Sound card based on C-Media chip...?

[AmSci]

Does anyone know if C-Media 8738-6CH based sound cards come close to the TB Santa Cruz in terms of sound quality? How about in terms of memory hogging, etc?

I am planning on purchasing a Zoltrix Nightingale PRO6 with optical kit. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI...tem=1288446361
I'd like to stick with my Santa Cruz, but I need optical input to transfer my recordings.

The price tag of this card has me weary, but reviews I have read seem promising. (And its not much cheaper than the Santa Cruz I bought)

thanks

[Gurm]

There are cards such as the Hercules Fortissimo 2 (which has optical OUTput) and the Game Theater (which actually works with the new drivers) and the Terratec DMXFire which are based on the Crystal chipset and have optical.

Non-crystal chipsets that aren't made by Creative Labs? That's a mixed bag. If their drivers are ok, they should be fine as a secondary card (i.e. to do those optical transfers). If I were you, I'd just get an Audigy Platinum and be done with the Crystal crapware anyhow.

- Gurm

[AmSci]

Originally posted by Gurm
Non-crystal chipsets that aren't made by Creative Labs? That's a mixed bag. If their drivers are ok, they should be fine as a secondary card (i.e. to do those optical transfers). If I were you, I'd just get an Audigy Platinum and be done with the Crystal crapware anyhow.

- Gurm

I'm really stuck on my sound card choice. I'm considering the Audigy, but I'm not sure if it samples everything up to 48kHz like the Live! does.

I will probably go with a secondary card like you said, but I just found out the Zoltrix card I mentioned hasn't had a driver update since April. Maybe I'll just get a dedicated digital i/o card.

thanks for the info.

[Gurm]

There is some debate about the Audigy's internal sampling rates vs. external rates. It's "better" than the Live!, not that that's saying much. Check out the discussion on the 3D Sound Surge boards:

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com

(Click 'forums' for discussion!)

- Gurm

[AmSci]

Originally posted by Gurm
http://www.3dsoundsurge.com
(Click 'forums' for discussion!)
- Gurm

The "One man's test..." Audigy thread answers a lot of questions I had about the card.
Thanks!