Which clockport soundcard shall I get?

[rvo_nl]

Hi, Im looking for 'one more' upgrade to my system, which is a sound card that I can connect to the clock port. Afaik, I can choose from 4 options:
 
Delfina
Melody
Prelude
Prisma (not yet released)

My requirements are:

- should fit in my system (I have indivision, bvision)
- should work under OS3.9 and 4.1 Classic
- should support AHI

can I already rule something out? Any important differences I should be aware of?

Keep in mind I just want a bit better audio playback, mp3 decoding doesnt interest me much (I have ppc)

[spirantho]

If you're not really interested in playing back MP3s, but do want 16-bit 44KHz audio, then the Prisma isn't really what you want - it's not a retargetable audio card like for instance a Prelude. We do hope to have AHI for it, but it will always be more limited in that respect than an RTA card.

[Gulliver]

I suggest you avoid the Delfina at all costs. It is wildly unstable in the best of cases.

If I was in you shoes I would go for either the Melody or the Prelude, depending on what you find in the used market.

[rvo_nl]

thanks both, this is helping! now I hope both melody and prelude are easy to fit in my tower. can someone comment on that? keeping in mind the expansions already in there.

[Damion]

Prelude clockport is a nice sounding card with stable software, and shouldn't be too impossible to find. No hardware decoding. The Melody 1200 (Pro) sounds fantastic and does stable MP3 decoding, but is unfortunately extremely rare and expensive. Mounting in a tower shouldn't be an issue (the Melody at least can use any simple PCI bracket with a DE-9 serial cutout).

The Delfina clockport is also a bit rare, but as Gulliver mentioned, probably isn't worth the trouble.

[QuikSanz]

Good Day,

Had a Prelude in my A2000, worked so well that when I took the Delphina out of my A4000T, I bought another Prelude to replace it. Always works on everything.

Chris

[skolman]

just want a bit better audio playback, mp3 decoding doesnt interest me much (I have ppc)

The Mac Mini also have PPC and what the sound through AHI on MorphOS is weak, so for sound I'm using Mac OS X (Core Audio).

Anyway, what to speak already on Paula by AHI is degraded sound quality. Without the normal system sound as in OSX Core Audio, sound card is useless gadget.

[rvo_nl]

thanks skolman, but Im getting one anyway

I'll try to find a prelude, thanks so much!

[matt3k]

I don't have a clockport audio card, but the Delfina zorro cards are very stable and great cards.  The key is the driver versions.  I would imagine the same would hold true for the clockport version.  I have a setup guide to make setup a snap...

I know listening to mp3's isn't a priority for you on the Amiga, but I want to set the record straight for others on the Delfina....  I used to believe the Delfina was unreliable and a pain, but I solved the problems with many, many, hours of testing and created a setup guide to help future users.

My Defina runs for weeks playing various mp3 without even a hickup... very rock sold and great performance, even as the computer is used by copying files over the nic, browsing the few Amiga sites that work well, and answering the phone via the phonepak all at the same time without stuttering or slow response from the Amiga.  This is the only audio card I have ever been able to accomplish this with. I threw everything at it and uses at most 2% cpu for decoding and is not no more difficult to setup than any other audio card I have used over the years (using the setup guide).  

If someone's goal is to listen to mp3's, have AHI,  to actually use your Amiga while listening to MP3's, and passthrough paula audio, it is one of the best choices I have come across..  Most cards I have tested cripple the Amiga and have mediocre playback quality...

Good luck with the prelude, a sound choice .

[Damion]

Some of it also depends on the Delfina itself, and the system its installed in. For example there are two versions of the Lite, the later one was quite a bit more reliable in my experience. The clockport one is known to be problematic no matter what, this according to the author of the patched drivers (Michael Henke).

I've never used the Plus, but judging from your experience it's the best one.

[matt3k]

Some of it also depends on the Delfina itself, and the system its installed in. For example there are two versions of the Lite, the later one was quite a bit more reliable in my experience. The clockport one is known to be problematic no matter what, this according to the author of the patched drivers (Michael Henke).

I've never used the Plus, but judging from your experience it's the best one.

Thanks for the information.  I didn't realize newer rev lites were better, I had one years ago that worked just fine (must have lucked out with a later version).  The Plus has been one of the best sound cards I have tested, it performs incredibly well.  Pulled my hair out to get it perfectly stable, but persistence paid off on this one...  

Thinking about it, some Amiga hardware takes lots of playing with and learning (bought a X-Surf-100 I had to play with to get it working the way I wanted, same for a CS I bought).  

Didn't know the clockport versions were flakey either...   Thanks.