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Listening

So, how does the Prodigy 7.1e sound?  Well, we play music and listen to it, a lot.  Listening tests are presented entirely as a subjective opinion.   I switch between several sound cards, the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude and the ASUS Xonar D2X, and evaluate the same piece of music, listening to anything detectably different.  I used a number of familiar songs, from the Beatles, Cake, Rush, Pink Floyd, all the way to candy sweet J-pop, in various formats, FLAC, WAV, and MP3.  I used a pair of Grado SR-125 headphones and Foobar2K to handle the music.

Without further ado, the grand wall of text:

Pink Floyd, Time, DSotM, MFSL Gold Disc, 247 kbps (VBR V0) MP3.  The MFSL mix is darker than the original (vinyl) which requires a bit more volume to bring out the cymbals, which in the case of the Prodigy 7.1e volume is not a problem.  But even with a nudge more volume, all the stuff in the middle simply overpowers everything else and the cymbals arent easy to hear with the Prodigy, even though its sound is best described as very clean, clear, and cheerful.  The Auzentech X-Fi brings out the cymbals nicely, but of course, neither of them brings out nearly as much depth and layers as the Xonar does.  Near the end of the track, about 5:50 or so, when the backing vocals begin to come out of the texture, the Prodigy 71e does a good job separating the instruments, but not as well as the Xonar or Auzentech X-Fi.  And of course, the clocks in the beginning are rather crisp and clean with the Prodigy 71e.

Bob Marley, Jammin, Babylon by Bus, 24-bit/192 KHz recorded off the vinyl.  Normally, this file would be a problem for the Prodigy since its maximum sample rate is 96 KHz, but with the lack of a kernel-streaming service, Vista just downsamples the file to work.  Meh.  The results are great, though, and the sound of the vinyl is passed as good as any of the other cards right along to your ears.  Im so relaxed now anybody got some chips?  Oh, man, Pirate's Booty!  I got munchies.

Rush, Digital Man, Signals, MFSL Gold Disc, 203kbps (VBR V2) MP3.  The Prodigy 71e kinda scores well here, its bright and snappy sound really makes you jump around to this track.  The bass doesnt seem to be as strong, not quite as weighty as the Auzen X-Fi nor the Xonar.  But, for what it may lack in depth and texture, the Prodigy 71e definitely rocks!

Robert Patterson Quartet No 1, Logy.  16-bit/44.1 KHz WAV.  Stepping on the brakes somewhat with a string quartet, this well played and well recorded piece is about a blissful banjo daydream interrupted by life.  Sonically, its not much of a challenge for the Prodigy, I only noted a slight difference in room sound and perhaps a little more separation of instruments with the Auzen X-Fi.  But thats about it, the Prodigy 71e and the AKM DACs make screeching violins sound good and smooth.  A full orchestra I dont think would be too difficult for this thing.

The Prodigy 71e has a very clean and crisp sound, offering much more than adequate detail, but lacks a little oomph in the bass as compared to both Auzentech X-Fi and the ASUS Xonar D2X.  It might be unfair to compare the Prodigy 71e to those cards, but with the Prodigys specs, it does hold its own.

One thing to note is that with a dedicated headphone output, you can hook up some high-end headphones and get even better results.  I spent a little time with the Prodigy 71e and a pair of AKG K701s and the results were pretty spectacular.  I think for headphone gamers/listeners, the Prodigy 71e is a great way to go!