[linux-audio-user] Need help - hardware recommendations

[Jan "Evil Twin" Depner]

Amen! I've used SB Live and Ensoniq Audio PCI cards among others.  The
first time I played anything through my DSP 2000 I was shocked.  The
sound quality is amazing.

Jan

On Sat, 2003-02-15 at 17:39, Rick Taylor wrote:
> On Sat, 2003-02-15 at 13:16, Hartmut Noack wrote:
> > Am 15.02.03, 18:56:47, schrieb Rick Taylor <ricktaylor at speakeasy.net> zum 
> > > On Sat, 2003-02-15 at 09:21, Hartmut Noack wrote:
> 
> > > > 1) try Soundblaster 1024 Live! Player ( NOT SB Live 501 !!)
> > 
> > > But, if you want a pro card... get a pro card. ...Something that won't
> > > lose half of its functionality without windows. ...Something made for
> > > music... not made for gamers.
> > 
> > OK- i use Terratecs EWX 24/96 with SUSE 8.1, but i spend more time trying 
> > to make it work stable enough to work with audacity than i spend time to 
> > record some music with it...
> } (Witch was not so with SB 1024 on my old Box and SUSE 7.3
> 
>  That's strange... my experience with Soundblaster cards {I've
> installed, probably 25 or 30 on various machines {windows} I own two and
> I have a motherboard with one built in} is that they're no more stable
> than most consumer cards and don't really sound any better than the bulk
> of them. They're comparable to my $15 Muse or my 10 year old PAS16 in
> terms of sound quality and don't quite measure up to my Santa Cruz in
> either regard. The fact that they support sound fonts and have a digital
> out is something of a plus.
> 
>  On the other hand, my limited experience with pro cards {that being my
> Delta and my MOTU cards} is that they're much more stable and the sound
> quality isn't even in the same ballpark. I intend only to upgrade in the
> future.
> 
>  What I find to be truly disturbing about soundblasters is the fact that
> they're not only the default but frequently the high end available from
> most manufacturers and in most computer stores. ...That most consumers
> will spend $200 on a graphics card and really think nothing of it while
> with sound they're frequently not even aware of their options. {In other
> words... ask any consultant what the best is and you'll hear
> "soundblaster" {Which is patently untrue.}
> 
>  ...Given the benefits that competition has brought us in almost every
> other facet of the computer industry, this strikes me as very limiting.
> Personally, I'd like to see the envy24 replace soundblaster as the
> default so that things could start moving past the point we're at now.
> 
>  {:} Semi proprietary technologies like Direct-x strike me as similarly
> limiting.}
> -- 
> Rick Taylor <ricktaylor at speakeasy.net>
> The Dispossessed
>