Audigy2 Great Sound or not?

[Jose]

What do you guys think of the he new Audigy2? It  got a very good review at Tom's Hardware. If said review is completely true, this card is the best bet if you're looking for quality on the midrange. I think the thing even has THX certification for 24bit 96Khz recording if I read correctly!! The new DA/AD converters also have much better quality. Of course you'd buy more pro equipment for say music creation for example, but the thing is, at this quality, you probably won't even notice the difference if you're doing basic track/editing stuff. And if you play guitar (like me, well try at least :-o  :-D ) you'll probably want to have a separat effects processor so the recording is more than acceptable. Now we need drivers for this thing. :-x  

[Jose]

And on another article about sound on games (acutaly it's the impact of soundcards on game performance) Tom says:

"The Audigy 2 is also an excellent choice, but the investment of $129 is only worth it if you are interested in its musical features. "

Nice ught? [EDIT yeah I've read other reviews]
I just got a new one for 80$ on eBay :-o  :-o  :-D  :-D  8-)

[Karlos]

Some users I know have reported better audio acceleration for games (as in DirectX based) with the audigy / audigy 2 when compared to the SBLive series...

[harsh]

Be very careful about claims of "THX Certification" as what that represents has become diluted.  There is THX for a number of different types of equipment and even THX for cars (2003 Lincoln LS).  Know that very few of them come close to the big-screen theatre sound standard that we've come to know.

Practically speaking, it is all somewhat of a compromise and if you are truly seeking the highest in audio fidelity, you should probably look towards conventional stereo equipment.  These fancy five and six way sound systems may be cool for gaming presence, but if you seek music reproduction, they aren't worth half the money.

[Ilwrath]

Yeah... THX Certification is worth about as much as the old Dolby Certification, or whatever.  It's a fancy term that looks good, yet does not really help the ears.

Personally, from what I've seen and read, the Audigy 2 should be a pretty good soundcard, especially for the $80 you picked it up for.  Don't expect miracles, but it should be a better card than the Live! series, which, all in all, weren't terrible (other than the drivers...)  

My overall assessment would be that it's a good card for a gaming rig, probably overkill for a general use computer, and probably not high-end enough for a music/sound workstation.  Of course, my assessments are worth every penny I charge for them.  ($0)

[Jose]

"These fancy five and six way sound systems may be cool for gaming presence, but if you seek music reproduction, they aren't worth half the money."

Yeah, I kinda knew that. I just didn't bother to read a whole bunch of reviews, well just some few ones. Bottom line is that the sound is acceptable, and a more music creation oriented card would probably cost alot more.
The truth is that I hurried too much when I saw that I could buy it for half the price + shipping.
[EDIT] Ok so that everyone knows, the thing costed me 66$ without shipping!!
 You can't get these deals everyday.

[bloodline]

Audigy2 = Good for Games
the Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96  = Good for Music


Make your choice...

[Framiga]

Take a look at that test:

http://www.tomshardware.com/video/20020115/terratec-09.html

Ciao :-)

[bloodline]

Framiga wrote:
Take a look at that test:

http://www.tomshardware.com/video/20020115/terratec-09.html

Ciao :-)

Yeah, no competition... go for the Terratec DMX 24/96

[Mad-Matt]

the terratec card might have had the edge over the Audigy, but doesnt compete with Audigy2 at all.

[bloodline]

Mad-Matt wrote:
the terratec card might have had the edge over the Audigy, but doesnt compete with Audigy2 at all.

Why say you that?

I'll try and find an A2 spec list now...



-EDIT-
Audigy2:
24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion during playback with sampling rates of 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32,
44.1, 48 and 96kHz in 6.1 mode and up to 192kHz in stereo mode
24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion during recording in 8, 16 or 24-bit at sampling rates of 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz
SPDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) input at up to 24-bit/96kHz quality
SPDIF output up to 24-bit at 48 or 96kHz
ASIO™ drivers for low latency (as low as 2ms) multi-track playback and recording at 16-bit/48kHz


TerraTec DMX 24/96:
PCI-board
3 analog stereo outputs (3,5mm jack) - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 analog stereo input (3,5mm jack) - 24 Bit/96 kHz
2 analog CD-Audio outputs (Molex, On-Board) - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 analog AUX input (Molex, On-Board) - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 digital CD-Audio TTL input (Molex, On-Board)
1 analog stereo input (Cinch) on front module - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 analog stereo output (Cinch) on front module - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 analog stereo phono (MM, 6 mV ) input (Cinch) on front module- 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 analog mono microphone input (6,3mm jack) on front module - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 analog stereo headphone output (6,3mm jack) on front module - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 digital stereo in- and output (TOS-Link, optical) on front module - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 digital stereo in- and output (Cinch, coaxial) on front module - 24 Bit/96 kHz
1 MIDI in- and output (5-pin DIN) on front module
Control range of : 9mV - 500mV
Output power of headphone output : 60 mW
Bus master transfer supports ‚24bit 4byte mode' (32bit)
Simultaneous recording and reproduction of all channels with up to 24bit/96kHz
24bit/96kHz AD converters with 100 dB dynamical range (S/NR)*
24bit/96kHz DA converters with 110 dB dynamical range (S/NR)*
24bit/96kHz stereo digital input (S/PDIF with up to 24bit/96kHz)
24bit/96kHz stereo digital output (S/PDIF with up to 24bit/96kHz)
Digital input may also be used for digital audio output of an internal CD-Rom drive (TTL)
Input control of AD converters with +18dB increment in 0,5dB steps
Hardware with internal resolution of 36bit
VU-meter in control panel (hardware based)
"None-Audio" mode for transmission of AC3 and DTS streams via digital interface
Connection option for microWAVE PC!, DXR and DXF , alternatively to DMX 6fire 24/96 front module



Not much between them actually... but the Terratec is cheaper and give a very slightly better Snr.

[Jose]

Hey 8-)  Well, from the few stuff I know I think the quality of the AD converters would be a more important thing to look at. I haven't found much info on that, probably cause the card is new, but since all stuff I've read praises the card, I  got it. For that price I just couldn't say no. And I can allways get an external AD converter and use the digital inputs that support 24bit 96khz, but the quality level is more than acceptable.
Now I only need one of those   RRoads guitar :-D  8-)
[EDIT] A black one of course

[mikeymike]

Also throwing this tidbit of info in - Creative got flamed badly for claiming that the DAC for the Audigy 1 fully supported 24bit 96KHz sampling when it didn't, fully.  I don't remember the exact details but I can find them again.

[toRus]

Many regard Terratec cards better than Creative's especially when you don't need a sound card just for games or Home Cinema. As far as I am concerned M-Audio cards are even better.

[Jose]

@mikeymike
thx but nevermind, the one I got was the Audigy2.