HI could someone please help , I wish to to upgrade from the onboard sound of the asrock dual sata . The main use will be for messing about with fruty loops and cubase and playing music and a bit of gameing. At the minute I have the computer conected to my hi-fi amp and speakers and there a lot back ground hiss . If I do any thing complex in fruity loops there's also crackling.I'm drawn to the m audio Audiophile 2496 just a little bit worried about compatabity with games and mp3 players.Any thougths greatly appreciated
m audio Audiophile 2496 or creative
- Thread starter fester
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The Audiophile shouldn't have any problems with mp3 players.
Normal stereo in games should also be fine (I use an M-Audio Delta66 and that has no problems).
You will miss out on stuff like EAX however.
The benefit is good audio quality - although I haven't heard the X-Fi cards, which are supposed to be good, I found the Audiophile's general audio quality to be superior to that of previous Creative cards I have heard in the given price range.
The Audiophile also has excellent ASIO support for working with audio applications, and uncomplicated, but effective drivers.
If music creation is a priority then I'd go with the Audiophile.
Bear in mind that if you want to record with a microphone, you will need a mic pre-amp, or mixing desk with built in pre's.
The M-Audio Audiobuddy pre-amp is around £60.
Normal stereo in games should also be fine (I use an M-Audio Delta66 and that has no problems).
You will miss out on stuff like EAX however.
The benefit is good audio quality - although I haven't heard the X-Fi cards, which are supposed to be good, I found the Audiophile's general audio quality to be superior to that of previous Creative cards I have heard in the given price range.
The Audiophile also has excellent ASIO support for working with audio applications, and uncomplicated, but effective drivers.
If music creation is a priority then I'd go with the Audiophile.
Bear in mind that if you want to record with a microphone, you will need a mic pre-amp, or mixing desk with built in pre's.
The M-Audio Audiobuddy pre-amp is around £60.
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Try the Emu 0404. It's a better card than the Audiophile and gives you a plethora of options that the M-Audio is lacking. £59.99 to the £55.99 of the 2496.
I use the Emu and my mate uses the Audiophile. Together we both make sweet, sweet music. But I have an Optical out for my studio monitors and he doesn't.
I use the Emu and my mate uses the Audiophile. Together we both make sweet, sweet music. But I have an Optical out for my studio monitors and he doesn't.
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glitch said:
The AudioPhile has digital I/O - it's S/PDIF as opposed to optical.
I don't know if they are sorted out yet - but the EMU's drivers certainly had terrible trouble to begin with.
The fact that they are made by Creative, under another name is enough to put me off to be honest.
Have a read of the "Emu 0404 vs Audiophile 2496?" thread here:
http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=140624
The benefit of the EMU appears to lie in its 1/4 inputs and onboard effects.
As far as sound quality they should be virtually identical.
I think the Delta driver set is just brilliant, and it would take something like a nice MOTU unit to tempt me away from a Delta series card.
All that said, SOS give the 0404 a fantastic review here:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/emu0404.htm
...so as long as you don't have issues with the drivers, I'm sure it'll be a great card.
You certainly can't tell the difference between them, but I think the 0404 is worth the extra fiver over the 2496 - providing you'll use some of the features it offers over and above the M-Audio.
When I said 'better' I meant in terms of features, not as a direct comparison of quality.
When I said 'better' I meant in terms of features, not as a direct comparison of quality.