Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Helgis75 on January 24, 2003, 08:14:59 PM
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This is a very interesting thread: Is the TerraTec 512i audio-card much better than the SB Live? :-?
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Please answer this one....I'm begging you.. :-?
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no idea.... no experience with terratec.
But it isnt supported by os4.0 is it? i thought only sblive and ac97 via was supported?
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I have to know..i plan to work with music...and concentrating about the OS4-support, which one should i go for...The TerraTec 512i or the SB Live?
I really have to know...
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Tomas wrote:
no idea.... no experience with terratec.
But it isnt supported by os4.0 is it? i thought only sblive and ac97 via was supported?
TerraTec 512i is supported, yes...
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I would definately go for the TerraTec...
Greetz
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Interesting...and it's deadly cheap, so shouldn't be a problem to buy it...and i already have the SB Live...Cheap too, but won't be used...
How does the TerraTec 512i acts and sounds?
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Tomas wrote:
no idea.... no experience with terratec.
But it isnt supported by os4.0 is it? i thought only sblive and ac97 via was supported?
The Terratec 512i and 128i are also supported.
AHI - supported sound cards (http://www.lysator.liu.se/(user)/~lcs/ahi.html)
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Blomberg wrote:
Tomas wrote:
no idea.... no experience with terratec.
But it isnt supported by os4.0 is it? i thought only sblive and ac97 via was supported?
The Terratec 512i and 128i are also supported.
AHI - supported sound cards (http://www.lysator.liu.se/(user)/~lcs/ahi.html)
Looks like most people are considering the TerraTec 512i-choice then, quite interesting! ;-)
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Why did you start two threads on the same subject?
Here (http://amiga.org/forums/viewtopic.php?topic_id=5904&forum=1)
You come across as an overexcited individual.
Take it easy, Its not good for your heart all this excitement.
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GadgetMaster wrote:
Why did you start two threads on the same subject?
Here (http://amiga.org/forums/viewtopic.php?topic_id=5904&forum=1)
You come across as an overexcited individual.
Take it easy, Its not good for your heart all this excitement.
Simply to shorter the headline, and because i considered this quite important..I love music, that's why....
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Amiga.org would benefit if users tried to follow some basic Netiquette (http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html)
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Only audio-stuffs related to the thread should be here...nothing else..
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I know atleast this: SB live card SUCK, specially if you want to use it for recording from the line-input or similar... Then it truly sucks!!
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if you can tell me wether the TerraTec has RCA onnectors(preferably gold plated) for input/output, ill tell you in clear simple language wether its better than the soundblaster
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Helgis75 wrote:
Only audio-stuffs related to the thread should be here...nothing else..
I give up ! :roll:
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GadgetMaster wrote:
Helgis75 wrote:
Only audio-stuffs related to the thread should be here...nothing else..
I give up ! :roll:
Don't worry, my young friend.. :-)
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Go Gadget"audio-stuff" :-D
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Helgis75 wrote:
Don't worry, my young friend.. :-)
Somehow I don't think I am younger than you :-)
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browny wrote:
Go Gadget"audio-stuff" :-D
no, thats...
GO GO GADGET AUDIO-STUFF!
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I wanna play and make funky music with the TerraTec 512i on the AmigaOne! Yeah! Some funky R&B-stuffs!!!
Yeah, that would be awesome!!! :-) :-D :-D :-D :-o
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One review of the Terratec 512i here (http://multimedian.com/reviews/512i.html).
Only one opinion of many of course (I just grabbed a sample
from Google), but not very optimistic. How old is this
card I wonder?
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SlimJim
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if you can tell me wether the TerraTec has RCA onnectors(preferably gold plated) for input/output, ill tell you in clear simple language wether its better than the soundblaster
It has the mini-jack type connectors plus S/PDIF, so I don't consider it 'pro-quality', but if you look at the PCI cards that are supported through AHI, then the Terratec might well be the 'best'. It doesn't mean it can compete with the higher priced cards with break-out boxes and such, but you get what you pay for mostly. I've purchased both SB Live! and Terratec cards, so I'll be able to tell you about the quality in ehmm.. some time.
Cheers,
Davy
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DaveAE wrote:
if you can tell me wether the TerraTec has RCA onnectors(preferably gold plated) for input/output, ill tell you in clear simple language wether its better than the soundblaster
It has the mini-jack type connectors plus S/PDIF, so I don't consider it 'pro-quality', but if you look at the PCI cards that are supported through AHI, then the Terratec might well be the 'best'. It doesn't mean it can compete with the higher priced cards with break-out boxes and such, but you get what you pay for mostly. I've purchased both SB Live! and Terratec cards, so I'll be able to tell you about the quality in ehmm.. some time.
Cheers,
Davy
They are both damn cheap, so i guess buying the TerraTec 512i for around 300NOK is NOTHING!!!
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@Helgis
This is a very interesting thread: Is the TerraTec 512i audio-card much better than the SB Live?
Hmm...
Simply to shorter the headline, and because i considered this quite important..I love music, that's why....
See that [edit] button ? Please, next time use that. Not everybody finds sound important. Being deaf for 50%, I couldn't care less about quality sound. I prefer visual quality.. If I wanted to know more about a GFX card I wouldn't post the same topic 2, and would not reply to the same topic several times within minutes (First post 21:14, second 21:19, third 21:22, not counting the other thread) just to keep it in the recent listing...
Sorry, I think you were just plain rude now.
If somebody gives you friendly advise, try to take the advice in consideration.
@Gadget,
I couldn't agree more with you... Maybe it's because I've been online since 1986/87 (Fidonet mostly), but netiquette seems to be a forgotten art... Ah well... Time to start counting the gray hair now eh ?
<> I just used the [edit button] ;-)
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Helgis75 wrote:
I wanna play and make funky music with the TerraTec 512i on the AmigaOne! Yeah! Some funky R&B-stuffs!!!
Yeah, that would be awesome!!! :-) :-D :-D :-D :-o
lol! oh, well you can just use any old sound card for that (c)rap! :-D
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More technical info on the TerraTec 512i here (http://www.active-audio.be/TT%20-%20512i.htm).
I wonder, what's the difference between "soundblaster compatible
MIDI interface" (which this card has) and the "General MIDI"
of my keyboard?
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SlimJim
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Well, great stuffs that they are cheap..:-)
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iamaboringperson wrote:
browny wrote:
Go Gadget"audio-stuff" :-D
no, thats...
GO GO GADGET AUDIO-STUFF!
Cheers iamaboringperson now i know why it did not F**king work!!
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Here's a review of the Terratec contra one of the Creative Soundblasters. Haven't read it myself yet.
French review (http://www.hardware.fr/articles/311/page1.html)
Babelfish translation (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hardware.fr%2Farticles%2F311%2Fpage1.html&lp=fr_en&tt=url)
Also, I heard from a rather questionable source that the s/pdif output of the 512i doesn't work and that it was a hardware problem. Don't really know what that's about, surely they must have fixed it by now.
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@Seer
@Gadget,
I couldn't agree more with you... Maybe it's because I've been online since 1986/87 (Fidonet mostly), but netiquette seems to be a forgotten art... Ah well... Time to start counting the gray hair now eh ?
Yeah! I guess it is a forgotten art :-(
The grey hairs have definately started creeping in. Yet I refuse to count them (in denial?) ;-) :-D
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The grey hairs have definately started creeping in. Yet I refuse to count them (in denial?) ;-) :-D
Or maybe lack of them ? Or better said, lak of hair at all ;-)
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Yeah! I guess it is a forgotten art
:lol:
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I wonder, what's the difference between "soundblaster compatible MIDI interface" (which this card has) and the "General MIDI" of my keyboard?
I guess "soundblaster compatible MIDI interface" means that the connector is in the PC gameport format, as opposed to the standard MIDI connector format.
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I guess "soundblaster compatible MIDI interface" means that the connector is in the PC gameport format, as opposed to the standard MIDI connector format.
Ah...Might well be it. Have never seen those MIDI connectors
on a soundcard. Must be looking in the wrong price-range ;-)
Do one need some adapter to use the game-port for this
(apart from the cable keyboard <-> soundcard having fitting
ends)?
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SlimJim
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Helgis75 wrote:
Well, great stuffs that they are cheap..:-)
you dont want cheap... you want quality.... dont you?
:-)
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@ SlimJim
General MIDI is a (old) standard for MIDI "instruments" (sounds) and their respective part and bank numbers.
Read more (http://www.midi.org/about-midi/gm/gminfo.htm)
Re: MIDI connectors on sound cards
Most "normal" sound cards only have the standard joystick/MIDI port with the 15 pin D-sub connector.
Some middle end cards have a set (or more) of MIDI connectors (the round DIN thingies), usually In, Out and Thru.
The high end audio cards often have no MIDI functionality at all, and instead rely on people having separate MIDI interfaces (PCI, USB, joy/MIDI port).
Some keyboards have a serial interface that connects directly to the joystick/MIDI port.
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Do one need some adapter to use the game-port for this(apart from the cable keyboard <-> soundcard having fitting ends)?
You'll need an adapter cable with a 15-pin plug on one end to fit into the gameport and two standard MIDI plugs on the other to fit into the keyboard's in & out connectors. I haven't looked myself, but I've heard these sort of cables should be widely available from computer and music stores.
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@Blomberg
Thanks for the info. No serial interface on my keyboard
though.
What I find a little perplexing is that the interface transfer
only codes through the connector. It's up to the
receiver to interpret those codes (which it should be
capable of if it's MIDI-compatible I suppose :-)). But I would
take it the instruments recorded in the computer is defined
by soundsfiles stored there...
Isn't it a problem to get the samples in the computer and in
the keyboard to sound exactly the same? (GrandPiano can
sound different depending on what brand of
keyboard you have, can't it?)
Or am I totally out in the blue here?
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SlimJim
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:-( nobody has answered my question yet :-(
can ya get big'n'nasty RCA sockets on that sound card
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Read the specs in the link I posted above. Don't think I saw
anything about RCA, but then again i don't know what that is,
so you better go check for yourself :-)
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SlimJim
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@SlimJim
When you record MIDI on your computer, it uses the internal sound module of your sound card, not your keyboards sounds.
If you want to record the *sound* of your keyboard, you have to connect its audio out to the line-in on your sound card as you would with any other instrument.
This produces an audio track - a long sample which is uneditable as opposed to MIDI events you *can* edit.
You can also program a sequencer (eg. a computer) to "play" your keyboard via MIDI. Or control a slave keyboard (or several) from a master keyboard.
MIDI is a system designed to send 'events' (notes, data) between a master and a slave, not sounds. It simply triggers a sound in another sound module.
I have a simple MIDI controller keyboard (no sounds), which I use to record into a software synth/sampler, and the sounds are then rendered by the software which produces the audio output.
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I have written >400 posts...
...
...
... Ah what the hell:
"Wohoo!"
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SlimJim
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@Blomberg
So, then there is, as I said, a discrepancy between the sound
of the keyboard and the sound in the computer. Thanks.
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SlimJim
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@SlimJim
I'm not entirely sure if conforming to the General MIDI standard also includes using a standardized set of sounds.
Congrats on post 400, though I'm sure Helgis will pass you in a weeks time :-D
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I wonder, what's the difference between "soundblaster compatible
MIDI interface" (which this card has) and the "General MIDI"
of my keyboard?
"Soundblaster compatible
MIDI interface" means that the game port pin-out of the TerraTec is identical to that of the soundblaster so any midi adapter cable designed for the soundblaster will work with the TerraTec.
General MIDI is the definition of which instruments are available at what index (like grand piano on index 1, strings on 48 etc) as well as a definition of how instrument should talk to each other. Both your keyboard and the TerraTec conforms to this standard.
Do one need some adapter to use the game-port for this
(apart from the cable keyboard <-> soundcard having fitting
ends)?
What you need is an inexpensive cable that has a gamport connector on one end and two MIDI DIN plugs on the other end.
What I find a little perplexing is that the interface transfer
only codes through the connector. It's up to the
receiver to interpret those codes (which it should be
capable of if it's MIDI-compatible I suppose ). But I would
take it the instruments recorded in the computer is defined
by soundsfiles stored there...
Isn't it a problem to get the samples in the computer and in
the keyboard to sound exactly the same? (GrandPiano can
sound different depending on what brand of
keyboard you have, can't it?)
Or am I totally out in the blue here?
You are correct, instrument do sound different depending what brand of keyboard (or soundcard for that matter) you have. But a grandpiano is a grandpiano, so it's not going to sound totally different either. Soundcards and keyboard actually work exactly the same when it comes to MIDI, some even have the exact same chips in them (the EMU10k chip is used in the Soundblaster Live! as well as some EMU keyboards).
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@Blomberg
I don't think MIDI controls the actual sounds to be used. I
distinctly remember reading in the manual for my keyboard
that Yamaha had "upgraded" to better-sounding samples since
the last revision.
And about the posts, I was just thinking the same! :-D
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SlimJim
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@Casper
Ah. Cross-post.
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SlimJim
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I'm not entirely sure if conforming to the General MIDI standard also includes using a standardized set of sounds.
It does specify which instruments should be available (like grandpiano etc) but not how they should sound exactly. It also specifies at which octave the instrument should "sound correct" so that the bass for instance isn't too deep on some keyboards and to high on others when you play a certain note.
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Ah. Cross-post.
Yepp, people should wait until I've finished writing my reply. :-)
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nobody has answered my question yet
I did! It doesn't have RCA, it has mini-jack, just
as the SB Live! But it has an S/PDIF out, so at
least that's something.
Davy
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... So what conclusion should we draw from this thread then?
Is the TerraTec objectively better than the SoundBlaster ?
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SlimJim
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No idea, sorry :-D :python:
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Helgis stay off the drugs...
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i think this thread has been a bore from the start... ;-)
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Yea - well, don't read it then