SB Audigy2NX USB - Pros & Cons?

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Does anyone have this unit, or know much about it?

Seems simple enough, but does the simplicity compromise sound/features that a similarly priced internal PCI mount soundcard would have?

There was a post awhile ago about soundcards, where better fidelity is gained by connecting the small 2-pin connector from the soundcard to the back of the CDROM drive, where the
onboard OEM soundcard is connected via the tape/ribbon connector.
Would connecting the Audigy via USB be the same as the internal 2-pin connector, or would this be not the case?

Thanks all...

Chip

Dave Potter · From: Texas

I've had no experience with one, but I did look over the description at http://www.soundblaster.com/products/audigy2NX/.

The specs look pretty similar to comparable PCI cards, but to get the advertised performance from this device, USB 2.0 support is required. If it's not available, performance would suffer in a big way.

<< There was a post awhile ago about soundcards, where better fidelity is gained by connecting the small 2-pin connector from the soundcard to the back of the CDROM drive, where the onboard OEM soundcard is connected via the tape/ribbon connector.

I haven't used those soundcard-to-CDROM cables in years - didn't know anyone actually did that anymore. I get wonderful audio quality from my CDROM. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I use a 400 watt 4.1 Klipsch speaker system, but, oh, well...

<< Would connecting the Audigy via USB be the same as the internal 2-pin connector, or would this be not the case?

The USB cable would be the only link to your PC.

Larry Clark · From: Herndon, VA.

Chip, Is there any reason you can't use a PCI card,(laptop, or no more PCI slots available)? You'll have a lot more choices if you can.

Will Holtz · From: San Francisco, California, USA

I can't give comments about this specific model, but in general the external USB soundcards have better sound quality than a PCI card would. This is due to the better shielding from the rest of your motherboard.

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

In the past, I've had some bad luck with SBLive!MP+3 installed on a Win98 pc.

Certain features wouldn't work after a while, and when I got another pc with WinME, the SB card wouldn't work at all, even with updated drivers.

Now I have a new eMachines w/HomeXP and I'm gun shy right now about going in and messing with it. TablEdit's Chorus/Reverb option does not work with the eMachine soundcard, just as it didn't work with the Win98 pc until SB was installed. Not only did certain parts of SB not work right, but it messed up the pc in general. I had a real time with it. I do want a better soundcard, but.....
So my thinking now seems to be that an external device is less intrusive to the system. Maybe I'm wrong here. If something does go wrong, I can simply pull the plug; as opposed to opening back up the pc and messing around on the inside.

Oh, the audio card now is some kind of Soundmax.

The 2 posts that got me thinking were in SEARCH/AUDIGY/COMPUTER/ANY DATE/ANY MATCH.

The 2 posts are: "INSTALLING SOUND BLASTER PROBLEM" and "GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT SOUNDCARDS".

Dave - I'm not sure yet about the PCI rating in this eMachine; I've yet to look up the specs. - Thanks

Larry - I know I'd have more choices with an internal unit, but I'm basically just looking for some better sound enhancement [reverb, chorus etc. - thanks

Will, that makes sense about the shielding. I never even considered that. - Thanks

Chip

[This message was edited by CHIP FOSSA on 06 January 2005 at 12:50 PM.]

Dave Potter · From: Texas

Chip -

The added info you posted about your system make it possible to offer a few more suggestions. This one is a little longer, but tech stuff sometimes has to be, so please bear with me.

<< In the past, I've had some bad luck with SBLive!MP+3 installed on a Win98 pc. Certain features wouldn't work after a while, and when I got another pc with WinME, the SB card wouldn't work at all, even with updated drivers.

Although I've never been a tremendous fan of Creative sound cards, I have, for many years, used them, and still do now, because they will work, are in widespread use throughout the world, and are simply the path of least resistance, in a lot of cases. The quality of sound they produce is most times at least as good as, and in many cases, better, than what the PC speakers can reproduce.

I have experienced many difficulties with their drivers - they're quirky, to say the least. But, with the correct ones, properly installed, Soundblaster cards will function acceptably well, and, IMO, are sometimes the "best bang for the buck". The problems you described do sound like driver issues, and they can be hard to correct, especially with Creative drivers, since their uninstalls are dirty, and often leave entries in the registry that interfere with subsequent driver installations. The only way to deal with it sometimes is deleting the culprits from the registry manually, as task not for the weak at heart - it can break a system.

The soundcard I happen to use now is an Audigy II Platinum, which has separate outputs for front and rear stereo speakers, and I need that for my 4-speaker + floor bass enclosure system.

<< I have a new eMachines w/HomeXP and I'm gun shy right now about going in and messing with it. TablEdit's Chorus/Reverb option does not work with the eMachine soundcard,

<< Oh, the audio card now is some kind of Soundmax.

I'm not familiar with "TablEdit", but, on the soundcard, it's "Soundmax"? If that's correct, is it an actual physical PCI card, in one of the slots on the motherboard, or is it an "onboard" sound chip on the motherboard?

That's important, because if you have "onboard" sound, and decide to use a soundcard, you must disable onboard sound to avoid conflict.

<< So my thinking now seems to be that an external device is less intrusive to the system. Maybe I'm wrong here. If something does go wrong, I can simply pull the plug; as opposed to opening back up the pc and messing around on the inside.

If something isn't right with an external device, the process to correct what's wrong is exactly the same as if it were internal. You check the physical connections, then get the drivers working. Unless the device is defective, that's about all there is to it, and just unplugging something isn't going to fix anything.

<< Dave - I'm not sure yet about the PCI rating in this eMachine; I've yet to look up the specs. - Thanks

My earlier comment had to do with USB, not PCI. The PCI bus is a fixed resource - not something you need to deal with. USB is available in 2 flavors, version 1, and the newer standard, USB 2.0. USB 1 has a bandwidth of only 13 megabits/second (mbps), totally unaceptable for any kind of multimedia usage, hence, my comment about that. If you only have USB 1 on your PC, forget about a USB soundcard.

The USB 2.0 spec, on the other hand, offers (theoretical) speeds of up to 480 mbps, very acceptable for audio and video, and is even faster than the previous first choice for these applications of Firewire, which runs at 400 mbps. Firewire connections are also good for multimedia external devices. So, there you go.

<< that makes sense about the shielding. I never even considered that.

I wouldn't worry about internal mobo-related interference, Chip. PCI-mounted soundcards have received wide acceptance and have performed in consumer-level PCs for years with no issues to speak of. Audio frequencies end around 20K, and things running on motherboards are in the hundreds of Mhz, way above audio.

It may be possible to detect some very minor stray radiated interference from mobo components inside the PC case, but I bet it would take some pretty high-tech equipment to see it. Trust me, you'll never hear it in your sound system output. It's not an issue. Plus, if you keep things inside the cabinet, you avoid all those wires and cables running everywhere. Too many of them already.

[This message was edited by Dave Potter on 07 January 2005 at 05:51 AM.]

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I have an Extigy, which I believe is pretty similar. I had problems recording from its S/PDIF jack until I realized that my USB splitter box was slowing it down. Once I plugged the unit directly into a dedicated USB port on the computer, everything worked just fine.

It's a very nice unit.

------------------

Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra SD-12 (Ext E9), Williams D-12 Crossover, Sierra S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, C6, A6)

Dave Potter · From: Texas

I've had that happen too. There are some devices that just don't like to go through a hub. They want to be plugged directly into the port on the PC.

I've also read that there can be throughput differences between the USB ports on the rear of the PC and those that connect to motherboard risers, when those are available.

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