also vote for the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and running through a good quality home stereo reciever and speakers.

 

[pukemon]

well unless you're willing to buy pro audio recording gear, for the most part, audio on computers will kind of suck. i have to agree with everyone else in that if you want high quality audio for listening purposes, buy yourself a nice stereo receiver and speakers; they will provide for a maximum listening experience. on a computer you may achieve accurate (flat response) sound out of a high quality studio monitors (many seem to like Mackie 824s for around $1200) using high quality external AD/DA convertors but those will cost up in the thousands of dollars range.

 

[Stargazer78]

Perhaps i should give more informations.

I already have a 3000$ system on my living room, with DVD player, widescreen TV and all that.

I don't feel like buying that all over again

My PC situation is different. My room is petty small, i usually use headphones and even with speakers i don't need immense power.

All i need is 'sound quality', pure, crystal clear, perfect quality sound.

I also own a Santa Cruz (along with a Audigy 1 which, IMO, sounds better, at least as far as classical is concerned), and no, i need better then that

The recording capability of a professional card would also come in handy in the future, so i sort of need those as well, just not for the moment...

 

[Strych9]

Have a look at M-Audio cards. I have a Delta 410 in my HTPC and it's very nice.

 

[Woody419]

If you already have good cans, then you should invest in a good headphone amp for pristine crystal clear sound. The amps that use DC current, either batteries or a converter will give the best sound.

Headphone amps are also a small project, so you could start with a little research and either build your own or get a good used one from eBay.

 

[Auric]

You shan't get good sound out of an amplified soundcard, nor with headphones plugged into one without amplification. So use any bargain-bin card with digital output (or one of the ones you already have) and hook it up an external decoder and amplifier (or HT receiver) which you can plug the headphones into and also drive the speakers from. You can get a hella nice setup for a lot less than you were going to spend on that soundcard. If you aren't going to do any recording for a year, then wait to get a different soundcard until then as you will get more bang for your rupee.

 

[Stargazer78]

M-Audio is good, but then again, RME is better

An headphone amp is also great, of course (only way to use any of these cards in anycase).

Of course, the output must be perfect to begin with, or else is all null.

Frankly, i was going to get something like this :

http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/omnistud.php

But then i figure i could get a better card and save on a mixer for later...

 

[Dug]

I don't know too much about cd playback but from what I understand-

The M-Audio Revolution with analog out, using Winamp and a plugin that allows you to bypass the Windows upsampling so you can get true 44khz out....

You can't get much better than this on a PC, Unless you want to really plug down the cash for more... with minimal returns.
But when you spend more than the Revolution then you need to start building a room specifically for sound, making sure you have the right humidity, planets are aligned, etc..

 

[Stargazer78]

"You can't get much better than this on a PC"

I'm not sure, the Turtle Beatch was defenatly a improvement over my old Live.

I even tried a Audiophile 2496 and sounds ever better, i figured the higher you go the better it would be, but perhaps i can just keep the Tutle Beatch for now and buy it all once i can start recording...

 

[Dug]

The difference between a sblive and a turtle beach
is the same as a turtle beach and the revolution.

 

[ravedave]

tech-report has a great article on sound cards...
best sound card review ever

http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2003q1/soundcards/index.x?pg=1

 

[Stargazer78]

Interesting article, albiet the focus were mostly games.

I wonder, how would a terracec compare to a pro audio card as far as sound quality is concerned ?!?