Page 7
Got Vinyl?
The comparison was extremely close in digitizing LP records, and there isnt a clear winner. I used a Rega Planar 2 with a Sumiko BluePoint cartridge (ah, the credit card years) using the RIAA equalization on a Rotel RX845 receiver and ran the cable to the sound cards through the tape-out. I recorded with WaveLab Lite 2.0 with 24 bit/96kHz resolution.
A couple of records were used in the task, The Clash: Combat Rock, side 1, tracks 4 and 5, 'Should I Stay or Should I Go ?' and 'Rockin the Casbah' and Bob Marley & The Wailers: Babylon By Bus, record 2, side B, track 3, 'Jamming'. The Audigy2 provided less gain by about 8dB, and also the Auxiliary-In 2 had a rather nasty channel imbalance of about 7dB (to the left). The channel imbalance and gain are easy enough to fix in an editing program such as SoundForge, but its just more work for a real-time process.
As for the captured detail, a euphemism for sound quality, both cards will give you very pleasing performance. In fact, the differences I heard early on disappeared with a more critical listening session. If my ears did not deceive me (and it could very well be) the Audigy2 has the finer ADC. Sibilance (the Ts, Ss, Shhhs) were both excellent, with a slight nod to the DMX 6-fire as the better, but instrument timbres are ever so slightly better with the Audigy2, such as the tambourine in Should I Stay or Should I Go ?. The high-frequencies are more extended with the DMX 6-fire, giving more air, but actually became slightly etched sounding with certain passages. Other than that, theyre pretty much identical in ability. You can be certain you are getting all the fidelity your LP rig can deliver with either card.
In short, for digitizing LPs both cards deliver the goods. You can even digitize in 24 bit/192kHz for the Audigy2 to playback, but I don't see the point. At this time, only the Auidgy2 can play it back. But I digress. The Audigy2 is a fine sounding card, but it just cant compete with the TerraTec in the audio department. It will have to find its forte elsewhere.
DVD-Movie and DVD-Audio
Only one sound card that Im aware of can make use of your DVD drive to play DVD-Audio and thats the Audigy2. I wont go into the details of who, what, when, where, why, and how, but DVD-Audio is mostly a gimmick at this point in time. You can get 24 bit/96kHz in 5.1 channel surround sound or 2-channel (stereo) in 24 bit/192kHz with a DVD-Audio disc. Most discs contain both tracks, but honestly, if I want surround sound Ill go see a concert. Also, the DVD-Audio player that comes with the Audigy2 isn't the most polished bit of code I've ever used, so it's utility isn't very high. DVD-Audio is a very promising new standard for audio quality, however, but there just isnt enough music in the catalogue to listen to. Its also a highly protected standard that you cant rip or simply copy. Thats great news to the RIAA, Im sure.
There is also a four-letter problem called Sony, who has the catalogue of music, but also has a competing standard, SACD. Sony, in its infinite wisdom, also created proprietary hardware to decode it. To my knowledge, there are no SACD drives for computers, so as a music lover and consumer, this rightly sucks. Quite possibly Sony could tack on SACD compatibility to one of their rather righteous DVD burners.
For DVD movies, the 6-fire works just fine. I used a DVD of a fine musical, the Rocky Horror Picture Show (deluxe edition replete with condoms), and The Osbournes Season One (replete with Ozzy translator). Honestly. I know that the Osbournes disc isnt in surround sound, so please consider it a guilty pleasure.
I didnt notice any untoward channel imbalances and sound moved from speaker to speaker smoothly in my cobbled together 4.1 system. Nothing to report. Moving along. I have seen enough dogs poop for one day.
