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    Upgrade Audio

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by husky55, Mar 12, 2009.

  1. husky55

    husky55 Notebook Evangelist

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    husky55, Mar 12, 2009
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  2. Persnickety

    Persnickety Notebook Evangelist

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    Well, it's an USB-interface. Which means that although it does 24bit/96khz it does this by upsampling (i.e. it takes a 16bit/44.1kHz (or 48khz) signal and processes it ... Add to that the lack of bandwidth when it comes to USB for audio and you get what those posters talk about: 1-2 seconds (!) of lag.
    In reality you'd be better off with a good quality a 48kHz 16bit audio card. It's like pixels on cameras – the bitrate and samplerate are far from the end-all parameter.

    On the other hand: It's cheap. :)
     
    Persnickety, Mar 12, 2009
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  3. husky55

    husky55 Notebook Evangelist

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    husky55, Mar 12, 2009
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  4. RangerXML

    RangerXML Army of None [TRH]

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    I like the USB option, great for a docking setup. I'm actually considering it.
     
    RangerXML, Mar 12, 2009
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  5. Persnickety

    Persnickety Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes I would, but it's still a consumer product (which is all fine and dandy), and even though I don't know it to be true, I'm willing to bet that that expresscard uses the USB protocol even though it's an expresscard.

    I have to comment on something they write:

    Those are lossy formats, and nothing will "restore" what has been tossed out. No, they may veil the loss, but when it comes to fidelity this is not something anyone wants.

    So, either they are making use of simple and proper stereo imaging (as one should) or they are adding effects by way of latency (something you certainly does NOT want).

    However, I do like having it all-in, so this will be what I will buy when I get hold of an X200s with the right specs:

    http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/ExpressCard/IndigoIOx/index.php

    (it's the stereo version)

    It also comes in this version:

    http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/ExpressCard/IndigoDJx/index.php

    Suffice to say it's quite a bit more expensive than the first one and more than twice the price of the X-Fi.

    Now, instead of recommending any of the Indigos, I'd recommend a true USB-DAC with good amps in it (let's face it, it's here things matter most).

    Begin here and see what your budget allows and what you want (and how big you want):

    http://www.google.com/search?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&q=USB+DAC

    Oh, btw, you don't listen to lossy formats, do you?
     
    Persnickety, Mar 12, 2009
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  6. DestruyaX

    DestruyaX Notebook Evangelist

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    DestruyaX, Mar 12, 2009
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