Audigy2 or Extigy or some other 24-bit sound card?
April 8, 2004 8:41 PM Subscribe
Audigy2 or Extigy? Don't have a big budget, but if I find a bargin I'd really like to improve my listening experience. This would be for a laptop. Also, any other 24bit external sound cards out there? I know there's a prosumer level pcmcia card called Indigo, but it's outa my range.
The Audigy 2 is internal, so you couldn't use it for a sound card anyway. The Extigy is the external model, but its selling point in the EAX 3 support (game audio, 3d). M-audio wil be your best bet.
Jairus: What makes the Audigy's 24-bit audio support flaky?
posted by Keyser Soze at 2:05 AM on April 9, 2004
Jairus: What makes the Audigy's 24-bit audio support flaky?
posted by Keyser Soze at 2:05 AM on April 9, 2004
Keyser: Because secretly, it's a a 16-bit 48 kHz card with 24-bit 96 kHz support on the digital inputs and outputs -- but it can't process at 24-bit. The wave recording function of supports 16-bit 48 kHz, and that's it.
Basically, they tossed in 24-bit ins/outs so they could call it a 24-bit card -- but it's impossible to work at 24-bit with it. The only thing of note you can do in 24-bit is use it as a passthrough.
posted by Jairus at 2:26 AM on April 9, 2004
Basically, they tossed in 24-bit ins/outs so they could call it a 24-bit card -- but it's impossible to work at 24-bit with it. The only thing of note you can do in 24-bit is use it as a passthrough.
posted by Jairus at 2:26 AM on April 9, 2004
Your talking about the Audigy 1, or the Audigy 2?
posted by Keyser Soze at 3:32 AM on April 9, 2004
posted by Keyser Soze at 3:32 AM on April 9, 2004
Both. The Audigy 2 is better than the Audigy 1, but if you're using ASIO drivers, you can only record up to 16bit 48khz.
posted by Jairus at 5:35 AM on April 9, 2004
posted by Jairus at 5:35 AM on April 9, 2004
As someone who owns an Extigy, I feel compelled to warn you: don't buy one! For the love of God, no!
The only way the thing is useful is to decode surround sound or upmix stereo sound for cheap PC 5.1 speakers
It works so badly as an external sound card for a computer that I had to buy a Griffin iMic to get those functions. Besides the way it's not really 24 bit audio, as Jairus pointed out more eloquently and factually than I could, the Extigy also has this nasty habit of crackling. If you don't connect it to a PC, you're fine. If you do hook up USB, but don't utilize it, you're fine. But if you play something over the USB audio, it's like listening to your music mixed with a bowl of Rice Crispies.
posted by jbrjake at 10:20 AM on April 9, 2004
The only way the thing is useful is to decode surround sound or upmix stereo sound for cheap PC 5.1 speakers
It works so badly as an external sound card for a computer that I had to buy a Griffin iMic to get those functions. Besides the way it's not really 24 bit audio, as Jairus pointed out more eloquently and factually than I could, the Extigy also has this nasty habit of crackling. If you don't connect it to a PC, you're fine. If you do hook up USB, but don't utilize it, you're fine. But if you play something over the USB audio, it's like listening to your music mixed with a bowl of Rice Crispies.
posted by jbrjake at 10:20 AM on April 9, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Jairus at 11:35 PM on April 8, 2004