Audiophile’s Sound Card: For “Audiophile Wanna Be”?
Later these days, I saw many new sound cards claiming itself as an audiophile’s card. Few of the sample are Onkyo SE-90PCI, SE-150PCI, and some from Audiotrak like Prodigy 7.1 XT Gold or HiFi version.
Very interesting to see what is real thing behind this phenomena.
Onkyo SE-90PCI, 2 channel sound card from Onkyo. Claims 110 dB SNR and 24 bit 192 kHz. High quality components used on board.
Who is the target market for this type of cards?
For some people, most consumer grade sound card quality is horrible. It’s far from good, thought I believe it’s good enough for most people. The current available solution is a professional card. The problem is, this card offers a lot of “useless” professional feature for non-pro user. Let’s say I’m not a professional but I expect better sound quality than consumer card. What should I do? Buy a $500 professional card for playing my collections is not a feasible way.
So, the solution is available right now. Most vendors offer a new sound card, with professional grade quality but with reduced “useless” consumer function. I will not find a balanced AES/EBU, no external clock supported, no extra onboard preamp, no phantom power, etc. All I got is a professional sound quality with premium high quality components (and at lower price than professional card).
This kind of card also priced higher than most consumer card. But surely less than most professional card (at same quality). As example, you can have Creative X-Fi Extreme Music (consumer, 7.1, 24/192) at $100-120. At the same price (US$ 120), you only get the Onkyo SE-90PCI (audiophile grade claimed, 2 channel only, 24/192). I wonder they should pack this Onkyo with highest grade components to make it sound good. So, if this Onkyo sounds good, then they have to sound good. It’s a mandatory for a 2 channel card priced at the best 7.1 consumer card like X-Fi 
The target market is clear. For you who want to get better sound from your PC (I use word “better”, not “best” because I’ve never found “best” sound from PC in whole of my life playing with PC and dozens of cards), but you don’t want to pay at professional card price (and you don’t and won’t use the professional card’s features anyway).
Similiar with SE-90PCI, this is the 7.1 version. The bit/sample rate is reduced to 24/96. High quality parts on board.
PC is the problem itself
Well, I have to tell you first. PC is a bad source for audiophile. A lot of noises inside the PC will affect your sound quality. This hindrance is very hard to be avoided. And if you insist, you have to pay more for extra shielding and filtering. Only to get a better sound from your PC. I’m gonna tell you this: it’s easier to design a good audio circuit than to eliminate the environmental problem (noise, bad power supply, EMI, etc).
Inside the PC, the card should be plugged into the slot (commonly PCI). These PCI should get signal and power from the motherboard. If you have a bad motherboard in terms of environmental (bad circuit topology, crossing pcb lines, etc), then you have to live with it. Not all motherboard are designed to be good for audio. I mean, this motherboard may perform excellent, stable, long life, but it could perform bad in terms of audio due to “bad” design. This may not affect you Ethernet card, your VGA card, your modem card, but if it will affect your audio card. Who’s going to care about it? Audio has their own sacred way to perform good. For example, never let your audio cable touch the floor directly to perform better sound. Thas is one of the example of sacred audio way hard to believe, hard to explain, but shit happens when you do it.
The vendor tries to eliminate the problem by designing a better sound card. Protection from the outsider problems is the key. Audiotrak use PNK (PCI Noise Killer) technology. This technology claimed to provide better isolation for the card from the outsider noise. The expected result is a better sound, off course. Onkyo doesn’t mention their protection circuit. They only claim VLSC (Vector Linear Shaping Circuitry) to provide more analog sound. But I believe they also protect their card with expensive components and circuitry to provide better and better filtering.
All of these “audiophile’s claimed cards” are also supplied with massive high grade components. You can see high grade components (very clear explained when you see the capacitor size on the picture at this page). Higher grade component believed to provide better sound quality, better filtering, and better life.
A last tip from me. Every PCI slot has their own characteristic. Perhaps you get a lot of problem on one slot, then try to move the cards to another slot. Usually, lower slot (the one that far from the processor/AGP slot is the best) but you should try yourself.
I will discuss how to mod you card to become a better card. But later I guess 
Don’t have enough time right now to heat my soldering iron
For me myself, I’ve given up playing with PC sound, expect for typical daily listening and my recording hobby (I use ESI Juli@ and EMU 1820M). For real sound, I prefer stand alone equipment like CD Player, integrated or separated amplifier, and a bookshelf/floorstand speakers. PC audio never satisfy me and never at least until near future 
I would spend my money more and invest on stand alone equipment rather than my PC audio. Oh well, that’s me… You are free to have different opinions But surely there are a lot of people out there trying and begging for “audiophile’s sound quality” from their PC. This card is yours for sure.
The last is card from Audiotrak. So far, Audiotrak is well know as prosumer card maker (ESI handles the professional division). Now, Audiotrak releases the Prodigy HiFi version. From the picture, we can expect high quality parts used.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I have read your site. very professional and interesting. I am using the onkyo se-90pci sound card for pc and altec mx5021 speakers.
I am planning to go to vacuum tube (hongkong/china made) technology and link to the sound card. what do you think of this plan? Since going to vacuum tube, i am considering good bookshelf speakers. can those hifi bookshelf speakers replace the mx5021 satellite to start experimenting with?i could buy 6 to 8hms rating as a start since they are rated 6 ohms 20watts per channel.
what is a good vacuum tube circuit design for pc in your opinion using the onkyo card as input?
i live in hongkong so i have many choices here but i am still a newbie for this hobby.
Appreciate your comments and direction.
March 14th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Well, you have a good start. Onkyo is a nice card, and MX5021 is good one to (though CS21 or the “old” Altec 621 should be better). I’ve modded the MX5021 and will post tomorrow.
For a start, you can try Quad 11L. Nice price/performance speaker so far. The MX5021 should drive most speaker with no problem, but perhaps will lack of power.
For the vacuum tube, HongKong/Cina is a good one to start (you can mod it somehow to achieve better quality). I think you can try one with EL34 tube in push pull configuration (AB Class). This should fit most of your audio application.
About you vacuum tube, will you use it for buffer, preamp, or amplifier? I assume you want to use it with Onkyo and bookshelf, then you will need an integrated amplifier (preamp + amplifier combo). Any integrated amplifier will do.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Thank you for your quick reply Jimmy, I will use the vacuum tube as a start for Onkyo and bookshelf. So it will be integrated amplifier (preamp+amp combo). I agree, standalone rather than pc system is real sound. I will invest considering standalone switchover as I progress and satisfy my needs. Again, thanks and more power to your site. Regards from Hong Kong
March 15th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Nice to talk with you to.
An integrated is a good way to start. Some brand like Cayin, Consonance, Shanling are good brand. I don’t know much about others (I believe there are a lot of others brand in HK/China/Taiwan), but the brand that I mention above are good.
PS: Please email me to me@jimmyauw.com so we can discuss more. Maybe we can trade some parts (audio components) between Hong Kong and Indonesia.
Good luck man! Enjoy the music. Regards from Indonesia.
March 28th, 2007 at 2:26 am
I am planning to replace my sound card Creative Audigy 2 ZS on my PC, can you give me your reference, what is the better Onkyo SE150PCI, M-Audio Audiphile 192 HD, or Creative X-Fi ExtremeMusic ?
Thank you
March 28th, 2007 at 7:22 am
Hi,
If your main consideration is for gaming, then go for X-Fi.
If for pro (recording), then go for M-Audio.
If mainly for music playback, then go for SE-150PCI (or even the SE-90).
Simple solution, right?
Thanks.
April 4th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Hi mr. jimmy, which caps dat u suggest 4 me to upgrade my SE-90???
April 18th, 2007 at 12:52 am
Just curious, why not a toslink optical to a dac?
I use a Cambridge DAC-3 (not the very best, but about 1000skr (~$100) used, which fitted nicely into my student-budget). Less than a ok sound card and no interference from the computer.
I truly hate optical media. Flac on a hard disk i much nicer to deal with. I don’t even own a music cd-player. Just computer and vinyl as sources.
Otherwise, I like the m-audio audiophile delta 2496 (which sounds very similar to the dac-3, but a bit more noise).
/Markus
April 18th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Nice idea Markus…
An external DAC should have better sound… but dont forget, you need a good sound card to feed the DAC to… because not all sound card has same quality digital out… Good external DAC paired with bad sound card is a waste…
Jitter is the main problem.
May 25th, 2007 at 10:19 am
[...] result. No surpise if ASUS also tries the same way to achieve better sound quality. Read more here about audiophile’s sound [...]
July 11th, 2007 at 12:46 am
Sorry, but these card aren’t even close to a RME or Digidesign Soundcard: I’m an italian ex-audiophile who had for years B&W 801 Matrix speakers, Musical Fidelity tube Amp and so on…and now I’m trying to get the best out of my PC…I’m seriously considering an external DAC plugged to a good goog amp and good Loudpseakers too (or Biamped near field monitors) or a Professional Soundcard
August 1st, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Hi Jimmy,
Very interesting recomendations, after reading your comments I made my mind and I just finish my search to improve my PC sound, now one question, where can I buy Onkyo sound card.
Regards,
rq
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:39 am
Hi Ricardo,
It depends on your location. For some country, perhaps you should buy online from the Internet.
September 14th, 2007 at 2:08 am
Hi Jimmy,
For best audio quality you should try the Slimdevices Sqeezebox. It can solve all noise problems and its internal DAC is quite good, too. Sure you can achieve better sound with an external DAC to the Squeezebox but you’ll be amazed how good it sounds compared to some expensive EMU, M-Audio or RME stuff.
Regards,
Michael
October 12th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Halo Pak Jimmy,
Saya baca review Onkyo SE-90PCI pak jimmy di CHIP. Terus googling ketemu blognya pak jimmy. Saya pengen tau apa ada yang jual di Indonesia? Kalau tidak masuk Indonesia, apa pak jimmy punya rekomendasi online shop? Trims.
Regards,
Budi
October 13th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Coba cek di CHIP Classfied-nya forum CHIP…
Thanks.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Hello Jimmy,
What you think of this configuration
Onkio se200
Rotel ra06 amplifier
Dali Royal Tower
Only to listen to the music, on my HTPC
February 24th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Never tried RA06 with Dali… but you have chosen good soundcard…
March 16th, 2008 at 3:48 am
Hello Jimmy,
Thanks for all the input. I am getting a tonewin MS300BM tube integrated amp. and some reference 1 morrow speakers to use as my main stereo setup for audio playback (cd, tuner, etc.). However, I also want to connect my computer to it as a bonus. Can you recommend a good set up? Should I get the Onkyo SE150PCI for a sound card and then an external DAC to reduce noise? If not please recommend me a good setup (sound card, External DAC if needed). I’m planning to spend up to a couple of hundred USD if neccesary. Thanks for your help!!
My set can be found below:
http://www.audiosold.com/tonewinms300bm.htm (integrated single ended triod amplifier)
http://www.audiosold.com/reference1.htm (reference direct [no cross-over] floor speakers)
March 18th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
For PC and since you have so many budget, please try Lynx L22.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:38 am
Thanks for getting back to me Jimmy. Also wat about the Onkyo se200 ? Is it better then the Lynx? One final thing, will an external DAC like the Lite Audio Dac 60 or 68 improve the sound coming from the sound card? Thanks again!
March 19th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Onkyo will alter some sound (to produce audiophile like sound) and not recommended if you are a purist and want to use external DAC.
Lynx is a professional studio grade sound card, with perfect software and able to produce the sound as-is and unaltered. You can also inject external clock to this sound card to even lower the jitter.
If you just want to try “audiophile like” sound from PC (and connect directly to amplifier and speakers), Onkyo is a good option to try. But since I believe you are a “serious” user, better play with serious gears.
Thank you.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:21 am
I see, so even if I use the optical or coxial out on the Onkyo SE200 sound card it still adds coloration to the signal? Why would the Onkyo convert the digital signal to an analog signal then back to a digital signal to send out again? Thanks again for all the help!
March 20th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Onkyo sound card should be ok, but the limitation is on the system (the Windows). Professional card will have special driver (called ASIO) to bypass this software limitation. So the output should be better (again, in terms of the purity).
Onkyo will output the digital signal from the DSP, without changing it to analog then back to digital again. But I doubt the quality could be professional class sound card in terms of purity.
Grab the best professional card if you plan to use external D/A.
Grab Onkyo if you want to taste “audiophile” like sound from the PC (and connect it directly to your amplifier).
Thanks.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Which card is better, Onkyo se90 or Audiotrak Prodigy hd2. Onkyo is expensier.
March 21st, 2008 at 1:39 am
Thanks a lot for the input Jimmy. I will save up for the Lynx L22 then, it is expensive.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Audiotrak offers professional feature.
Onkyo produces more “audiophile” sound.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Yup, L22 and you can’t go wrong.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
HI JIMMY. I JUST BOUGHT A HEWLET PACKARD ELITE PAVILLION 9000 SERIES COMPUTER WITH Audio CODEC: Realtek ALC888S ASUS IPIBL-LA MOTHERBOARD. CHIPSET AND Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 with Quad Core technology PROCESSOR. I OPENED THE CASE AND THE BOARD IS ALL COPPER COLOR. EVERYTHING IS VERY TIGHTLY PUT TOGETHER. I WOULD LIKE TO USE THIS COMPUTER TO STORE AND PLAY MUSIC FILES. I HAVE COPLAND TUBE PRE, BRYSTON 7B MONO AND ANTHEM AMP FOR TOP END, AND TWO PAIR OF B&W 808. NOT ENOUGH POWER TO PLAY 808 AT LOW VOLUME SO I ONLY USE ONE PAIR AND WANT TO SET THE OTHER PAIR UP IN LIVING ROOM BUT WIFE DOES NOT WANT HUGE SPEAKERS IN LIVING ROOM SIZE OF A FRIDGE. I USE THE TELEVISION DIGITAL CABLE BOX NOT FOR TV BUT FOR MUSIC STREAMING FROM CABLE PROVIDER TO DIGITAL BOX DIRECT TO PREAMP. I HAVE AN EAD D/A CONVERTER AND DENON TRANSPORT. I SPIN VINYL BUT FIND IT EASIER TO JUST PUT THE COMMERCIAL FREE DIGITAL MUSIC ON THROUGH THE CABLE BOX (SOUND ROOM) OR INTERNET RADIO (OTHER COMPUTER USING SMALL COMPUTER SPEAKERS). THE SOUND IS AT A MASTERING SOUND ROOM LEVEL IN THE BIG RIG ROOM . WITH THE NEW CODECS AND PROCESSORS ETC., WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM THIS COMPUTER? I HAVE NOT TURNED IT ON YET BECAUSE I CAN TAKE IT BACK. I REALLY WANT AUDIOPHILE SOUND BUT AM REALISTIC THE ROOM/CABLES/HUMIDITY/SOURCE/STATE-OF-MIND/ETC ALL ADD UP TO THE FINAL EXPERIENCE. I AM FAMILIAR WITH BUILDING SOUND ROOMS AND RECORDING STUDIOS. WHAT I DO NOT WANT IS COMPRESSION AND NOISE AND DIGITAL RIGHTS NONSENSE OUT THE SPDIF THAT WINDOWS VISTA MAY OR MAY NOT BE FORCING DOWN THE THROAT OF MUSIC LOVERS EVERYWHERE. I AM MUSIC LITERATE NOT COMPUTER LITERATE. THEREFORE I ASK YOU KINDLY, WILL THIS COMPUTER MUSIC SERVER PLAYBACK I ENVISION WORK TO THE STANDARDS I EXPECT? THANKS PK
May 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Please explain how do you want to connect your computer to your sound system? With digital or analog connection?
Thanks.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Jimmy
tanya dung..
sound card yg ok untuk musik apa ya?
yg kisaran harga na 1-2jtan
thx yo
May 20th, 2008 at 6:14 am
Boleh coba ESI Juli@ atau Onkyo SE-90 di kisaran 1 jutaan.
Thanks.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Pak jimmy, saya newbie di audiophile tapi seneng denger musik bagus…
Dengan budget 3 jutaan, Saya rencananya mau upgrade audio kompie saya ke SC SE90 dengan speaker Edifier C3. Sisanya akan saya belikan buat aksesoris pendukung sperti kabel dan konektor.
Gimana menurut bapak?
Thanks
June 20th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Hmm… bolehlah untuk start awal… tapi kalo mau mending langsung beli speaker bookshelf dan amplifier aja… biar ga nanggung…
Thanks.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Speaker bookself dan amplifier rekomendasi apa pak? low end dulu deh
Memang ada rencana untuk buat yang lebih bagus tapi bukan PC based, jadi untuk yang PC based ini saya ga mau yang mahal2 dulu
June 21st, 2008 at 5:59 am
Kalo untuk start, mungkin bisa liat ampli-ampli 2 channel dari Denon, Rotel, etc.
Sudah boleh lah untuk nyobain audio yang lebih bener…
Silakan diaudisi aja cocok yang mana.
Thanks.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Trims pak..
Kalau speaker bookself yang recomend apa pak..?
BTW saya penggemar Dave Kozz, Lee Ritenour, dan sejenisnya. Juga penggemar bunyi bass yang bagus..
June 27th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Wah bookshelf ada banyak Pak. Mending dicoba audisi dulu aja beberapa merek seperti Wharfedale, Quad, Mission, etc.
Thanks.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Mr. Jimmy
Saya rencana mau mengganti ESI juli@ dengan Onkyo SE-200, menurut pak Jimmy apakah dengan Onkyo SE-200 saya bisa mendapatkan sound quality yang lbh bagus. Sebagai info saya hanya menggunakan PC speaker Altec Lansing CS21. Thank
July 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Hi,
ESI Juli@ dan Onkyo punya karakter yang agak beda.
Juli@ cenderung flat, Onkyo punya kolorasi di vokal.
Tinggal masalah selera.
Thanks.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:32 am
Mr. Jimmy
Mohon maaf, saya kurang paham dengan karakter “flat”, bisa diperjelas sedikit pak, dan saya lebih sering hanya untuk musik saja, jarang untuk recordng. Maksud saya apakah logis kalo saya mneggantikan Juli@ dengan Onkyo SE-200 ?
Thank
July 19th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Hi,
Flat cenderung natural, as-is, hampir gak ada kolorasi… jadi kolorasi bisa ditambahkan sendiri entah di preamp, amplifier, atau speaker…
Ibarat air, ini air putih bersih… jadi bisa cocok dipasangkan ama apa aja… mau dicampur jamu jadi pahit, dicampur sirop jadi manis, dsb… kalo Onkyo bawaannya mungkin agak “manis”… cocok kalo memang suka manis, tapi kalo kamu mau campur ama jamu, ntar rasanya agak gimana gitu…
Kalo sistem kamu sekarang sudah terasa cukup ok, ya sudah tidak perlu ganti… tapi kalo kamu merasa kurang di vokal, boleh coba Onkyo.
Jadi sangat-sangat relatif apa yang kamu kejar di sistem kamu (dan apa kurangnya).
Thanks.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Terima kasih banyak mas Jimmy atas penjelesannya, terus mau nanyak lagi nih, kalo studio monitor pakai ESI near05Experience cocok ngak ya dengan ESI Juli@, karena ada juga pilihan M-Audio yang setara dengn Near05, maklum mas ini buat “beginner”. Siapa tau mas punya reference ciri khas suara (maksudnya Low dan High nya) antara ESI dengan M-Audio
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:59 pm
nEar05 cari yang Classic, jangan yang eXperience.
M-Audio denger2 dibuat oleh ESI juga dan serinya sangat mirip antara BX dan nEar… ini sih denger2 loh… gak tau bener atau enggaknya.
Suara kurang lebih sama. Agak kurang bass hehehe.
Thanks.
August 20th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Hi pak Jimmy,
artikel yang bagus nih buat nambah pengetahuan untuk newbie seperti saya
btw saya ada rencana untuk upgrade speaker dan soundcard. Untuk speaker pakai Creative S750 7.1 disandingkan dengan X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatality.
bagaimana menurut pak jimmy?
saya lebih fokus ke game dan movie sih, kalo pake Onkyo PCI-SE200 kira2 cocok gak yah sama S750?
thanks informasi dan share knowledge-nya ya pa Jimmy….
August 21st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Cocok2 saja Pak… Kalo fokus ke game, rasanya pake X-Fi juga sudah ok koq…
August 27th, 2008 at 3:00 am
dear pak jimmy,
saya mau tanya, bagusan mana Esi Juli@ sama Echo MiaMidi?
trus saya kan pake speaker Altec MX5021, nah cara nyambungin ke TRS output SCnya gmana ya?? apa saya pake “1/8 stereo ke 2×1/4 TRS Mono” atau “1/8 stereo ke 2×1/4 TRS Stereo” atau gmana?
turu saya mau buat main gitar doang, nah apa yg saya butuhkan, DIbox saja atau tambah Preamp?
mohon bantuannya ya…
thanks sbelumnya
August 27th, 2008 at 5:16 am
eh sorry bukan “1/8 stereo ke 2×1/4 TRS Mono” atau “1/8 stereo ke 2×1/4 TRS Stereo”
tapi
“1/8 stereo jack ke 2×1/4 mono jack” atau “1/8 stereojack ke 2×1/4 TRS jack”
maaf salah… maklum newbee nih…hehe…..
August 27th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Bagusan MIA Midi sih menurut saya…
Pake 1/8″ stereo ke 2×1/4 TS Mono bisa deh harusnya…
Gitar apa nih? Asumsinya gitar listrik lah ya? Biasanya pake DI Box deh…
Thanks.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:10 am
thanks banyak mas jimmy…
btw, jarang2 ada blog yg beginian… sangat membantu…
kapan2 tanya lg ya hehe
good luck….
September 7th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Mas Jimmy, saya lagi bingung pilih soundcard baru, karena soundcard yg lama(onboard asus realtek) ngga ngangkat powernya untuk earphone triple.fi 10 pro, sehingga suaranya mendem, karakter yg aku inginkan FLAT, tapi rata2 ada yg bagus di detail treble tapi detail deep bass nya kurang, dan sebaliknya, ada ngga soundcard sekelas Esi Juli@ atau paling mahal sekelas emu 0404 usb yang detail disemua freq?
September 7th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Kalo soundcard 1 jutaan kayanya jarang yang ada dedicated headphone amplifier buat ngangkat headphone kelas “serius”… mungkin bisa dipertimbangkan pake headphone amplifier tambahan atau ganti sound card yang lebih mahal.
Thanks.
September 8th, 2008 at 11:14 am
hummm… menurut mas Jimmy, soundcard yg lebih mahal yg cocok apa?
kalau headphone amplifier yg cocok?
September 10th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Halo,
Sound card di kelas 2 jutaan lebih biasanya ada headphone amplifier-nya.
Headphone amplifier dedicated ada banyak macamnya sih, tergantung selera dan kebutuhan dulu, serta mau dipasangkan dengan headphone apa.
Thanks.
September 20th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Pak Jim… kl boleh tlg d kasih pertimbangan… menurut Pak jimmy tuk org yg lebih serius (lebih selera) di musik2 jenis audiophile, lebih cocok pake soundcard echo mia midi (pake PC) trus ke ampli atau pake cd player (mil:denon) trus ke ampli…? dgn pertimbangan harga cd player krg lbh mahal dikit dr pd harga soundcard echo mia midi..mksd pertanyaanku mgkn gini, apakah soundcard yg kelas profesional yg karakternya flat (natural) bs lebih bagus dr pada pake cd player tuk dengerin lagu2 audiophile… tolong penjelasannya Pak..
makasih banyak…
September 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Tetep mending pake CD Player Pak.
Kecuali memang source Anda semuanya dalam bentuk digital di PC.
Thank you.
September 21st, 2008 at 8:54 am
Makasih buat sarannya Pak..
goodluck
September 28th, 2008 at 11:20 am
pak jimmy,mau nanya donk…saya skarang pake speaker logitech X-540, tapi karena skarang lagi pake soundcard onboard dari motherboard dan skarang lagi rencana mo ganti ke soundcard pci..mending yg mana ya yg bagus???biasanya sih dipake cuma buat dengerin lagu dan kadang dari line in saya masukkan audio input buat xbox 360…klo mo masang optical audio gmana ya pak??hehe..maap ya klo banyak nanya
September 30th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Hi,
Ada banyak pilihan sound card PCI di pasaran. Tinggal pilih yang cocok dengan budget/selera kamu.
Optical audio itu maksudnya gimana? Rata2 sound card sudah ada optical out sih.
Thanks.
October 10th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Mas Jimmy,
butuh bangat bantuan rekomendasinya.
saya butuh soundcard buat replace X-Fi extreme audio saya.
tipikal pemakaian, saya pake logitech MX-530 buat surroundnya (kemungkinan upgrade ke Z-5500, jadi butuh optical output di SC), terus headphonesnya pake Sennheiser HD-595, buat dengerin musik, MX-530 saya pake buat nonton dvd dan main game.
Dengan concern untuk meningkatkan kualitas suara saat saya pake headphones, saya mau ganti SC dengan finalis Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatality Pro (PCI-e), Asus Sonar DX2, HT Omega Claro+ atau AudioTrak Prodigy 7.1 HiFi.
Mohon sarannya bos,
trima kasih bangat nih.
October 10th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Hi,
Masing-masing sound card ada karakternya sendiri. Tanpa tau karakter yang kamu suka, agak susah untuk menyarankan salah satu card. Namun dari yang ada, tampaknya pilihan lebih bagus antara Creative atau Asus.
Thanks.
October 12th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Hi,
terima kasih atas responsenya, bisa tolong dijelaskan sedikit mengenai karakteristik soundcard mas? saya baru denger nih, dan gak tau kekhususan masing - masing soundcard tersebut. bisa diberikan info sedikit mengenai kelebihan creative, asus dan audiotrak (pada masing2 tipe soundcard tersebut)?
sedikit aja mas, sori ngerepotin nih, abis gw nge-blank bener masalah beginian….
Terima kasih lagi, mas-ter……:D
October 12th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Hi,
Mesti dicoba sendiri baiknya, karena akan dipengaruhi juga oleh kecocokan perangkat lain (seperti speaker). Sebagai analogi, saya gunakan printer. Saat kita mencetak foto pada 3 buah printer, anggap printer A, B, dan C. Semuanya sama2 printer inkjet, resolusi cetak sama-sama 1440 dpi (misalkan). Apakah warna merah, kuning, atau biru yang dicetak akan sama di antara semua printer tersebut? Umumnya tidak akan sama. Printer merah mungkin tercetak lebih gelap di printer A, lebih soft di printer B, dan mungkin lebih pucat di printer C. Nah perbedaan inilah yang akan membuat sound card juga akan berbeda karakternya. Sound card A mungkin punya treble yang lebih bright, sound card B mungkin punya mid dan vokal yang lebih jago, sound card C mungkin lain lagi.
Thanks.
October 14th, 2008 at 1:46 am
mo tanya nih bro Jim,
mengenai onkyo series itu kan kurang bagus kalo buat nyetel film, tapi kalo dibandingin dengan sound card onboard (realtec dr mobo gigabite m55s-s3) lebih bagusan mana? soalnya ak nyetel film dengan soundcard onboard sudah mrs cukup kok, cuman kurang sreg aja buat setel music (karena boomy).
oh iya ak suka lagu RnB, tapi kadang jg suka yg slow2 kaya jazz gt.
budget 1-2jt deh.
thx before m(_ _)m
October 14th, 2008 at 2:10 am
oh iya lupa, speakerku altec MX5021, btw harga kisaran onkyo SE-90, esi juli@ brp ya bro?
October 14th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Ya beda lah bro ama onboard mah hehehe…
ESI Juli@ sekitar 1 jutaan lebih… SE90 lebih murahan dikit kali ya…
Thanks.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:21 am
maksudnya beda itu masih mending soundcard onboard buat nonton dibanding onkyo atau sebaliknya bung Jimmy?
thx..
October 15th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Mending Onkyo lah bro harusnya…
Thanks.
October 20th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Hi ,
B. Bisa info yg ada jual/ready Asus Xonar D2 / D2X di Indonesia ?
Kalau Astrindo sudah 1,5 bulan gak masuk nih barang menurut CSnya
Tks
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I think Onkyo SE-90 sound is not good enough for me. BTW I don’t understand about Professional, HIFI and Audiophile. Can you explain more about it? Thanks
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Professional usage is like recording studio/mastering/mixing, tends to have flattest sound.
Audiophile usage tends to have “enjoyable” sound.
Hi-Fi is more likely a consumer grade sound, like boombox, ipod, etc.
October 25th, 2008 at 7:30 am
hallo om jimmy, i think boombox is not hifi… hifi word first came in the first solid state era in the 70’s, then all low quality audio it’s called low-fi. hifi is high fidelity similar to realism and purist then in the first 90’s came an audio miniatur like boombox and compo to minimize deck system in the hifi. but because boombox and compo sound is not hifi like, then this was called mid-fi.
and the ipod or audio portable fans is another side in audio like audiophile who like tube…
then in the home cinema era hifi turned into home theater and became a new side of audio fans…
sorry for my bad language…
udah lama ngga ke chip forum lagi euy, user saya masih ada ngga yah di forum chip…
October 25th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Well, that’s true… at least if we are defining those words from the “history” side…
But right now, all compo and boombox are claming as hi-fi sound quality… And you can find out what the “hi-fi” refers to at this point
- 99% is marketing gimmick to grab the “newbie” in this audio world…
All those ipod and portable audio are also claiming hi-fi sound quality… well, there are millions of people judging good sound from how loud your sub or how crisp your tweeter…
I also don’t think most people right now know what is “low-fi” or “mid-fi” (or even ever heard those terms - no one will use it anyway)… simply because all those consumer products are labeled as “hi-fi”… though the sound completely not on the level…
Thanks.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Pak jimmy saya mao tanya, kira-kira worth it gak kalo upgrade dari Audiotrak prodigy 7.1 ke onkyo se-90 ini?
untuk pemakaian speaker 2.1 dengan pengunaan untuk musik 60%, movie 20% dan game 20%
November 5th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Mending kamu coba audisi dulu bro di tempat yang jualnya… ada di Permata Hijau tuh…
November 9th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
ketempat bos racun dari forum chip yah? nanti dah kalo mental dan dompet dah siap. Takut dikasih racun kelas atas sama bos racun itu
thanks atas masukkannya pak jimmy