PCI soundcards

[GerardA]

Audiotrak or Onkyo.

Both are PCI, I only have a PCI-e slot avalaible in my HT-PC.
 

[Fidelio]

Audiotrak or Onkyo.

Both are PCI, I only have a PCI-e slot avalaible in my HT-PC.
 

I didn't know there existed mainboards without PCI..

[JohanZ]

Audiotrak or Onkyo.

Does Onkyo has Windows 7 drivers? Audiotrak didn't

[mojave]

Yes, drivers were released on October 22, 2009 for Windows 7.

[PeterSt]

Audiotrak or Onkyo.

Both are PCI, I only have a PCI-e slot avalaible in my HT-PC.
 

I didn't know there existed mainboards without PCI..

That's how I read it too. But I guess GerardA meant what he actually said ... *available*.

[GerardA]

Yes I think that is what I meant...
Of course there are three PCI-slots, but the Graphicscard occupies two, but uses one and the other one is in use by a sattelitecard.
So if I have to choose who goes out...
Maybe somebody knows a silent graphicscard that only needs the space of one slot?
There exist some pci-e audiocards but they don't do 192 let alone 172.
I would expect some progress here but only Peter is helping us to get better sound!

[hubsand]

Hi all,

I think it would be great to have a thread to discuss PCI soundcards.

While I was searching for a good internal soundcard (to analog out) to get a good but lowprice start with XXHIGHEND 0.9-y4 and upsampling / arc predition I stumbled over this modded card from Itemaudio:

http://www.itemaudio.co.uk/prodigy_hd2.html

Looks interesting. I might give it a try.

Best Regards,

Per

Why are there no reviews of this yet? Granted, the Onkyo 'eats the (standard) Audiotrak for breakfast', but this SE version looks like a pretty massive upgrade. Maybe it 'eats'/owns the stock Onkyo?

[Fidelio]

Why are there no reviews of this yet? Granted, the Onkyo 'eats the (standard) Audiotrak for breakfast', but this SE version looks like a pretty massive upgrade. Maybe it 'eats'/owns the stock Onkyo?

Well, the Onkyo is japanese and not really sold officially in Europe and the US. So that doesn't make it very interesting to review, since it can't be bought locally. The Audiotrak is Korean I think, so I guess the same goes there.

[Telstar]

Well, the Onkyo is japanese and not really sold officially in Europe and the US. So that doesn't make it very interesting to review, since it can't be bought locally. The Audiotrak is Korean I think, so I guess the same goes there.

The new owner of audiotrak is korean, but they have worldwide distribution. Onkyo does NOT distribute its soundcards outside of Japan (unfortunately).

[JohanZ]

Why are there no reviews of this yet?

See : http://ixbtlabs.com/sound.html#subsec108 under Sound Cards & ProAudio

[xp9433]

Fidelio, You gave the following specs for the Onkyo Wavio SE 90 Card:

Chipset: VIA Envy24MT
DAC: Wolfson WM8716
Singal-Noise Ratio 110dB (Line Out)
Frequency Response 0.3Hz - 44kHz (line Out +0/-0.5dB)
Digital IN Sampling Frequency 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz
Connection Line Out x1 (RCA / Stereo) Digital Out x1 (Toslink)

I couldn't see anywhere in the published specs that it had those "digital in" sampling frequencies - "digital out" yes.
Even the upmarket SE -200 LTD card doesn't have digital in sampling frequencies above 96kHz.

So when you use quad arc upsampling is it really accepting a 176.4 kHz straight through "in signal" or processing it in some way first?
With the SE 90 are you hearing better sound using quad arc upsampling than when using arc double upsampling?

Thanks Frank

[Fidelio]

Fidelio, You gave the following specs for the Onkyo Wavio SE 90 Card:

Chipset: VIA Envy24MT
DAC: Wolfson WM8716
Singal-Noise Ratio 110dB (Line Out)
Frequency Response 0.3Hz - 44kHz (line Out +0/-0.5dB)
Digital IN Sampling Frequency 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz
Connection Line Out x1 (RCA / Stereo) Digital Out x1 (Toslink)

I couldn't see anywhere in the published specs that it had those "digital in" sampling frequencies - "digital out" yes.
Even the upmarket SE -200 LTD card doesn't have digital in sampling frequencies above 96kHz.

So when you use quad arc upsampling is it really accepting a 176.4 kHz straight through "in signal" or processing it in some way first?
With the SE 90 are you hearing better sound using quad arc upsampling than when using arc double upsampling?

Thanks Frank

The SE-90 doesn't have digital in, but the SE-200 does. But I don't need digital in, unless I were to digitize vinyl or loop a cdp(!) through the card. Digital in is for connecting external sources to the card digitally.

It is a sound card, you mix its playback capabilities with its connectors to external sources. It does 176.4, and up to 192 of course. I don't like the sound with upsampling, and I like the sound with arc upsampling even less.

Edit: It's supposed to say "digital OUT" lol.

[PeterSt]

Fidelio, this is not what Frank means. Also, it is too obvious to explain (or at least I don't feel like it).

By now I have the strong feeling that you may not get what it is all about and that you explicitly try to be in another leage (meaning the leage of cheap soundcards never meant to achieve a level of "hi-fi" which by itself is an obsolete term for for 70's of the previous century). Of course this is your good right, and actually nothing is wrong with that. But :

Right from the beginning you try to tell us (explicitly or not) that an internal (PCI) soundcard used with its analogue outs is able to compete with "our DACs" you may never had to begin with. Again it is your right not to want such a DAC, but you are turning things towards your own measures as if they were absolute (best) standards. Similar is your idea about SPDIF out from the mobo and that being better than USB. Well, for the discussion let that be so. This, however, by no means implies it is good, btw nor is Toslink. It may be better than an $100 USB China DAC .. I don't know.

I am sure not teaching a lesson here, and as said you are allowed to think - and even to say what you want. But what I don't like is that a group of people (those in here) now seem to be represented by a "good discussion" about internal soundcards which are just toys. We are not toying here but instead the most serious (and probably the most serious of all audio "communities" out there).

But wait

This thread was started by Per, and his question indeed is about internal soundcards with analogue out. I can tell you he is not even asking the question to let it be a temporary solution. Per has the most good reasons to ask for help on this, like in the end everybody would, but in this case it is extra special (I say, I know). Nothing to eleborate further on, but if he can get the best internal soundcard with analogue out, he is MUCH helped by it.

Thus, the latter tells that I don't want to stop the discussion whatsoever, which discussion is just about a good internal soundcard where the analogue outs are used.

Thanks, and *really* no offense meant to anyone, especially not to Fidelio. I mean it.
Peter


PS: Fidelio, if Frank is right, it is no wonder that Arc Prediction makes it worse for you.

[Fidelio]

Right from the beginning you try to tell us (explicitly or not) that an internal (PCI) soundcard used with its analogue outs is able to compete with "our DACs" you may never had to begin with.

Peter, I have listened to six or seven different DACs (and a few sound cards) between £150 and £1000 here whilst owning my Onkyo card, so I do have something to compare with. An external DAC is, by nature, obviously more expensive to produce (more parts, power supplies, cases), and I feel that a good sound card offers more vfm. Moreover, they are made by big companies and sold mostly to computer-savvy people, a combination that doesn't exactly raise the prices unneccesarily.

internal soundcards which are just toys. We are not toying here but instead the most serious (and probably the most serious of all audio "communities" out there).

I do not agree with this at all. Proper sound cards are serious sources designed by people who know what they are doing imo.

PS: Fidelio, if Frank is right, it is no wonder that Arc Prediction makes it worse for you.

I do not understand this, what do you mean?

[PeterSt]

Your card will be resampling ?

Please keep in mind ... *if* Frank is right. I did not check it.

Peter