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Getting High-Quality Audio From a PC
audiophile writes "Just because it's a PC doesn't mean it can't output good-sounding audio. In the same vein as specialty A/V products, you can find PC-based A/V systems with extensive audio processing and step-up performance specifications, including Signal-to-Noise ratio, which can make a significant difference when using the analog outputs. Media center manufacturer Niveus shares tips for getting high-quality audio from a PC."
Isn't that how it usually goes?
Cheers,
Xyst
FP??
Audio should not be done inside a PC. Well, not the analog portion, anyway. Ever looked at anything inside a PC with an oscilloscope? The noise environment is awful. You should not be trying to clean up the power the PC provides to the point you can use it for analog work; it's just not worth it. Especially when you'll just get hit by all the radiated EMI inside the case.
The solution? Simple -- ship the data out digitally and do the analog work elsewhere. Fortunately this has become very easy, with S/PDIF and the availability of good amplifiers with digital inputs. Amplifier power supplies are designed to be clean, and there aren't high current noisy loads on them -- they're designed for analog work. I have a fully digital amplifier from Panasonic that I'm very happy with. (Fully digital meaning all the way to the output FETs -- it does a delta-sigma pulse density modulation directly on the output signal, which turns out to be a very low noise, inexpensive way to get high quality output.)
Come on! Didn't some editor read it before posting it to Slashdot front page? This is nothing but advertisement for their A/V product line, and their summary is ridiculous. I will spare you people the trouble to read it in TFA:
And, look at this pearl:
I rest my case. Anyone advocating WMA lossless codec (specially to Slashdot target audience) is not worth your time. Nothing to see here, move along.
audiophile writes "Just because it's a PC doesn't mean it can't output good-sounding audio.
Why would anyone even think that? Just because you have a processor that can perform gigaflops you'd think you can't output good quality sound? The only reason such a perception would exist is to get so-called audiophiles to spend more on garbage that doesn't make a difference to sound quality but they can pretend it does.
For proof, just look at this $1200 Power Cable . How stupid does one have to be to spend $1200 on a power cable. What do you think conducts the power from the breaker box to the wall outlet? Why would someone build a $3000+ amp and not properly condition the power inside the power supply?
I miss the old Sound Blaster 16s. They were pretty decent cards. I still have a couple of them around, but the lack of ISA slots in most machines is keeping them out of service. My mp3 playback computer uses an old Diamond Monster Sound MX300 (Vortex2) card, and its pretty awesome. Old, but awesome.
Given the proliferation of MP3 as a standard audio format, I wonder how many people actually care about high quality audio?
[Insert pithy quote here]
Just because it's a PC doesn't mean it can't output good-sounding audio.
I guess it didn't occur to him that virtually all audio today is recorded and edited using some form of computer, whether Mac or PC. The statement above is really rather pointless.
Three Squirrels
Everything they make is a piece of crap.
If you want a really good soundcard that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and is about as "audiophile" as you can possibly achieve with a wintel PC, then look no further than an M-Audio Audiophile 192
That's why you need better systems...and add some volume. Of course, this perpetuates the 'cycle' till all hearing is lost.
I find it nice however, that someone IS talking about the merits of building for good sound reproduction!! It seems that so many of the past couple generations have grown up with no knowing what good sound or home stereo can be like...possibly due to growing up listening only to lossy sound files, many that are often poorly ripped if downloaded for free off the 'net. I guess if you've never listened to anything but portable players with earbuds (although good ones CAN be bought for a pretty good $$)..or only listen to music in a car (worst listening environment evar)...you wouldn't know what good sound CAN be...and wouldn't know that you could/should be discerning about how you reproduce it.
ON the other hand...possibly newer music popular today, has a lot to do with it. When I hear kids cars coming down the street, with the trunk literally about to vibrate open with massive subs blowing...I wonder if there is no midrange or treble in the song at all....? I mean, ALL you can hear is the thump of the bass...are there no other instruments out there today? Heck, all you hear in more rock today is a drop D guitar drone....
I like a good riff as much as anyone...but, music needs some balance, melody...something in the other tone frequencies. I guess if the music is missing all these 'colors'....maybe you don't need to have an interest in higher quality sound reproduction...if there is nothing there to reproduce.
[ramble mode off]
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
When I built my home theater system 2 years ago, I decided to invest in a professional audio card.d &name=News&file=article&sid=7 ]
[For example, after reading buyers reviews and critics, I settled on the Terratec phase 28. http://audioen.terratec.net/modules.php?op=modloa
Its output is directly connected to my Hi-Fi amplifier (no pre-amp).
The only thing to be careful about with such a setup is to not shut down your PC (reset/reboot is fine) while your amp is still on.
Investing in a high grade sound card is the same as investing in a good amplifier or speakers : you are likely to use it for a long time (unlike a graphics card for example).
I think you just outlined the reason Bose is successful...
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While your ability to hear deteriorates with age, your ability to listen tends to increase, and you have more data in your brain for comparison, to know when something isn't quite right. When you're 18 and volume and bass is what counts, you might not notice that the high hat sounds like broken glass and the xylophone appears to move between the speakers depending on the note played. You might even think it's supposed to be that way. When you're older, you might be more critical and less accepting of flaws, even if you can't hear all the flaws.
Anyhow, I think the OP should have mentioned that this article is about audio for *AV*, and not pure audio. There's a vast difference between that and pure audio. While a movie can sound awesome with a bunch of small satellites and a sub, that will never do for, say, a recording of a symphony orchestra, where you know the timpani and double bass players aren't sitting on top of each other. Yes, bass at high volume (like in a movie) isn't very easily positioned, but at lower volumes, it's very noticeable. Likewise, when listening to a church organ, you can hear where the different pipes are. They don't move around, depending on the quality and frequency range of 7 different speakers. And when you listen to an AV system, you never play with the volume way down -- you're really only interested in accuracy at high volumes, quite unlike with high end audio.
While I don't dispute the fact that a noisy car environment limits the effective S/N, your computation of 95dB - 60dB = 35dB isn't necessarily true since we can detect audio signals that are under the noise floor. This is especially true for rhythmic and tonal sounds. The effective noise floor is more like 45-55 dB which, while not great, is at least noticeably better than a S/N of 35 dB.
Carry on