You have the Dell XPS 8700? Epic! I so want one. I would expect the audio from it to be very good since it's a home theater PC. Thanks for sharing how good it is though.
-----Original Message----- From: Pc-audio [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] On Behalf Of Kelly Pierce Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 1:56 PM To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Re: Is Integrated Sound Adequate? Steve, It all depends on the kind of system you have and the fussiness of your ears. At the end of last year, I bought a Dell 8700 computer with the Intel i7 4770 processor, the fastest chip on the market at the time. It had built-in HD audio. When the Dell pre-amp was configured, the audio sounded as good as the M-Audio 24/96 sound card I bought 10 years ago with the highly regarded Casio drivers. The computer came with separate jacks for a quadrophonic speaker setup as well as 5.1 audio in addition to the regular jacks for traditional stereo, line in and microphones. Computers with less sophisticated microprocessors may not have as many options or HD audio. That said, I want one sound card for the screen reader and one sound card for audio playback and recording. To that end, I bought a Roland Duo USB audio interface for $37 on eBay. It normally retails for $200. Dancing Dots recommends this audio interface to its customers using Windows computers. The company is the leader in accessible music and audio production by the blind. The audio from the Roland interface sounds real and lifelike and instruments are more distinct than the integrated sound card. This should be no surprise as the audio is processed outside the machine in a different cycle from the computer. Try as they do, Intel and Dell cannot deliver in a mass-market product the quality that audio focused companies have been doing for years. If you just listen to spoken word audio and popular music, the integrated card could be acceptable. If you like listening to classic jazz performances, classical music, or instrumental music and deejay or stream capture or edit audio on your PC, then a second sound card or an audio interface is needed. For a lousy $37, including shipping, why is anyone anguishing and spending precious brain cells on such an obvious decision. Kelly On 7/5/14, Sunshine <sunsh...@abe.midco.net> wrote: > can you give us a sample of this cards sound quality? > On 7/5/2014 4:16 AM, Brian Olesen wrote: >> Hi, >> About $ 700 >> >> Best regards >> Brian >> >> -----Oprindelig meddelelse----- From: Sunshine Sent: Saturday, July >> 05, 2014 10:15 AM To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Re: Is >> Integrated Sound Adequate? >> how much does the sound card you use cost ? >> >> On 7/5/2014 3:10 AM, Brian Olesen wrote: >>> Hi Steve, >>> The audio on one of the better motherboards today is fine for most >>> use. But when we speak hifi quality high bit rates, and real good >>> sound you'd still need a deticated sound card with better cerkitry. >>> I use a pretty expensive audio card from RME called Babyface which >>> sounds amazing, but i'm fully sattesfied with the build in sound >>> card of my laptop for everyday use. >>> >>> Best regards >>> Brian >>> >>> -----Oprindelig meddelelse----- From: Steve Pattison >>> Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 2:29 AM >>> To: PC Audio >>> Subject: Is Integrated Sound Adequate? >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I'm planning to buy a new computer. With the rapid advancements in >>> motherboards and hardware generally I'm interested in people's >>> thoughts about whether it's still better to buy a dedicated sound >>> card or have we now reached the stage where using integrated sound >>> on the motherboard is adequate? I bought my current PC in July 2008 >>> so it is about six years old. I'm currently running a Creative sound card. >>> >>> I've never used integrated sound on the motherboard on my home PC >>> before. Also I don't need the most expensive sound card available >>> but I don't want it to be too basic either. One feature I would like >>> is the ability to provide some type of virtual surround sound as I >>> have limited space where my PC is located and only room for a two speaker >>> system. >>> >>> I appreciate there is no right or wrong answer to this question but >>> I thought this list would be a good place to ask because there are >>> bound to be a lot of people who are a bit more fussy about audio quality >>> etc. >>> >>> Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you. >>> >>> Regards Steve. >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > >
