ComputersEquipment

Choosing a sound card is a responsible business

Alas, every year there are more and more owners of computers, with which the words "choice of sound card" are completely "not talking" about anything. And all because people have nothing to compare, so many are content with what is, sometimes without even assuming that it can be somehow different. For example, if you look at the forums dedicated to choosing liquid crystal monitors, then on numerous branches there are serious debates about the advantages and disadvantages of a matrix. Usually they "scold" the budget TN, comparing it with VA, IPS and their other derivatives. It's because people have something to compare with. But the choice of a sound card for music is much more complicated, because even a simple discrete model far outperforms most of the built-in solutions based on the audio codecs HD Audio and AC97. Because of this, a paradoxical situation arises when it is impossible to choose a little worse, or slightly better. A couple of decades ago, the choice of a sound card was not as easy as it might seem. So, we had to decide, for example, to buy a real 16-bit Sound Blaster from Creative or Vortex from Aureal with support for advanced surround sound technology. Now much has changed - new manufacturers have appeared, others have disappeared or been absorbed, the cards have been given opportunities that even their "predecessors" did not "dream".

The choice of a sound card begins with the selection of the interface (discrete models are assumed). There are several of them - PCI, PCI PCI Express, external USB and FireWire. For the personal computer, the best choice will be models with PCI-Express. The bandwidth of this bus is quite sufficient for any audio streams. But the choice of an external sound card is interesting, first of all, to the owners of laptops. Although the USB bus is more versatile than FireWire, it can cause delays, so if you plan to seriously engage in music using a mobile computer, then the choice is small - only IE-1394 (also called FireWire).

The choice of a sound card is sometimes based on the bit-rate of the sound-to-digital converter (ADC) - the higher the value, the better. In general, the approach is correct. But it should be noted that sometimes the quality of sound is influenced by other parameters.

It is very desirable to have a support for two-way transmission (Full dulpex), during which recording and playback are possible simultaneously. Especially it is worth paying attention to this when choosing a card with the USB interface of older versions (1.1).

The next important parameter is the number of inputs / outputs. The stereo card has fewer than a multi-channel analogue. All of them are divided into two categories - symmetrical and asymmetric. This is usually indicated in the technical specification. The former are less affected by various interference.

Digital outputs SPDIF is a "visiting card" of any such device. Allows you to digitally transmit sound to any other device without distortion. Physically, the SPDIF connectors can look different: Fiber (optics) and classic "tulip". The difference is only in the transmission medium, so when choosing you need to focus on the equipment to which the sound card will be connected.

For musicians, it makes sense to look at high-quality professional models, because delays, noises and other "delights" of budget decisions can nullify any effort. But for a home user who wants to get a good sound, discrete middle-price models from ASUS or Creative companies will do.

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