USB Sound Card

2

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  • nguyendot
    nguyendot Posts: 3,594
    edited January 2010
    Everything will play through it. He only wanted to disable the windows default dings etc.
    Main Surround -
    Epson 8350 Projector/ Elite Screens 120" / Pioneer Elite SC-35 / Sunfire Signature / Focal Chorus 716s / Focal Chorus CC / Polk MC80 / Polk PSW150 sub

    Bedroom - Sharp Aquos 70" 650 / Pioneer SC-1222k / Polk RT-55 / Polk CS-250

    Den - Rotel RSP-1068 / Threshold CAS-2 / Boston VR-M60 / BDP-05FD
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,485
    edited January 2010
    To the OP,
    What do you currently have for sound on your computer? Anything with an optical output? If so, you could probably find a decent stand alone DAC that would sound better.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    I have a crappy onboard sound solution, it's terrible, which is why I'm looking at other options.
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  • adam2434
    adam2434 Posts: 995
    edited January 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    So if I install one of these will it only serve as the sound device for Winamp? What about other Windows sounds, stuff like YouTube videos and all that?

    Any audio will play through whichever device you set to the default in the Windows control panel.

    A cool thing about audio player programs like Foobar (which I highly recommend) and Winamp is that you can set the output device to be your USB DAC for music listening, but keep the Windows control panel default set to the computer's sound card/speakers for normal computer activities.
    5.1 and 2.0 ch Basement Media Room: Outlaw 975/Emotiva DC-1/Rotel RB-1582 MKII/Rotel RB-1552/Audiosource Amp 3/Polk LS90, CS400i, FX500i/Outlaw X-12, LFM-1/JVD DLA-HD250/Da-Lite 100" HCCV/Sony ES BDP/Sonos Connect. DC-1/RB-1582 MKII/Sonos Connect also feed Polk 7C in garage or Dayton IO655 on patio.
    2.1 ch Basement Gym: Denon AVR-2807/Klipsch Forte I or NHT SB2/JBL SUB 550P x 2/Chromecast Audio.
    2.0 ch Living Room: Rotel RX-1052/Emotiva DC-1/Klipsch RF-7 III/Sony ES BDP/LG 65" LED.
    2.0 ch Semi-portable: Klipsch Powergate/NHT SB3/Chromecast Audio.
    Kitchen: Sonos Play5.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    Gotcha

    I've worked with computers for years, and I guess the thought of simply getting sound via USB without alot of work just sounds to good to be true, but apparently it's fairly common.

    I'm looking at the models on hotaudio and am reading that they are just plug and play, and people online seem to like them alot. I wasn't looking for great sound, but looks like I may be able to actually get decent sound quality and not have to spend a ton.
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  • adam2434
    adam2434 Posts: 995
    edited January 2010
    Here's another sub $100 unit that gets good feedback.

    http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HRTMS
    5.1 and 2.0 ch Basement Media Room: Outlaw 975/Emotiva DC-1/Rotel RB-1582 MKII/Rotel RB-1552/Audiosource Amp 3/Polk LS90, CS400i, FX500i/Outlaw X-12, LFM-1/JVD DLA-HD250/Da-Lite 100" HCCV/Sony ES BDP/Sonos Connect. DC-1/RB-1582 MKII/Sonos Connect also feed Polk 7C in garage or Dayton IO655 on patio.
    2.1 ch Basement Gym: Denon AVR-2807/Klipsch Forte I or NHT SB2/JBL SUB 550P x 2/Chromecast Audio.
    2.0 ch Living Room: Rotel RX-1052/Emotiva DC-1/Klipsch RF-7 III/Sony ES BDP/LG 65" LED.
    2.0 ch Semi-portable: Klipsch Powergate/NHT SB3/Chromecast Audio.
    Kitchen: Sonos Play5.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,485
    edited January 2010
    Maybe its just me, but for ~$100, I'd rather have a full blown high quality USB sound card complete with inputs, headphone output, and ASIO drivers. I'm referring to the E-Mu 0202 USB. You'll probably find just as many folks over at Headfi who love the 0202.

    It can probably be said that the driver complement is more complicated with the E-Mu unit. I won't deny that. It will have normal sound card drivers that must be installed, and it also needs something called E-mu Patchmix DSP to run. Patchmix is like a mixing board, you can tell the device exactly how to route the inputs/outputs. I don't find the E-mu drivers or software to be the slightest bit unstable. I've been using the E-Mu 0404 for a little more than 18 months and I still love it. Great sounding output, very stable drivers, AND, it records great (I've done some really nice vinyl rips).
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,437
    edited January 2010
    I picked up a couple of these when Comp USA when under.

    http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Xmod/M/B000IZ96LQ.htm

    It actually sounds pretty good, far better than the crappy sound card in my laptop or my desktop at work. At home I use it when we sit in bed and watch movies on the laptop. At work I use one for music played through a set of Boston Acoustic speakers.
    Stan
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    How's the headphone section in the 0202?

    One thing that's appealing about the hotaudio models I'm looking at is that they also double as a decent headphone amp, how does the e-mu fair in that area?
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,485
    edited January 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    How's the headphone section in the 0202?

    One thing that's appealing about the hotaudio models I'm looking at is that they also double as a decent headphone amp, how does the e-mu fair in that area?

    You'll have to search around at Head-fi. I don't have that model. I'm sure it depends greatly on which set of cans you have. I wouldn't expect it to push a set of inefficient Senns, but maybe a set of Grados.
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  • MLZ
    MLZ Posts: 214
    edited January 2010
    I rip my music to a second hard drive, then got an internal sound card. My problem was whenever my PC read from the hard drive, the sound card got noisy. I only need a USB connection with my PC and two channel out, so after some research, I got a SilverStone EB01 and have been happy. http://www.sundialmicro.com/silverstone_sound_controller_ssteb01b_2111_624.html

    HP desktop / Window7 64 bit / J. River Media JukeBox / WMA Lossless
    SilverStone EB01 USB DAC
    ONKYO A-9555
    Canare Star Quad 4s11 Speaker Cable - Biwired
    Polk RTi8
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  • adam2434
    adam2434 Posts: 995
    edited January 2010
    MLZ, the Silverstone was another $100 unit that I was going to recommend, but could not find it at Newegg.com, so figured they were history.

    I checked out your link for kicks and learned that they want $30 for ground shipping to Ohio - something wrong with that.
    5.1 and 2.0 ch Basement Media Room: Outlaw 975/Emotiva DC-1/Rotel RB-1582 MKII/Rotel RB-1552/Audiosource Amp 3/Polk LS90, CS400i, FX500i/Outlaw X-12, LFM-1/JVD DLA-HD250/Da-Lite 100" HCCV/Sony ES BDP/Sonos Connect. DC-1/RB-1582 MKII/Sonos Connect also feed Polk 7C in garage or Dayton IO655 on patio.
    2.1 ch Basement Gym: Denon AVR-2807/Klipsch Forte I or NHT SB2/JBL SUB 550P x 2/Chromecast Audio.
    2.0 ch Living Room: Rotel RX-1052/Emotiva DC-1/Klipsch RF-7 III/Sony ES BDP/LG 65" LED.
    2.0 ch Semi-portable: Klipsch Powergate/NHT SB3/Chromecast Audio.
    Kitchen: Sonos Play5.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    I was in Fry's today and saw the e-mu 0202 for 115. I decided to go ahead and pick one of those up.

    I also ordered the least expensive dac from hotaudio.

    I'm gonna hook up that e-mu later tonight and will post my thoughts on that later.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    So....

    Apparently there are no Windows 7 drivers for the e-mu device. I should have done this research up front, so that's on me I suppose.

    I tried installing the current (dated 02/2008!!!) driver and it's a no go in Vista.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    Stupid edit time limit...

    I meant to say it's a no go in Windows 7. The drivers claim to have Vista support, but it's not working in Windows 7 for me.
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited January 2010
    Does it have to be USB? If not check out Asus Xonar cards.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

    Home Theater Pics in the Showcase :cool:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=73580
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited January 2010
    Sherardp wrote: »
    Does it have to be USB? If not check out Asus Xonar cards.

    Thats what I m saying Asus for pure sound and Creative X-fi for gaming or HT.

    Asus is another brand that i'm very familiar with.

    Also HT omega is worth a look for real sound cards that can actually process data vs Just a DAC. Merit for both but if you looking for a digital source internal cards are the way to go.
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited January 2010
    MLZ wrote: »
    I rip my music to a second hard drive, then got an internal sound card. My problem was whenever my PC read from the hard drive, the sound card got noisy. I only need a USB connection with my PC and two channel out, so after some research, I got a SilverStone EB01 and have been happy. http://www.sundialmicro.com/silverstone_sound_controller_ssteb01b_2111_624.html

    HP desktop / Window7 64 bit / J. River Media JukeBox / WMA Lossless
    SilverStone EB01 USB DAC
    ONKYO A-9555
    Canare Star Quad 4s11 Speaker Cable - Biwired
    Polk RTi8

    Thats a weird problem LOL. by the way there is almost never a time when your PC is not reading from your hard drive. It is in fact reading from your hard drive almost constantly.

    That sounds like a driver problem or Mobo problem rather then a sound card problem.
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited January 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    So....

    Apparently there are no Windows 7 drivers for the e-mu device. I should have done this research up front, so that's on me I suppose.

    I tried installing the current (dated 02/2008!!!) driver and it's a no go in Vista.

    your saying the vista drivers don't work in win 7? or you duel booted and it dose not work in vista as well?
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited January 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    Stupid edit time limit...

    I meant to say it's a no go in Windows 7. The drivers claim to have Vista support, but it's not working in Windows 7 for me.

    http://www.amazon.com/M-AUDIO-Transit-Resolution-Mobile-Upgrade/dp/B0000CDHP5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1263692682&sr=8-1
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    I took the e-mu back and picked up a m-audio model. It's somewhat similar, with a little less functionality but is supposedly compatible with windows 7. I'll be testing later tonight.

    The m-audio does only do 24 bit 44 khz vs 96 khz on the emu, can someone explain to me what I'm losing there?

    I need the USB capability because I also want to be able to use it with a laptop.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,485
    edited January 2010
    I had no problems using the E-mu 0404 (PCI) Vista drivers in Windows 7 64bit. Worked 100% for me. What exactly is the problem? Silly question, but are you installing them as Admin?

    A quick search at Head-Fi and other people are using the Emu USB units with Windows 7 and they seem to be ok, few minor issues, but working anyway.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited January 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    The m-audio does only do 24 bit 44 khz vs 96 khz on the emu, can someone explain to me what I'm losing there?

    The Transit model I sent a link to does 96kHz. I have two of those for work and they work great.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    When I plugged the emu in any application that would try to use audio (winamp, media player, even the audio properties in control panel) would lock up, I could unplug the device and it's fine, but as soon as I plug the device in whatever app just locks up.

    Maybe I got a lemon, who knows. The one thing I will say is that the latest drivers I could find are dated February, of 2008! I'm not going to hand my money to a company who doesn't prove up to date driver support for their products.

    Sami, I'll kook into that transit device as well
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited January 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    I took the e-mu back and picked up a m-audio model. It's somewhat similar, with a little less functionality but is supposedly compatible with windows 7. I'll be testing later tonight.

    The m-audio does only do 24 bit 44 khz vs 96 khz on the emu, can someone explain to me what I'm losing there?

    I need the USB capability because I also want to be able to use it with a laptop.

    The only time you would be losing musical information is if you pay high ress lossless files and then you would not be losing vitally important amounts of information unless you have a high end audio set up you wouldn't notice.

    (that spec is called the sample rate higher the better)

    Other wise its pretty much comes down to which one gets better reviews cheaper or looks prettier. which ever combination of those factors matters more to you should determine which one you buy over a higher sample rate spec.
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,485
    edited January 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    When I plugged the emu in any application that would try to use audio (winamp, media player, even the audio properties in control panel) would lock up, I could unplug the device and it's fine, but as soon as I plug the device in whatever app just locks up.

    Maybe I got a lemon, who knows. The one thing I will say is that the latest drivers I could find are dated February, of 2008! I'm not going to hand my money to a company who doesn't prove up to date driver support for their products.

    Sami, I'll kook into that transit device as well

    Sounds like setup issues, not incompatible drivers.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    ^^^ Care to elaborate on that? A faulty driver would explain exactly what I'm seeing, and could be the cause of 'setup issues'. Like I said it could have just been a lomen unit, I did pick it up at the local Frys and it was a previously returned product. I typically don't buy those, but Frys had 6 of these on the shelf and they were all previous returns, so I had no option.

    Keep in mind I'm not an idiot when it comes to computer stuff, so this isn't a case of me 'not being able to figure it out'.

    At any rate, I got the M-Audio set up last night and its working great. The audio is TONS better than the crappy on board sound with both my desktop and laptop, well worth the $100 I paid for it.

    I will say though that the E-Mu is a more well-featured product than the M-Audio, it has a 1/8 stereo mini output jack vs just the rca on the m-audio and a bigger 1/4 headphone jack vs the 1/8 on the m-audio. It also has 96 hz vs 44hz, but from what I'm reading and what I'm using this setup for that shouldn't matter to me.

    Bottom line, I 'think' the E-Mu 0202 is actually the better piece of hardware given it's features and specs. The nice thing about the M-Audio is that it works, and is perfect for what I need. I sent an email to the E-Mu support team last night asking about Windows 7 support, citing the problem I had and the more 'minor' issues that I see being discussed everywhere else.

    As soon as Creative gets off their **** and give me a set of drivers that are not 2 freaking years old I'll actually pick one of those up and use the M-Audio strictly for the laptop. It's not like these devices are discontinued, I could at least understand not supporting discontinued devices, but to have a computer related device that you're still selling that hasn't had a driver update in 2 years is simply unacceptable - show me another example of that and I'll reconsider my position.

    Bill, I do appreciate the tip on the E-Mu, because now I at least know to to keep an eye on that device. It didn't work out for me right now, but I don't want to sound ungrateful for the help, which is probably how I'm coming across.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,485
    edited January 2010
    Not implying your a computer schmuck, but pro sound cards and ASIO drivers can be confusing if you have never used them. Things like DCP latency, matching the sample rate between windows and EMU drivers, etc.

    For whatever reason, those 2 year old Emu drivers work perfect for me and my 0404PCI under Windows 7 64bit.

    The reason they are 2 years old is that is when Vista came out. They were perfectly stable under Vista, so there has been no need to update them. They are still working on Windows 7 drivers, as are many hardware companies.

    Glad to hear you are happy with the M-audio.
    Back when I bought my Emu, I was looking at some of the M-audio products, but they didn't have any compatible drivers for my 64bit (XP) system. I guess they have caught up.
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  • MLZ
    MLZ Posts: 214
    edited January 2010
    MANSKITO wrote: »
    Thats a weird problem LOL. by the way there is almost never a time when your PC is not reading from your hard drive. It is in fact reading from your hard drive almost constantly.

    That sounds like a driver problem or Mobo problem rather then a sound card problem.

    It was only with the 2nd added HD most noticible if my amp was on and I also was copying data to my new drive. Anyway, the EB01 solved all that.:)
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited January 2010
    Okay, so I have an update and some more questions:

    I decided to take the M-Audio back and give the E-Mu another try. The M-Audio worked fine, but the idea of the extra features on the E-Mu kept nagging at me and like i said before, I know it's got to be a better device.

    For the first hour I started out with the exact same results as last time. Don't ask me how, but on the second attempt this time around I got it working. I didn't do anything different, it just worked this time.

    So at this point I have a (mostly) working device. The problem that I'm having now is pops and crackles in the music. I'm reading in the manual and it talks about ASIO buffer size, but I'm not sure how to adjust it.

    For the moment, let's say that I only care about playback and not recording, what do I need to do to get this thingight? I'll worry about recording at a later time when I get ready for that.
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