what is the BEST sound card

you can buy for a notebook? will be hooking up a set of audioengine 5 bookshelfs to it.

 

Only ones I know is the creative x-fi notebooks.

 

Any $3,000 USB DAC is going to be good. Creative is trash.

 

Seconded. It gives pretty good sound performance for a very good price. Definitely worth your money.

Mr. Mysterious

 

The Soundblaster X-Fi notebook is only moderately better than basic "HD" onboard sound you get these days and only on par with the better onboard sound solutions, and possibly not even that. Creative's own specs put it well below the performance of the X-Fi Xtreme Music, creative's cheap desktop card. Now that card, while not that great, is a significant step above cheapo onboard HD audio codecs and really the minimum to be worth your while if you want to improve sound quality. The only easy way to get good sound on a laptop is with a USB DAC.

 

Troll.....

 

Agreed. Creative uses poor quality components.

While it might have been extreme since you don't need to spend $3000 for a DAC, but he makes very good points. Any of these DACs would suffice (and be a huge step up from any Creative sound card):

http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/amplifiers.php

 

At this point, I'd ask you to prove it, but why bother. It's so much easier to make a statement and provide zero documention on it.

 

Im considering Zalman External 5.1 Channel USB Soundcard and Turtle Beach Audio Advantage SRM
can anyone recommend one for me and please tell me why ( pros/cons)
Turtle beach has Sampling of 16 bits/48kHz and Zalman has 24bit
does it make any difference

 

Anything that Auzentech or Omega makes for notebooks?

 

I use an Echo AudioFire2. I haven't heard anything that can compete with it. But I haven't heard ALOT of sound cards. But from the opinions of people who I know(not just on a forum, but know them) they say that the Echo cards are top tier, and come in at a great price.

 

You can either Google it, talk to any electrical (or sound) engineer/audiophile who has looked up the amps in their sound blaster, or just do open one up yourself and research the components. No one who knows a thing about audio will recommend any Creative Labs sound card. Don't be so quick on pointing out trolls when you haven't done any research on it. For the OP, check out head-fi.org for good sound card recommendations.

 

No-one who believes they know everything about audio after having read a few fauxdiophile forums, half of whose membership don't really have a clue either, would recommend Creative. I would in certain situations, just not this one.

I'd say to the OP that since his use is stationary, go peruse the M-Audio external soundcard lines ( http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=USBinterfaces) or indeed, Creative's pro line ( http://www.emu.com/products/welcome.asp?category=610). USB and bus-powered is handier, since with a firewire soundcard you'd need separate power for most laptops. If you don't mind external power then there's a bunch of stuff you can use - even the rackmounting Prism Orpheus, one of my main 'soundcards', can be hooked up to a laptop via firewire.

 

i'll post my 2cets:

I got a Audiotrak Prodigy Hd2 in my desktop. Using it only for listening and it sounds great! Just connected my AKG K271 to laptop.. and disconnected it very quickly. I will sell desktop in a time so looking for a DAC.

1st ESI / Audiotrak Dr. DAC prime = 400 EUR. That's the card i'd buy in money were no problem.
2nd ESI / Audiotrak Dr. DAC2 you can find it at korean audiotrak website. Good DAC, you can change OMAP also. Got all the thing you need to get a soundd
3nd ESI / Audiotrak dr.dac nano. =80 EUR 1 outout - headphones only. nothing extra but i dont need more then good headphone output with amp. I'm going to get one for my vaio if i won't find any drawbacks on it.

PPS: No Creative or similar. It's for gaming not for sound!

 

Despite what some people who have never used it will tell you, the creative x-fi with 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 speakers or headphones will sound amazing.

And the price is right.

 

Generally any decent USB/Firewire DAC will beat any sound card except for the top end Auzentech and Asus desktop cards. I use a EMU-0404 right now. Can't say it was better than my X-Meridian but it certainly beats anything ExpressCard sound cards that I can buy.

 

ihad an E-mu 0202 which was very cheap (£50 second hand on ebay) and that sounded very good. then it packed in and although i was offered a replacemnt i wanted a portable headphone amp + dac. now have an ibasso D10, which sounds very very good. cant listen to my notebooks inbuilt anymore, sounds trash.

i can reccomend both the emu 0202 and the ibasso D10. the D10 was 4 times the price though. lol.

"24 bit is better than 16 bit" is a pointless arguement because hardly anything is encoded in 24 bit unless your using studio software. CD's are 16 bit 44100khz. DVD is 16 bit 48000khz, and bluray is the same, but with a higher bitrate.

 

Seconded.
If sound quality if your number one concern, find the number one forum that specialises in audio hardware and ask there.

Creative's products serve a purpose but sgogeta is right - when compared to specialist hardware, it doesn't hold up.

 

i really need to look into soundcards, im the person who thinks x-fi is good-_-. any good amp for 100usd? it me getting that 100usd amp (has to be powerable thru usb, and possible ipod charger input?) vs a creative x-fi usb 5.1, which i heard wasnt really anything more than software acceleration....

 

Check out my first post (#7) for a link to headphone amps. There is one for $99. You can check up its reviews for more infomation.

 

Creative X-FI PCI -Express is the way to go.

 

Right. And yet you recommend to the OP head-fi.org which is an online resource notorious for showing bias/favoritism towards certain vendors and products, not to mention the elitist overtones carried throughout the forums.

To the OP, if you want a real resource for audio, check out headphone.com or the all-universal AVS Forums, where ego's and attitude are checked at the door and the members actually helpful.

Thank you for once again proving that you're only too eager to offer statments based on "fact" but are entirely unable to back it up.

 

Maybe you should actually check out my post too. In my first post, I suggested a link to headphone.com for DAC selection to the OP. Honestly, none of your posts have had any useful content, try contributing something to this thread or answering the OP's questions instead of blasting everyone else's suggestions. If you know so much then why don't you tell the OP exactly what he needs.

 

Who's blasting? Hey, I'm sorry if I stepped on your fragile ego bro. But really, you made a blanket statement saying that Creative uses poor quality components (which I feel otherwise) and I asked you to find some documentation that asserts your statement. And yet, through all your bluster, I'm still waiting.

 

Please stay on-topic in this thread, thanks. If you're going to pick a bone with someone's suggestion then do it constructively. The same goes for making suggestions - backing it up will go a long way towards making yourself credible.

 

Haha... Maybe you should reread the messages in this post. You are blasting in that you have not once answered the OPs question. I have yet to see you prove your blanket statements either (for example how head-fi.org is completely biased towards certain brands). Also, you might want to search AVS forum before stating things about reliability since I do use that forum too and numerous users have complained about poor sound quality issues with Creative Labs sound cards. I'm not worried about my ego, I am perfectly comfortable with my position since I know many people in the field and have read many different reviews (I know there are a lot of people who don't have a clue, but there are also many who know far more than you or I) to educate myself in the subject. Unlike you, who hypocritically sticks to his beliefs without evidence (you say Creative uses good components, any evidence on that?).

I told you how to find out the answers to my statements but you are too lazy to do the research so therefore to you no such proof exists. Information doesn't just land at your feet in a nice bundled paragraph, but I'll help you on your journey. Try searching for problems Creative has had with consumers who are knowledgeable in the field of sound engineering or programming (tip: Google Daniel_K), it shouldn't be hard since I've already found several results of inferior components and poor driver support (even currently in Vista).

There is no specific documentation that says "this opamp or capacitor sucks" but if you take any Creative Labs card and research the components, then compare them to components in cards that audiophiles and professionals use (even those cards that are in the same cost range as Creatives), you will find their specifications are inferior. For example, Auzentech (reputable among audiophiles and recognized by many enthusiasts) released their own X-Fi soundcard due to audiophiles not being satisfied by Creative's poor selection of opamps and capacitors. Here are some samples, I know I'm taking away a bit from your fun in searching, but there are plenty more!

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/03/creative-fixing/
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2007/articles/Creative-Soundblaster-X-Fi-Mod/g1.htm
http://consumerist.com/373901/creat...en-it-tries-to-silence-third+party-programmer

The fact stands that if you're capable of distinguishing between good audio quality and you compare any decent headphone DAC (such as the one I suggested from headphone.com) with any of Creative's notebook offerings, you will hear a difference. Of course another issue is that for the price, you're not getting true hardware acceleration as Creative offloads calculations to the computer's CPU. But in the end, there is no nice report that shows you that it's better (or conversely Creative's is worse), just people's opinions. If you think that they're all biased and wrong, then that's your choice, but keep them to yourself since you have not contributed at all to helping the OP find a solution to his question, while we have.

 

I never said that.


Anyway, I disagree entirely with your take on Head-Fi.
I'm a person interested in audio products but with no great knowledge yet every time I have posted on the boards there, no matter what the subject, I have been met with a helpful and friendly response.
Of course not absolutely every person who is a member of that forum will be kind and/or courteous but the same goes with every forum, even this one.

 

If you make such an asinine statement that Creative components are junk, you better be prepared to provide some sort of reference. To call me lazy because I'm not doing your homework for you is both offensive and rude. You got called out and instead of substantiating your blanket statement, you'd rather hide behind the interwebz and cry foul.

Now, with that said, Creative products are good for the majority of enthusiasts that couldn't tell the difference between the audio quality of a Creative product versus an alternative. Creative's market strategy is to make computer audio components that are competent, easy to use, and affordable. And in that regard, they have been successful in that respect, including your "quality component" argument.

Creative has been one of the top providers of computer audio solutions for mainstream enthusiasts for years... and hundreds of thousands can say that their Creative product, as long as it worked as intended, couldn't care less about what components are in their device, much less care (or notice) the difference between a competing, similarly priced/configured unit.

 

Enthusiasts of what exactly?
Because audiophiles, people who spend many thousands of pounds/dollars/euros/kwacha on speakers, amps, etc would probably beg to differ.


Your argument that Creative is fine because lots of people own Creative equipment and are happy is akin to saying that you can measure the quality of Dell's laptops based on their sales figures.
I think we're all in agreement that the average Sony Vaio is built to a higher standard than your average Dell laptop and that's got nothing whatsoever to do with sales.

Certainly, Creative soundcards and other audio products serve a purpose and, depending on your needs may well be the best for you but to try and pretend that you can't get better bang for your buck from more specialist manufacturers is pretty naive.

 

Computing enthusiasts?

There are far more computing enthusiasts who know nothing (nor care) about the nuances of audio, and are just fine with purchasing a Creative branded device for their audio needs than there are serious audiophiles concerned with the audio that comes out of a notebook.

A better bang for the buck such as what? One recommendation called for a multi-thousand dollar piece of audio equipment! And trust me, I am not 'pretending' that you can't get a better bang for your buck. What I am saying is that for the great majority of computing enthusiasts, Creative audio devices fit the bill where cost and capability are concerned.

 

comon guys stop this NOW. Lets get back on topic...


Currently im look at the ibasso 10. Thoughts?

 

The fact is the OP mentioned in his thread title, "what is the BEST sound card". People are free to suggest whatever they want, until the OP further clarifies whether he has a budget or just doesn't mind spending $1000+ on the very best audio solution. Whether or not the cost is justified, there are people who are serious about audio and would buy these products. You still have not suggested a particular product to the OP and hence have not contributed to the thread, other than being a hypocrite and dismissing other people's suggestions without any technical justification.

While Creative Labs soundcards might be suitable for you, the facts are if you look at their components and implentation and compare them to a true audiophile solution, the specifications for the opamps will be better, the DAC will be better, and the capacitors will be better. There is no quick summary report showing this, so you have to look up the parts themselves. If you aren't willing to use a search engine then it is laziness, there is nothing offensive or rude about it, unlike some of your replies about people being a "troll". Anyways I apologize to the OP, as we've gone very OT. So back to suggestions... what's your budget? The iBasso D10 is $430 from what I've seen, have you checked what other stores carry it?

 

My personal blanket statement: Creative builds horrible sound equipment, even their high line cambridge sound works. Although I'm yet to try their new pro line up(EMU).

That being said, I've used several different DACs from creative, from the xmod to some of the old sound blasters. And none of them could touch my Echo AudioFire2. I got my AF2 used for 100$ and I'd have to say that its the best 100$ I've put towards sound equipment.

 

The OP asked what the best was for a laptop and I answered. You are coming up with stuff out of thin air. A cheap USB DAC is in the same price range as the X-FI notebook and will have better sound quality. Because of the small size of the Creative sound card and the specs Creative lists for it, we can surmise that it is using a mid range HD audio codec, not too much different than the sound chips already in laptops. However, it is better than the low end codecs and since it is enclosed separately from the laptop, it probably has a lot less interference. We can also hope that the creative engineers tried to do a good job designing the system with regards to audio quality. However, the fact remains that it uses a crappy audio codec and it has limited potential to begin with. It is subpar compared to the rest of Creative's range of audio products. Of course their marketing picks up where the sound card leaves off....

 

The OP did ask for the BEST...and no one in their right mind would say that the X-Fi cards are the best.

 

And what if i ask for a good DAC for about... 100$ or somethig around?
i'm looking @ dr. dac nano.
Will use with lap top one one side and AKG K271 on another. Now headphones connected to Prodigy HD2.