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Personal : Audigy 2ZS vs Supreme FX II (ASUS add-in)

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  • Personal : Audigy 2ZS vs Supreme FX II (ASUS add-in)

    Well.
    I've been using the Audigy 2ZS for a few years now, and have accustomed to it.
    Due to the HR-03, I can't quite fit it into the case. And keep a 120mm fan fed just above it.
    Too much cooling lost.

    So in comes the AD1988 ( or something) PCIe card ASUS gives with the Maximus Forumla.
    Mehen, you should have gotten a similar, if not the same, one with your X48 mobo...

    Lets go on a tangent here, for comparisons sake:

    A few years back, when tapes were all the rage still, my neighbour bought a Nakamichi Dragon.
    I had the lowly tape recorder my parents had bought 10 years or so before...

    The difference ?

    on Chrome Moly Tape, and expensive Metal tapes (Type IV) I could record at such a volume that it was equivalent to having a 20W amp in the car.
    Yes I had a 20W amp in the car, and 20in subs under the seats. So I knew what 'normal' amplified sound was like.

    This was a huge step in my understanding of audio recording and playback, and what 'quality' meant.

    I have since aquired a sweet Denon amp, and 5 klipsch SF-1 speakers.
    I only use 4, since the central channel is taken by my monitor and the huge mess in front of it.

    So, The Audigy is like the nakamich dragon, the sound is much louder, I only have to take the amp to -24 to -16 to have loud music. ( the neighbours are all on hols atm)

    On the Supreme FX II thingy, I have to go form -16 to -10 on the amp to get the same volume.
    BUT, and its a big BUT, I hear a wider spectrum of sound on the Supreme FX II than I do on the Audigy 2ZS.

    Its as if the Audigy 2ZS normalised the sound, and did shit with it, whereas the AD1998 chip just transcodes and amplifys it...leaving the original sound...

    So, What are your experiences, and especially, with what hardware...
    (speakers, amp, amd soundcard, at min)
    PC-1 Fractal Design Arc Mini R2, 3800X, Asus B450M-PRO mATX, 2x8GB B-die@3800C16, AMD Vega64, Seasonic 850W Gold, Black Ice Nemesis/Laing DDC/EKWB 240 Loop (VRM>CPU>GPU), Noctua Fans.
    Nas : i3/itx/2x4GB/8x4TB BTRFS/Raid6 (7 + Hotspare) Xpenology
    +++ : FSP Nano 800VA (Pi's+switch) + 1600VA (PC-1+Nas)

  • #2
    Ekhem


    (plus even loudness also infuences perception of quality)

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    • #3
      Nah, probably not placebo in this case. The Audigy 2 line does do a lot of crap to the signal.
      “Inside every sane person there’s a madman struggling to get out”
      –The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

      Comment


      • #4
        I hear it most on the Iron Butterfly - in a Gadda vida.
        The 'CH' and 'SH' sounds are as they were if someone was speaking into a microphone pretty closely.
        The Audigy 'rubbed out' the too high a pitch sounds, some hurt my ears a little from the frequency, but I enjoy the sound with the Supreme FX II slightly better.
        PC-1 Fractal Design Arc Mini R2, 3800X, Asus B450M-PRO mATX, 2x8GB B-die@3800C16, AMD Vega64, Seasonic 850W Gold, Black Ice Nemesis/Laing DDC/EKWB 240 Loop (VRM>CPU>GPU), Noctua Fans.
        Nas : i3/itx/2x4GB/8x4TB BTRFS/Raid6 (7 + Hotspare) Xpenology
        +++ : FSP Nano 800VA (Pi's+switch) + 1600VA (PC-1+Nas)

        Comment


        • #5
          I've been decently happy with my "Off-board" onboard ASUS from my X48 (the processing is still done by the motherboard's resources). TBH I haven't noticed much of a difference from my last onboard card, whatever was on a P4C800 (SoundMAX I think). Probably moreso due to my speakers (oldish Altec Lansing 5.1's, used in stereo).
          Personally, I don't really like anything that comes out of an eigth inch jack.

          My actual stereo (which I don't use with my computer, unless I am using TV-OUT etc):

          Cambridge Audio AZUR 540D CD/DVD Audio DVD Player (here's something everyone might not know - not all DVD Players play DVD Audio discs)
          Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amplifier (65W x2 into 8ohms)
          Quad 12L Loudspeakers (Piano Black)
          Q9450 + TRUE, G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2, GTX 560, ASUS X48, 1TB WD Black, Windows 7 64-bit, LG M2762D-PM 27" + 17" LG 1752TX, Corsair HX620, Antec P182, Logitech G5 (Blue)
          Laptop: MSI Wind - Black

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          • #6
            My uncle has some Cambridge Audio stuff and it's pretty good stuff....

            I went for the Denon, 7 discreet amps, one for each channel, and a 5.0 Klipsch SF-1 setup, since they were the reference at the time.
            Amp + Speakers cost me 1500 euros, where the speakers had been 1700 euros when they were first launched...i got them a couple of years after launch..

            I've heard sounds on tracks, that i've never heard before on other setups, and this one is the best.
            I tried the amp at -00 once, at around midnight on a saturday.
            It was very loud, and not a hint of distortion...
            That was with the Auddigy tho...haven't been above -16 with the Supreme FX II...
            Home Audio Products for Every Lifestyle, Application & Budget. Since 1946, no compromises in Legendary Sound. Free Shipping on All Online Orders in the US.


            I have two of the tower speakers, and two of the SS-1 surround speakers
            The SC-1 has never been used yet, but i intend to take it to work to see if i can use it there...
            PC-1 Fractal Design Arc Mini R2, 3800X, Asus B450M-PRO mATX, 2x8GB B-die@3800C16, AMD Vega64, Seasonic 850W Gold, Black Ice Nemesis/Laing DDC/EKWB 240 Loop (VRM>CPU>GPU), Noctua Fans.
            Nas : i3/itx/2x4GB/8x4TB BTRFS/Raid6 (7 + Hotspare) Xpenology
            +++ : FSP Nano 800VA (Pi's+switch) + 1600VA (PC-1+Nas)

            Comment


            • #7
              I remember checking out the Synergy and Reference series from Klipsch when I was speaker shopping, they seemed a little thin sounding to me, never took any home to play in my room, should've done that

              I think if I upgrade anything in the near future it'll be my amp, and probably just a power amp, I'll still use my cambridge as a pre-amp only. There's some pretty cool older 2-channel Krell power amps out there that would be killer. My Quads would love more power, something closer to 200WPC.
              Last edited by Mehen; 9 August 2008, 12:47.
              Q9450 + TRUE, G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2, GTX 560, ASUS X48, 1TB WD Black, Windows 7 64-bit, LG M2762D-PM 27" + 17" LG 1752TX, Corsair HX620, Antec P182, Logitech G5 (Blue)
              Laptop: MSI Wind - Black

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