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ESI Juli@
Professional Sound Card of an Unusual Design, with Professional and Consumer Jacks
ESI presented its new sound card called Juli@ at the world-famous exhibition Musikmesse (March 31 – April 3, 2004) in Frankfurt, Germany.
The card is shipped in a nice box made as a book with a transparent inner side.
The box for ESI Juli@ is nice and functional
Bundle
The bundle of our sample card contained the following items:
* PCI-card ESI Juli@
* breakout cable for the S/PDIF and MIDI interfaces
* really useful user's manual in English and in German printed in A5 format
* CD with drivers
* CD with special version of Ableton Live (list of limitations)
* 50% discount coupon for a full version of Ableton Live
* Colorful advertisement of all ESI products
Card-transformer
The unique feature of this card is the opportunity to transform it to user's needs: you can choose which jacks to use – professional 1/4" balanced jacks (1/4" TRS) or consumer RCA jacks.
ESI Juli@ sound card: Professional 1/4" balanced TRS jacks are active
Disassembled ESI Juli@ sound card: The upper part turns 180 degrees
ESI Juli@ sound card: consumer RCA jacks are active
Innards
The main DSP chip labeled with the ESI logo is VIA Envy24HT-S (24-bit, 192 kHz; interfaces: three output I2S/AC-links, two input I2S/AC-links). Digital transceiver – AKM AK4114 (8 inputs, 2 outputs).
The main DSP chip: 24-bit, 192 kHz VIA Envy24HT-S
The card uses an 8-channel multibit 24-bit 192 kHz DAC AKM AK4358 with reduced sensitivity to jitter, positioned by AKM for professional equipment as well as for consumer DVD-Audio and SACD (by the way, I wrote about the release of this DAC in our news a year ago). Dynamic range: 112 dB. THD+noise: -94 dB. 8 times 24-bit digital filter with an slow roll-off option (in this case this option is disabled to provide ideally even frequency response). DAC is not a top class, but quite good enough for a sound card in this price range.
ESI Juli@ block diagram
You can see on the ESI Juli@ block diagram that the 8-channel AKM 4358 DAC (marked as 4õ DAC) is used in this sound card on purpose — it monitors digital I/O with an absolute zero delay.
ADC – dual bit delta-sigma stereo 24-bit 192 kHz AKM AK5385A has a little better characteristics; it is positioned by AKM for professional equipment to record audio in high definition formats, including DVD-Audio. Dynamic range: 114 dB. Signal/(noise+distortions): 103 dB. High-quality digital antialiasing filter with a linear phase, passband (Fs=48 kHz): 0~21.768 kHz, ripple: 0.005 dB, stopband: 100 dB.
ESI Juli@ converters: AKM 4358 DAC and AKM 5385A ADC
Some comments. Though DAC and ADC are of the same class in this sound card, ADCs are still a tad better than DACs. Perhaps, as it was with Waveterminal 192X, the engineers considered the digitization quality (ADC) to be more important in home/project studio than the slightly reduced quality of signal monitoring, other things being equal. But hi-end audio PC users (RCA jacks are a curtsy to them), who use their computers solely for high quality playback and who do not care about ADC, have a reason to pause – is the DAC comparable with the level of the rest of the sound playback section? If the rest of the sound section is much more expensive than the card (approximately over $600), so that the bottleneck is in the DAC quality as well, then they should pay attention to the mastering level sound cards.
In general, it should be noted that in the price range up to $200 Juli@ demonstrates better DAC/ADC quality in comparison with similar old cards based on ENVY24 – various M-Audio Audiophile 2496, Echo MIA, etc. According to our measurements (using the same reference sound card) Juli@ is even better than the more expensive ESI Waveterminal 192Õ, which has better (according to the specification) ADCs. So in our opinion only EMU 1212M (with converters of a higher level) can be a serious competitor to the undoubtedly successful in price/quality Juli@.
Despite this fact, many users of middle end sound sections will quite possibly prefer Juli@, because this ESI card is easier to control, it does not have problems with the MME/WDM interface support in high formats, it has a smoother frequency response of line outs, and it offers several useful proprietary features, which will be described later. Besides, EMU is very difficult to find on our shelves and this situation has not changed for half a year already.
ESI Juli@ control panel is easy and clear
E-WDM technology
E-WDM technology (Enhanced Audio MIDI Driver) is a proprietary project of ESI, which enhances the original architectural concept of Microsoft WDM-drivers.
Aside from standard features, E-WDM offers functions required for professional sound processing:
1. Aside from Win XP/2000, it also supports Win Me/98 SE
Based on the WDM architecture, E-WDM drivers work fine under all WDM compatible Windows operating systems, while WDM drivers of other sound cards often work only in W2K and XP, offering VxD drivers for Win98SE and ME.
2. GIGAStudio 2000 support
From the very beginning E-WDM drivers were developed for professional applications. The popular software sampler GIGAStudio from Tascam is fully supported with the extremely low latency of 1.5 ms.
3. ASIO 2.0 support
ASIO 2.0 is the de facto standard, and E-WDM supports it with just a 3.0 ms latency.
4. Independent support for MME applications
Several MME applications can be used simultaneously, and the drivers will not complain that the device is busy. This is also useful for old applications, which are not supported by WDM drivers.
5. Multi-client support
An unlimited number of audio applications can be accessed simultaneously with the multi-client support. You can use SONAR and WinAmp via a single sound device.
6. Multi-channel support
It supports 5.1 output format for software DVD-Video players, such as WinDVD and Power DVD. This function is also useful for WDM applications, such as SONAR, especially in terms of the input/output channel synchronization.
7. DirectMUSIC MIDI ports
WDM-based multi-channel MIDI-driver from ESI offers a more stable timing than the built-in MIDI-timing in NT4 or Windows 9X.
8. DirectSound support
E-WDM offers support for several DirectSound channels for multi-channel output in such applications as PCDJ (DJ software).
9. No signal attenuation at -6 dB
Unlike the situation with several other drivers, E-WDM guarantees the signal level exactly according to the existing standard.
10. Ultra-low latency, less than 1.5 ms
E-WDM drivers provide comfortable work due to the minimal latency. Buffer size can be set in drivers.
DirectWIRE: audio stream visual routing technology
DirectWIRE is a technology for visual software routing of signals, which is currently available in most ESI products. Signals are routed on the level of drivers, bit-to-bit, without quality loss.
DirectWIRE 1.0 technology appeared in ESI Waveterminal 2496/192 when the Gigastudio sampler was still widely popular and initially it served to convert MIDI-tracks to WAV from Gigastudio (GSIF interface) into Cubase (ASIO) or into Cakewalk/SONAR1 (MME).
DirectWIRE 1.0 panel in ESI Waveterminal 192X
DirectWIRE 2.0 supports 32 channels, it has a new control panel, and an option to mute monitoring of selected output channels. You can switch inputs and outputs of the MME, WDM, ASIO, GSI/F program interfaces, even if they work simultaneously. You can connect inputs and outputs of different applications with virtual cables and record signals without quality loss. Using DirectWIRE you can also record multi-channel audio from DVD or another source (even protected from copying) in formats up to 24-bit 192 kHz in real time in completely digital form.
DirectWIRE 3.0 panel in ESI Juli@
DirectWIRE 3.0 was enhanced with hardware inputs. In Juli@ Virtual Inputs 1 and 2 are the left and the right hardware analog inputs, 3 and 4 – the left and right hardware digital S/PDIF input.
Interface names mean the following applications:
* MME: WinAmp, CoolEdit, Cakewalk, Vegas, etc.
* WDM: SONAR (WDM/KS), PowerDVD, WinDVD, etc.
* ASIO: Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, Reason, SONAR (ASIO), etc.
* GSIF: GigaStudio 2.42 or higher.
You can read this Audiotrak tutorial to learn how to use DirectWIRE 3.0 with detailed examples.
Digital and MIDI Interfaces
Juli@ stands out against other ESI products with its MIDI I/O, digital RCA I/O, and a digital optical output. You had to buy a separate MI/ODI/O module to get these features in Audiotrak MAYA44MKII and ESI Waveterminal 192X/L. Though there are also modifications with MI/ODI/O module in a box now, it occupies an additional bracket among PCI slots.
Sound Quality
Juli@ vs. Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro
These two cards can be compared due to similar prices ($185 for the ESI product and $240 for the Creative product) and professional attributes (external block with a full set of connectors) in Audigy, which is essentially a gaming card. Functionality of Juli@ and Platinum Pro in terms of a microphone preamplifier and phone-in can be leveled up by adding an inexpensive external analog mixer (about $50) to Juli@, but it's quite possible that an external mixer is already available in home/project studio.
Before the comparative audition I had no subjective preferences – the cards have converters of the same class, and thus I didn't expect considerable differences in sound quality. Nevertheless, the difference between the cards can be clearly heard even using the active speakers JetBalance JB-381 (by the way, very good speakers at a moderate price at last, less than $200).
In the 16 bit 44 kHz mode A2 is traditionally weak at playing via the MME interface, and it's much better at playing via the professional packaged "SB Audigy2 ZS ASIO" driver with enabled SSRC high quality resampling to 48 kHz. But Juli@ produces crisper and more detailed sounds, and thus it's more suitable for a professional. Though this can be heard only when you instantly switch between the cards playing the same music fragment. If you increase the time between the auditions to a couple of minutes, you won't be able to distinguish the cards even with the same music fragment. One way or another, I clearly hear the difference, for example at Alex Reece, 1996 album "So Far" (hits: Feel The Sunshine, Pulp Friction) and some other test compositions with clear compressed mastering and timbre-catchy high frequency range.
Juli@ vs. EMU 1820
Despite the high price ($400) and the increased number of channels in EMU1820, Juli@ can compete with it head-to-head, because the Creative/EMU product has converters of the same level (CS4392).
Both cards, Juli@ and 1280, were tested in balanced mode, high signal level (+4 dBu) to increase the dynamic range and to demonstrate sound cards' features at maximum. The auditions were also carried out on EVENT 20/20 bas monitors, allowing the balanced connection.
Thorough audition in the same conditions, using the same cable and instantly switching between the cards did not reveal any difference in their sounding. However, considering the high price of EMU1820, it cannot be called a successful sound card – it's an economic modification of the elder 1820M. 1820 is of lower quality than even the younger 1212M model. Forestalling your questions: we don't have an opportunity to compare it with EMU 1212M or 1820M, because these cards cannot be found on sale in Russia. US EMU office promised to send us a press-sample, but we lost contact with it. If we still have an opportunity, we'll update this article.
Juli@ vs. LynxTwo
Comparison with LynxTwo (price >$1000, stereo-modification is Lynx L22, >$800) in our tests is traditional, it serves to reveal the degree and character of sound differences between a sound card under review and a reference sound source.
We hasten to say, LynxTwo sounds better. The difference is not so large but it still makes itself felt. Nevertheless, Juli@ demonstrates professional sound quality in comparison with the reference. Multimedia cards (for example, Audigy2/ZS) are usually infamous for timbre distortions, various tones and harmonics at high frequencies. So despite their rather high quality converters, such cards cannot be used for professional work. Juli@ is free from these drawbacks, it sounds true and clear. The only difference from Lynx is in a tad lesser detail, which will hardly influence its professional capability, except for the mastering.
Headphones
Despite the fact that this card does not have a separate output to headphones, they can be connected using the 2RCA-minijack adapter. Using Sennheiser HD600 (400 ohm impedance) via the adapter caused no problems with sound. Besides, we carried out the following interesting experiment: we connected a variable resistor to the output, and applied a maximum amplitude sinusoid to the output of the card. On the digital oscillograph EZ Digital OS-310M we monitored how the amplitude changed and at what resistance there would be a limitation. In comparison with the pure linear output in MAYA44MKII with the limitation at ~100 ohm and lower, Juli@ was OK. Operational amplifiers JRC 4580 hold well the low impedance load, though the Juli@ specification requires the load impedance of not less than 100 ohm. By the way, MAYA44MKII has an output for headphones, which is also OK.
Working in Professional Applications
No surprises here. As any sound card based on the ENVY24 series chip, Juli@ demonstrated excellent results in ASIO-applications CubaseSX 2.0.1 and WaveLab 5.0a.
Besides, InterVideo WinDVD 6.0 works correctly with the card as well. When playing DVD-Audio discs, they are downsampled to 16/48.
RMAA 5.4 Tests
Many users ask us to test not only the quality of linear output, but that of the linear input as well. It is especially important for professional equipment, so we tested the card in three modes: when the output and the input of the card are connected, input and output are connected separately using LynxTwo – a reference card of a higher quality.
16 bit 44 kHz, +4dBu, balanced 1m cables ESI Juli@
loopback LynxTwo ->
ESI Juli@ ESI Juli@ -> LynxTwo
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.05, -0.03 +0.02, -0.16 +0.04, -0.03
Noise level, dB (A): -96.1 -96.1 -96.4
Dynamic range, dB (A): 95.7 95.9 95.8
THD, %: 0.0006 0.0023 0.0006
IMD, %: 0.0046 0.015 0.0045
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -96.7 -97.9 -98.1
When the linear input is tested in the balanced mode using LynxTwo, the frequency response gets worse in this test as well as in all the other ones. In the loopback mode (when the output and the input of the card are connected) there is no such drawback, thus we have some disalignment in the operation of balance interfaces in this specific device combo. This is another reason not to use balance connection needlessly.
24 bit 44 kHz, +4dBu, balanced 1m cables ESI Juli@
loopback LynxTwo ->
ESI Juli@ ESI Juli@ -> LynxTwo
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.05, -0.03 +0.02, -0.16 +0.04, -0.03
Noise level, dB (A): -103.6 -109.3 -108.0
Dynamic range, dB (A): 103.4 109.2 107.9
THD, %: 0.0005 0.0023 0.0005
IMD, %: 0.0020 0.014 0.0019
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -103.9 -109.3 -107.2
Note the ideally steady frequency response graph and the ideally clear noise spectrum in the 24-bit mode. The noise level measured is close to the claimed figures in the converter specifications. Engineers made the most of the existing converters.
24 bit 96 kHz, +4dBu, balanced 1m cables ESI Juli@
loopback LynxTwo ->
ESI Juli@ ESI Juli@ -> LynxTwo
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.03, -0.02 +0.01, -0.17 +0.02, -0.04
Noise level, dB (A): -103.9 -109.8 -107.9
Dynamic range, dB (A): 103.9 109.4 107.7
THD, %: 0.0005 0.0023 0.0005
IMD, %: 0.0019 0.014 0.0019
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -101.6 -106.8 -106.7
In the 96 kHz mode the spectrum is reproduced completely, as it should be. I'll remind you that EMU cards have problems with frequency response in DAC, which is -0.7 dB for 20 kHz.
24 bit 44 kHz, S/PDIF
all tests comparison Test file 24/44 LynxTwo S/PDIF loopback ESI Juli@ -> LynxTwo ESI Juli@ S/PDIF
loopback
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.00, -0.00 +0.00, -0.00 +0.00, -0.00 +0.00, -0.00
Noise level, dB (A): -147.7 -144.4 -144.5 -144.5
Dynamic range, dB (A): 133.4 133.2 133.2 133.2
THD, %: 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
IMD, %: 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -149.7 -146.3 -145.1 -145.0
In digital output tests Juli@ is equal to LynxTwo.
24 bit 96 kHz, S/PDIF
all tests comparison
Test file 24/96 LynxTwo S/PDIF loopback ESI Juli@ S/PDIF -> LynxTwo ESI Juli@ S/PDIF loopback
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.00, -0.00 +0.00, -0.00 +0.00, -0.00 +0.00, -0.00
Noise level, dB (A): -151.1 -147.8 -147.9 -147.8
Dynamic range, dB (A): 133.3 133.2 133.2 133.2
THD, %: 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
IMD, %: 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -151.3 -146.2 -146.4 -145.9
In the 24/96 mode the ideal is even farther from our contenders. The reason is most likely not in the lack of bit-to-bit transfer precision, but in the PLL influence in the transceivers or in dithering reformation. One way or another, it's impossible to hear the difference between the original and the received sound – the differences are below the thermal noise threshold in semiconductors, and any digital-analog conversion will guarantee much more audible inaccuracies – the native level of noise in modern DAC is hardly over 120 dB A.
RightMark 3DSound 1.20 Tests
We test DirectSound functions of the card, because we have such an opportunity. RM 3DS tests demonstrate DirectSound compatibility but also the lack of any algorithms of software 3D sound. Just for information.
Device: Juli@ Ch12 (JulaWdm.sys)
Features:
Device has not enough hardware 3D buffers
Device has not enough hardware 2D buffers
EAX1: N/A
EAX2: N/A
EAX3: N/A
EAX4 Advanced HD: N/A
Rates:
dwMinSecondarySampleRate 22050
dwMaxSecondarySampleRate 192000
Free buffers stats:
dwFreeHw3DAllBuffers 0
dwFreeHw3DStaticBuffers 0
dwFreeHw3DStreamingBuffers 0
dwFreeHwMixingAllBuffers 0
dwFreeHwMixingStaticBuffers 0
dwFreeHwMixingStreamingBuffers 0
Max buffers stats:
dwMaxHwMixingAllBuffers 1
dwMaxHwMixingStaticBuffers 1
dwMaxHwMixingStreamingBuffers 1
dwMaxHw3DAllBuffers 0
dwMaxHw3DStaticBuffers 0
dwMaxHw3DStreamingBuffers 0
Misc stats:
dwFreeHwMemBytes 0
dwTotalHwMemBytes 0
dwMaxContigFreeHwMemBytes 0
dwUnlockTransferRateHwBuffers 0
dwPlayCpuOverheadSwBuffers 0
Audio transfer speed (software): 3.289 Mb/sec.
Exclusive iXBT.com interview
with the ESI R&D team!
iXBT.com: How did you come up with the idea to produce such an unusual sound card with a unique design as Juli@? Is it an attempt to stand out against similar sound cards and to attract attention? What was the reason to break away from the multichannel solution, which we saw in Waveterminal 192L/X (Waveterminal 2496 descendant)?
ESI: Our main goal of developing Juli@ was making a reference model card in terms of audio quality. We did research the market and the already available products. We found that users would need either balanced or unbalanced I/O connections, preferably with the same number of input and output channels, but all products are supporting only one of each connector type. We came up with Juli@ with such a unique design with the user's needs in mind so that the I/O connections will be swappable between balanced and un-balanced. ESI plans to release new multi-channel solutions in the near future.
iXBT.com: What was the criterion to select the certain ADC and DAC models (AKM 5385A and 4358)? Why did you choose the 8-channel DAC (AKM4358)?
ESI: We have been using the AKM4358 in development of other products such as the upcoming Audiotrak MAYA1010. We really liked the quality of AKM4358 so it was our conclusion to use it also for Juli@ despite the number of channels. This made it possible to use the additional channels to provide real-time monitoring for all S/PDIF and analog I/O signals, providing more functionality. As for the ADC, we always try to use the best available components, as recording is more important than playback for most professional users.
iXBT.com: Did you choose during development a certain price/quality threshold, in order to reach a predetermined price (MSRP), or do your engineers preach some principle of reasonable sufficiency in the area of quality?
ESI: Of course reaching a specific price is always a concern during development. In case of Juli@, functionality and audio quality have been the highest priority. We are very glad that the final product is now available with a very competitive MSRP.
iXBT.com: How do you feel, at what rates do the high sampling audio formats evolve in the area of music production and their demand by listeners/customers?
ESI: When we started to sell 24bit audio cards several years ago, most of our professional users started immediately work with 24bit/44.1kHz. The higher resolution compared to previous 16bit products was a huge increase in audio quality useful for music production, even if the final product was just a 16bit/44.1kHz audio CD. Now, professionals are slowly starting to work with higher sample-rates in the production process, not only with the higher bit-rate. New formats such as DVD (audio or video) or SACD even require higher sample-rates in the production process; so many professionals are working with 96kHz or even 192kHz already. ESI supports these professionals not only with soundcards but also with exciting new concepts, such as our M-Fire M9600 24bit/96kHz DVD Master Recorder. These days, when we talk to the members of our professional user community, we can see that the demand for a higher recording quality standard is getting more and more important, although we have to admit, that this is a considerably slow process. Many professionals are also buying higher spec hardware because they understand that higher spec hardware also works better even when working with lower samplerates. For example, our 24bit/192kHz Juli@ will produce better results when used with 24bit/44.1kHz compare to other 24bit/96kHz devices, simply because of the much better ADC and DAC. For consumer products, the need to support 96kHz, or even 192kHz, is growing at the same time, mostly because of the necessity to playback already available consumer media. Windows Media Audio Professional supporting 24bit/96kHz is already a standard for PC audio. As more and more professionals are producing music and media content for higher bit and sample rates, the actual demand for consumer products that support these features is also growing. Still, it is not growing that fast, probably because of the reluctance of large media corporate to invest into better audio quality without having working Digital Rights Management solutions market ready.
iXBT.com: Can you tell us anything about the upcoming new generation of built-in sound named High Definition Audio replacing AC'97? Does it threaten high-quality soundcards supporting high sampling formats, or on the contrary will it draw attention to the high quality sound and promote high-quality sound devices?
ESI: We are aware of the HD Audio which sounds promising. But, from our experience in the past, we suspect that there always will be some limitations of on-board sound card. Most main board manufacturers will have to make compromises which will possibly lower the audio quality. We have evaluated the Azalia (former codename for HD Audio) demonstrated at the recent COMPUTEX Taipei 2004. There was certainly improvement on specification over the outdated AC97. However, we thought that it was not that impressive quality and not superior than AC97. We are confident that optional soundcards will be available in the future, probably mostly for audio enthusiast and of course for professionals. Audio still faces huge competition from leading companies and still doesn't provide a full substitute solution for high performance 3D audio and popular gaming surround sound standards such as EAX, Dolby Digital surround, and features like Advanced NSP, the ESI's solution to the native CPU processing for PC Audio.
iXBT.com: What is your opinion of the E-MU revival in the sector of sound cards (especially the 1212M and 0404 models)? How you do evaluate DSP features and the quality of converters in these sound cards taking into account their prices? Will ESI respond with a solution featuring top-end converters at an affordable price?
ESI: We generally believe that onboard DSP solutions on audiocards will soon be history. Solutions like VST plugins or DirectX effects are providing excellent results for professional and even ultra high end professional effects, based on native CPU processing. Modern PCs are easily fast enough to provide better sounding effects and software synthesizer sounds compared to current DSP solutions. Right now, we are just at the beginning of this development - in the future, there will be less and less DSP based products in the audio market and native processing solutions will get even more important. In today's native processing environment, it is obvious that the value of a powerful driver providing low CPU load and low latency is considered much more valuable by professionals, compared to onboard DSP hardware. We also believe that we have developed a great value for audio professionals and audio enthusiasts with Juli@ - currently one of the best solution on the market for digital recording because of its exceptional circuitry design. The excellent frequency response is unmatched by any other products in this and even in higher price ranges. Yet, Singapore based Creative Labs has - with some of their E-MU brand products - achieved high dynamic range values on the input section - it is up to the customer if he prefers a good frequency response or a slightly higher dynamic range, just depending on his specific needs. Of course, ESI will provide even better AD and DA conversion quality for future professional audio products, e.g. with our upcoming multi-channel solutions. ESI was one of the first companies to introduce 192kHz and 7.1 channel sound cards and we will continue to introduce new standards and features first. Other examples are the unmatched features like our universal E-WDM drivers and of course DirectWIRE, a virtual digital routing solution with zero latency, exclusively available for users of ESI and Audiotrak products.
iXBT.com: How is ESI getting on? Should we expect new interesting products, such as Juli@, in future from ESI engineers? Can you share some of your plans with us?
ESI: Actually, ESI is currently mostly focusing on developing products that are more market-friendly. For consumer products, Audiotrak brand will release LP (Low Profile) type products which will inherit all the available features in a half sized PCI board and which will fit nicely in a small form factor PC cases. We have the new MAYA 1010 waiting to be released behind the corner but these might not be as special as Juli@. We do plan to design a variety of rack casings to give our users more connection possibilities, both for the consumer and professional music markets. Our drivers and control panels will always have ESI exclusive original features like E-WDM and DirectWIRE which have been as interesting to many people as Juli@'s brilliant swappable hardware design.
iXBT.com: We thank the entire ESI R&D team and personally Nikki Kichan Kang for the interview!
Conclusions
Professional sound card ESI Juli@ has an unusual design, it features both professional and consumer connectors, full MIDI and digital interfaces, high quality playback, excellent drivers, quite a reasonable price, and it is available on sale. Taking into account its price and professional orientation, we found no drawbacks in this card. ESI engineers did a good job, but one can never stop at what has been accomplished – we are looking forward to new sound cards from ESI/Audiotrak with higher quality DACs, which will compete with EMU products of the same price range.
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Terratec DMX 6fire 24/96
Terratec DMX 6fire - general view
The tested model consists of a PCI card and an external commutation unit designed for a 5" bay of a system unit.
Terratec DMX 6fire sound card - gold-plated plank and metallic stereo minijack connectors
The PCI card has three 3 linear connectors of the stereo minijack format for 5.1 acoustic system, as well as for 4-channel or simple stereo.
The bracket also has a line-in; a mic-in is lacking. However, there is a mic-in with an amplification control on the commutation unit.
Terratec DMX 6fire sound card - front view
The card has three internal analog connectors and a CD-Digital, which is not widely used anymore.
The heart of the card is a professional PCI controller VIA/ICEnsemble ENVY24. This chip has a flexible and transparent signal routing system, high-quality mixing algorithms and doesn't let for any additional conversions in a signal. It allows for a per-bit accuracy of audio data delivery to codecs and true support of the 24/96 mode. This chip is very popular among manufacturers of audio equipment and is used, for example, in M-Audio Audiophile 2496, M-Audio Delta 410 and other cards.
Heart of the Terratec 6fire - Envy24 processor
The card incorporates 3 well-known AKM AK4524 codecs. They are old and approved. They are installed in many sound cards in the range of $150-250.
The external unit is connected to the card with a cable looking like standard IDE. The unit houses a heap of connectors and interfaces: line-in and line-out, turntable input, mic-in with volume control and clip led, adjustable headphones-out, digital optical and coax interfaces, standard MIDI interfaces with a DIN-5 connector.
External Terratec DMX 6fire commutation unit
The unit doesn't contain any converters inside. A signal goes to the unit in the analog form via an unshielded bus, but its level is quite high. Our further measurements will show how it affects sound.
Software and drivers
Quality and frequency of updates of the drivers are of the utmost importance today. Terratec has no problems here. The drivers are often updated, and we had no troubles with the 5.0.2000.125 WDM version tested under the WindowXP with the updates. The system also worked flawlessly with 3 sound cards installed together.
PC test configuration:
* CPU Athlon XP 2100+;
* 512 Mb DDR333;
* Albatron KT333;
* GF4 Ti4200;
* Lynx Two;
* Audigy Platinum eX;
* Terratec DMX 6fire;
* OS MS WindowsXP w/ hot-fixes;
* MS DirectX 8.1.
Additional equipment:
* Proel 15cm microphone cable for measurements;
* Near-field studio Event 20/20 bas monitors;
* Behringer MX602A mixer console
* (for interaction between the cards and the Event monitors); Proel microphone and linear stereo cables for commutation;
* Microlab SOLO-1 multimedia stereo speakers;
* Sennheiser HD600 headphones.
A special control panel is provided for management of parameters of the 6fire card.
The first tab contains elements for management of external interfaces. Signal indicators are provided and the regulators display values in dB in a 0.1 dB step. It places the card onto the professional level. Considering that the card is quite powerful and has plenty of features, its settings are not obvious. But it comes with a detailed and competent user's manual in English.
The second tab contains speakers' presets and volume control for each channel. There is also Enable Sensaura 3D switch which enables Sensaura algorithms (including EAX and I3DL2) in DirectSound3D applications.
"Settings" provide various fine settings like a DMA buffer size. By the way, color of the control panel can be adjusted to your liking.
The last tab is called About and it provides information on the drivers' version.
The software suite for the 6fire DMX is worth a good mark. On the one hand, you have a minimal set of programs for most practical needs. On the other hand, you don't have to overpay.
* CyberLink PowerDVD 3.0 - 6-channel version of a popular software DVD player;
* WaveLab Lite 2.0 - old but useful light version of the Steinberg WaveLab;
* Emagic MicroLogic Fun - light version of the Emagic Logic sequencer;
* WaveLab RIAA Plug-in - plugin for phono-correction in recording;
* TerraTec Sound Laundary - removes pops and clicks in gramophone records;
* Feurio - Audio CD Mastering - program for CD-DA recording;
* Musicmatch Jikebox - for capturing MP3 from CD, also for handling a music collection, similar to Window MediaPlayer and Creative PlayCenter.
Line-Out
As the DMX 6fire and Audigy Platinum eX sound cards have professional music software and are positioned for home musicians, we listened to the test compositions on the near-field Event 20/20 bas monitors switching from one card to the other instantly.
Test results:
1. The professional Lynx Two card (~$1,400) has the best sound. The difference is the most noticeable in the 24/96 mode. But the difference matters exactly in sound processing, when minor details in operation with timbres are important. Both the DMX 6fire and Audigy Platinum eX are suitable for listening.
2. The Terratec 6 fire has more verisimilar and clearer sound than the Audigy Platinum eX. The sound of the Creative's card is more blurry. It's not desirable for professional use.
3. In several minutes human ears get used to peculiarities of sound of a certain card and begin perceiving exactly music, not flaws of the sound.
RMAA measurements
Let's turn to the RMAA 4.0 program (http://audio.rightmark.org/). In measurements we used a Proel microphone stereo cable, 15 cm long, for each channel and standard unbalanced connection to the balanced input (Lynx Two reference card): hot = signal, cold = ground (the three-pin connection gave worse scores). The signal level of the receiver was standard: -10 dBV. The recording was fulfilled at -0.5 dB FS in the source to avoid odd overload.
The Creative Audigy Platinum eX sound card was tested with the official universal drivers of 2002 developed for the whole Creative family. The Audigy card is a usual product, not a press-sample.
16bit 44kHz mode
The 16/44 format is basic today: musical CD-DA, MP3 files, sound samples, applications and games using DirectSound/DirectSound3D.
Terratec DMX 6fire, front-out
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.03, -0.04 Excellent
Noise level, dB (A) -96.6 Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A) 93.7 Very good
THD, % 0.0016 Excellent
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0076 Very good
Crosstalk, dB -89.2 Excellent
General performance: Excellent
Brilliant results! It's absolutely noiseless and lacks for any resampling hints.
Creative Audigy Platinum eX, front-out
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.07, -0.18 Very good
Noise level, dB (A) -96.8 Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A) 93.1 Very good
THD, % 0.0031 Very good
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.128 Average
Crosstalk, dB -90.6 Excellent
General performance: Very good
Here we have more distortions at 1 kHz and high intermodulation in high frequencies as a result of resampling from 44.1 kHz ->48 kHz - it's a downside of all Creative cards. On the other hand, the real-time SRC (sample rate conversion) puts all distortions into the high-frequency range. However, when calculating the IMD we weigh the spectrum using the standard psychophysical curve "A" which is adequate to the human perception.
That is why the Creative cards do not look advantageous in the IMD test. But in 2002 it's possible to give up that unnecessary recalculation on the cards with I2S codecs. In its new card - Extigy - the company lets us choose the reference frequency, at least. Well, the progress is evident.
16bit 44kHz mode Reference 16/44 Lynx Two
in-out Terratec
DMX 6fire Creative Audigy
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.00, -0.00 +0.01, -0.03 +0.03, -0.04 +0.07, -0.18
Noise level, dB (A) -97.8 -96.6 -96.6 -96.8
Dynamic range, dB (A) 95.5 93.9 93.7 93.1
THD, % 0.0003 0.0020 0.0016 0.0031
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0057 0.0067 0.0076 0.128
Crosstalk, dB -92.9 -91.6 -89.2 -90.6
General performance: Excellent Excellent Excellent Very good
For better understanding of operation of the RMAA test let me show you characteristics of the reference test signal produced by the cards. This is estimation of a generated test signal by the program. The characteristics are based on the dithering method and physical limits of the format.
In the 16bit 44.1kHz mode the cards come very close to the theoretical limit of the format. To improve quality of the sound it's necessary to turn to other data storage formats.
16bit 48kHz mode
16/48 is a reference frequency of DVD and MPEG4. DVDs with musical concerts often contain a stereo track exactly in 16/48 PCM.
Terratec DMX 6fire, front-out
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.03, -0.04 Excellent
Noise level, dB (A) -96.4 Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A) 94.0 Very good
THD, % 0.0015 Excellent
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0071 Very good
Crosstalk, dB -90.2 Excellent
General performance: Excellent
The DMX 6fire drivers define a sampling frequency when playing files and then set a necessary mode for the codec. It's peculiar to all professional cards. To make possible to play files with different sampling frequencies, all lower frequencies are resampled to the maximum one for several audio streams. Well, it's quite a rational solution.
Creative Audigy Platinum eX, front-out
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.04, -0.09 Excellent
Noise level, dB (A) -96.4 Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A) 93.1 Very good
THD, % 0.0043 Very good
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0095 Very good
Crosstalk, dB -90.3 Excellent
General performance: Very good
The mark is very close to Excellent. But still, Creative should use higher-quality operational amplifiers for the line-outs.
16bit 48kHz mode Reference 16/48 Lynx Two
in-out Terratec
DMX 6fire Creative Audigy
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.00, -0.00 +0.01, -0.03 +0.03, -0.04 +0.04, -0.09
Noise level, dB (A) -98.1 -97.2 -96.4 -96.4
Dynamic range, dB (A) 95.7 94.5 94.0 93.1
THD, % 0.0003 0.0020 0.0015 0.0043
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0054 0.0063 0.0071 0.0095
Crosstalk, dB -94.1 -93.0 -90.2 -90.3
General performance: Excellent Excellent Excellent Very good
24bit 96kHz mode
Terratec DMX 6fire, front-out
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.02, -0.03 Excellent
Noise level, dB (A) -105.5 Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A) 102.7 Excellent
THD, % 0.0018 Excellent
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0029 Excellent
Crosstalk, dB -91.4 Excellent
General performance: Excellent
The noise level, dynamic range and low distortions are impressive. This mode does make sense for the Terratec DMX 6fire card. Although the characteristics are far from the maximum of this format, they are more advantageous as compared with the 16/44 mode.
Creative Audigy Platinum eX, front-out
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.46, -4.46 Bad
Noise level, dB (A) -100.5 Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A) 95.7 Excellent
THD, % 0.0051 Very good
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.016 Very good
Crosstalk, dB -91.5 Excellent
General performance: Very good
At last, we have got >100 dB A SNR promised in the Audigy! But the absolute value of SNR doesn't make practical sense, we should look at the spectrogram for noise pickups.
The Audigy has problems with the frequency response in the 24/96 mode, and I wish it had less distortions.
24bit 96kHz mode, FR of the cards
24bit 96kHz mode Reference 24/96 Lynx Two
in-out Terratec
DMX 6fire Creative Audigy
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.00, -0.00 +0.00, -0.01 +0.02, -0.03 +0.46, -4.46
Noise level, dB (A) -150.9 -114.9 -105.5 -100.5
Dynamic range, dB (A) 143.8 112.1 102.7 95.7
THD, % 0.0000 0.0021 0.0018 0.0051
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0000 0.0013 0.0029 0.016
Crosstalk, dB -145.4 -107.7 -91.4 -91.5
General performance: Excellent Excellent Excellent Very good
Well, the first prize still belongs to the LynxTwo. :) But it's much easier to realize good characteristics in an expensive card than in a mass one. That is why the Terratec DMX 6fire takes the rank of the first mass product which uncovers capabilities of the 24/96 format. The Audigy, which became a standard of multimedia cards, can play 24/96 files, and that's good. Hope Creative will soon come up with new cards with higher-quality playback in the 24/96 mode. The main problem of Creative consists in the 10K2 controller. It seems that it's not so easy to change the stuff imbedded into silicon preserving compatibility with everything. By the way, the Extigy has no problems with FR in 24/96.
Adjustable headphones-out
We compared sound quality of the WAV files of the 16/44 and 24/96 formats. The Sennheiser HD600 headphones used in this test are considered the best ones among audiophiles.
External commutation unit of the Audigy Platinum eX
and Sennheiser HD600 headphones
In the Audigy data are transferred in a digital form via a thick shielded cable outside the computer. And in the DMX 6fire a signal goes in an unshielded 0.5m flat cable inside the system unit.
The headphones-out on the Behringer console serves as the reference solution with the Lynx Two professional card.
The listening tests in the Sennheiser HD600 headphones give the following results:
1. Volume of the headphones-out of the Terratec and Creative cards is powerful enough for HD600 headphones which are rather freakish in impedance. That is why for any 32 Ohm headphones the output power will be sufficient. And in the Terratec the output volume is higher with the same control's position.
2. Based on the multifunctional Wolfson DAC, the output of the Audigy unit makes sound softer and smoother, especially in highs. You can feel synthetic nature of the sound, that is why electronic compositions sound best of all. The sound remains pleasant, though the Lynx Two has it closer to the original.
3. The output of the DMX 6fire unit gives too accented and whistling highs and adds some metallic notes.
4. The line-outs of both cards shake up the headphones excellently, the sound gets clearer with less noise. For both cards we recommend to use line-outs with brackets.
5. The line-out of the Audigy sounds smoother and more pleasant in the headphones, but the highs are a little incorrect. The Terratec provides a sound closer to the original, but the headphones-out has considerable downsides. The Audigy will suit those who prefer listening to music, the Terratec will be a choice of those who process music.
Let's take a look at the measurements.
Well, the headphones-out lie stronger than even line-outs of the cards - I mean cards for listening on high-quality equipment which has a price comparable or higher than that of the cards.
Test of the headphones-out: DMX 6fire vs. Audigy Platinum eX
Test chain: headphones-out - Lynx Two line in (-10 dBV signal level)
Headphones-out test Terratec
DMX 6fire Creative Audigy Terratec
DMX 6fire Creative Audigy
Operating mode 16/44 16/44 24/96 24/96
Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB +0.01, -0.07 +0.12, -0.12 +0.01, -0.05 +0.45, -4.30
Noise level, dB (A) -94.0 -92.1 -96.2 -96.7
Dynamic range, dB (A) 91.4 87.9 93.0 90.6
THD, % 0.0016 0.0025 0.0019 0.0044
Intermodulation distortions, % 0.0090 0.126 0.0060 0.019
Crosstalk, dB -86.9 -88.5 -86.0 -87.1
General performance: Very good Very good Excellent Very good
Operation in professional applications
Capabilities of both tested cards get uncovered only with the ASIO interface. Exactly in the ASIO the cards get multiple inputs and outputs which can be used independently.
Contrary to the Audigy, the 6fire has finer and wider settings for the professional APIs.
The GSIF is supported (interface for virtual Gigasampler and Gigastudio samplers). But today it's fashionable to use sequencers' native samplers - VSTi and DXi tools. I mean HALion, LM4, LM9, VB1 and others.
We tried the cards in the new Steinberg Cubase SX sequencer which looks like a combination of the Cubase VST 5 and Nuendo. The DMX 6fire had no problems. And the Audigy gives incorrect sound in the 16/44 mode. We didn't have such problems in the previous Cubase versions, that is why it looks like a bug of the sequencer.
Operation of the Terratec DMX 6fire card in the Steinberg Cubase SX sequencer
Operation of the Audigy Platinum eX
in the Steinberg Cubase SX sequencer
Creative recommends using the Audigy card in the 48 kHz mode. The card comes with a program of quality resampling from 44 into 48 and back.
Apart from Steinberg Cubasys VST, Wavelab Lite and ReCycle, the Audigy card is equipped with an excellent guide for music composing on a computer: The definitive music creation guide, Paul White.
Games
As both cards are multimedia solutions they have to work well in games. And they do cope with it. Undoubtedly, the Creative's models take the palm, because this company is an absolute leader in development of gaming APIs - EAX1, EAX 2 and EAX Advanced HD aka EAX3.
Realistic sound in games, especially in 3D shooters, is much spoken about. But I think that environment created by a gaming program is more important. Just take a sound track in movies: nobody records sound right on a shooting area however realistic the sound can be. But they add a lot of sound effects during postscoring and sound editing to make impression stronger.
It's all the same in games. The more skillfully the sound is plaited into the thread of the game's plot, the more pleased users are. All modern sound technologies are oriented toward such environment. The third reincarnation of the EAX offers using algorithms as a part of the DirectSound/DirectSound3D API or by means of OpenAL extensions. In the latter case, even if a sound card doesn't support EAX3.0 entirely, the EAX Unified mechanism converts calls of the EAX3.0 into calls of EAX2.0, thus, preserving upward compatibility.
We tested the cards in the Unreal Tournament 2003, Jedy Khight II, Soldier of Fortune 2, WarCraft III, Neverwinter Nights games. The Audigy gave excellent sound. The reverb quality and 3D effects are impeccable. Besides, quality of mixing of sound streams of the Audigy is top-notch. All sounds are clear and saturated, all effects are well discernible. Thanks to the Sensaura support the Terratec card copes with the games quite well, but it still loses to the Audigy in quality.
DirectSound
Many are interested in a cost of the software DirectSound (and Sensaura API) support of the 6fire card.
There are no many tests measuring CPU load with a different number of streams. ZD Audio WinBench 99 is a quite good benchmark of 1999. But it has some disadvantages: it's developed for DirectX 3.0, has the only test sample of 22 kHz and it's unknown what it measures and how.
For measuring CPU load we have developed our own program called RMAA DirectSound. It will soon be available free of charge. It gives DirectSound diagnostics according to characteristics of the drivers and card libraries.
It's also possible to measure CPU load and estimate quality of channel mixing with the number of streams specified (audio buffers, according to DirectSound API). When measuring the CPU load you can use the measuring tool integrated into the OS (for XP) or a special more precise algorithm.
The test gives both an average value and deviation (or rather, root square of standard deviation), which allows estimating data more adequately. There is a special algorithm that excludes random values from the distribution which is based on the statistical analysis and discarding of values which do not get into a confidence interval (at the confidence level of 0.95).
Let's compare the CPU usage for the Terratec 6fire measured with two different methods.
RMAA DirectSound, 2 speakers mode
Windows XP, Sensaura ON, 500 ms update time
WinXP test mode average deviation
0 buffers 0.06 0.34
8 buffers 2.45 2.58
16 buffers 4.32 2.47
32 buffers 8.65 3.71
RMAA test mode average deviation
0 buffers 0.00 0.00
8 buffers 2.57 0.72
16 buffers 4.47 1.36
32 buffers 8.78 2.95
The standard measuring method doesn't suit for a small CPU load because of a too high deviation.
The measurements were carried out during playing the files of 20 seconds in the 16bit 44.1kHz format. The test configuration is the following: CPU Athlon XP 2100+, 512 Mb DDR333, Albatron KT333.
RMAA DirectSound
Windows XP, Sensaura ON, 500 ms update time
CPU usage, % Terratec DMX 6fire Creative Audigy
2 speakers average deviation average deviation
0 buffers 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8 buffers 2.57 0.72 1.24 0.78
16 buffers 4.47 1.36 2.68 1.49
32 buffers 8.78 2.95 8.36 3.12
CPU usage, % Terratec DMX 6fire Creative Audigy
5.1 speakers average deviation average deviation
0 buffers 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8 buffers 3.60 0.69 1.16 0.76
16 buffers 5.59 1.34 4.46 1.69
32 buffers 10.24 3.10 7.54 3.33
A typical situation in games is simultaneous reproducing of 8 to 16 voices. The Audigy advantage is a couple of percents. The Audigy outscores its competitor in stream mixing quality. With the Sensaura disabled the drivers of the DMX 6 fire card turn to the mode of software DirectSound algorithms. This is the mode which we recommend for playing music in universal WAV/MP3 players Windows Media Player and others using DirectSound API.
Conclusion
The Terratec DMX 6fire sound card will be interesting mainly for those who value high-quality sound and for owners of high-quality acoustic systems. The sound quality is obtained with the professional Envy24 chip, AKM codecs and quality drivers supporting both professional and gaming APIs. Contrary to professional sound cards of the same price niche, the card possesses a 5.1-channel output and supports 3D sound in games based on the Sensaura algorithms. The Creative Audigy Platinum eX offers a more powerful gaming support - EAX 3.0, that is why it will suit advanced gamers and owners of computer acoustic systems.
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Burada beğendiğim ses kartlarını bir araya toplamaya çalıştım tüm özellikleriyle birlikte kes yapıştır yaptım tabiki biraz uzun olduğu için kusura bakmayın
Bu kartlar hakkında ne düşünüyorsunuz -
E-MU 1616M
Technical Specifications
General
Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz from internal crystal or externally supplied clock (no sample rate conversion)
Bit Depths: 24 bit I/O, 32 bit processing
PCI Specification:
- PCI 2.2 Compliant
- Form Factor: Universal Keyed, Short PCI Card
- 3.3V I/O, 5V Tolerant
- PCI Bus-Mastering DMA subsystem reduces CPU usage
E-MU E-DSP 32-bit DSP with 67-bit accumulator (double precision w/ 3 headroom bits)
Hardware-accelerated, 32-channel mixing, and multi-effects processing
Zero-latency direct hardware monitoring w/effects
ASIO2, WDM/MME/DirectSound, x64 Drivers
EDI (E-MU Digital Interface) proprietary 64-channel audio link over CAT-5 cable
Anti-Pop speaker protection minimizes noise during power on/off
Ultra-low jitter clock subsystem: < 1ns in PLL mode (44.1kHz, Opt. S/PDIF Sync)
Analog Line Inputs (4)
Type: servo-balanced, DC-coupled, low-noise input circuitry
A/D converter: AK5394A
Level (software selectable):
- Professional: +4dBu nominal, 20dBu max (balanced)
- Consumer: -10dBV nominal, 6dBV max (unbalanced)
Frequency Response (20Hz-20kHz): +0.0/-.03dB
Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-weighted): 120dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 120dB
THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -110dB (.0003%)
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -120dB Analog Line Outputs (6)
Analog Line Outputs (6)
Type: balanced, AC-coupled, 2-pole low-pass differential filter
D/A converter: CS4398
Level (software selectable):
- Professional: +4dBu nominal, 20dBu max (balanced)
- Consumer: -10dBV nominal, 6dBV max (unbalanced)
Frequency Response (20Hz - 20kHz): 0.0/-.06dB
Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-weighted): 120dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 120dB
THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -105dB (.0006%)
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -115dB
Combo Microphone Preamplifier/Hi-Z/Line Inputs (2)
Type: E-MU® XTC™ combo mic preamp and Hi-Z/line input w/ Soft Limiter
Gain Range: +60dB
Frequency Response (min gain, 20Hz-20kHz): +0.0/-0.1dB
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz min gain, -1dBFS): < -125dB
Hi-Z Line Input:
- Input Impedance: 1Mohm
- Max Level: +18dBV (20.2dBu)
- Dynamic Range (A-weighted, 1kHz, min gain): 118dB
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted, min gain): 118dB
- THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS, min gain): -105dB (.0006%)
Microphone Preamplifier:
- Input Impedance: 1.5Kohms
- Max Level: +6dBV (+8.2dBu)
- EIN (20Hz-20kHz, 150ohm, unweighted): -129.5dBu
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted, min gain): 119dB
- THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS, min gain): -110dB (.0003%)
- Phantom Power: 48V
- Soft Limiter: 5dB max compression (software selectable)
Headphone Amplifier
Type: linear power amplifier
D/A converter: CS4398
Gain Range: 85dB
Maximum Output Power: 50mW
Output Impedance: 22ohms
Frequency Response (20Hz-20kHz): +0.0/-0.07dB
Dynamic Range (A-weighted): 118.5dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 118dB
THD+N (1kHz, max gain): 600ohm load: -96dB
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS, 600 ohm load): < -100dB
Phono Input (stereo)
Type: RIAA equalized phono input
Maximum level:
- Professional: 60mV RMS
- Consumer: 15mV RMS
Input Impedance: 47Kohm
Frequency Response (20Hz - 20kHz): +0.1/-0.3dB
Dynamic Range (A-weighted): 96dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (15mV RMS unbal input, A-weighted): 96dB
THD+N (1kHz, 15mV RMS input): -90dB (.003%)
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -80dB
Digital I/O
S/PDIF:
- 2 in/2 out coaxial (transformer coupled)
- 2 in/2 out optical (software switched with ADAT)
- AES/EBU or S/PDIF format (software selectable)
ADAT:
- 8 channels, 24-bit @ 44.1/48kHz
- 4 channels, 24-bit @ 88.2/96kHz (S-MUX compatible)
- 2 channels, 24-bit @ 176.4/192kHz
MIDI
- 2 in, 2 out
Synchronization
Internal crystal sync at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz
External sample rate sync via
- ADAT (44.1 - 192kHz)
- Optical S/PDIF (44.1 - 96kHz)
- Coaxial S/PDIF (44.1 - 192kHz)
SMPTE/LTC/MTC (via optional Sync Daughtercard)
- 24, 25, 30 drop-frame, 30 non-drop
- SMPTE to MTC, MTC to SMPTE Conversion
- SMPTE Striping
- Flywheel/Jam/Regenerate
Retail Box Contents
E-MU 1010 PCI Card
E-MU MicroDock M
EDI (E-MU Digital Interface) cable (3 meters)
Universal power adaptor
MIDI breakout cable
Quick Start installation guide
E-MU Digital Audio Systems CD-ROM
- Windows® XP and XP x64 Drivers
- E-MU PatchMix DSP
- E-MU Power FX
- E-MU E-DSP Effects Library - Owner's Manual and Tutorials
E-MU Production Tools Software Bundle CD-ROM
- Cakewalk SONAR LE
- Steinberg Cubase LE
- Ableton Live Lite 4 for E-MU
- Steinberg Wavelab Lite
- IK Multimedia AmpliTube LE
- IK Multimedia T-RackS EQ
- Minnetonka diskWelder BRONZE
- SFX Machine LT
- E-MU Proteus X LE (over 1000 sounds included)
Minimum System Requirements
Intel® or AMD® processor - 1 GHz or faster
Intel, AMD or 100% compatible motherboard & chipset
Microsoft® Windows® XP (SP 2) or Windows XP x64
256MB System RAM
900MB of free hard disk space for full installation
PCI 2.1 compliant slot for E-MU 1010 PCI card
CD-ROM/CD-RW or DVD-ROM drive required for software installation
XVGA Video (1024 X 768)
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Farklı Bir Başlık. Bazı Yorumlarda Garip, Profesyonel Ses Kartlarının Satın Alınmasının Esas Sebebini Bilmeyenler Var; Ama Tabiki Bilipte Konuşanlar Var. Profesyonel Ses Kartları Demek Torrent İndirilen DVDRIP Filmleri Daha Kaliteli İzlemek Değildir. Özel Kayıtlarda İçindeki Pre-Amp larla Kaliteyi Arttırmak ve Enstrumanla Bilgisayar Arasındaki Sesin Alımı Süresini Azaltmaktır. Ayrıca Normal Ses Kartlarında Olmayan Çıkışları ve Girişleri Destekler. Terciğe, İhtiyaca Göre Ses Kartı Seçilir 100YTL ye de Var; 5000YTL ye de Var.
Saygılarımla... -
Prodigy HD2
Bu ses kartını kullanan varmı Türkiyede neden olmazki bunlar ya
-
quote:
Orjinalden alıntı: victorist
Prodigy HD2
Bu ses kartını kullanan varmı Türkiyede neden olmazki bunlar ya
valla sesle ilgili birçok şeyi bulamıyoruz bu ülkede! -
auzen in şu an windows 7 desteği yok creative x-fi driverları da fayda etmiyor buda one bune yorumlarına kapak olsun yazılım desteği olmayan bi ürünü yüceltmenin pek anlamı olduğunu sanmıyorum -
Arkadaşlar konu hortlucak ama gerek içeriğinim sağlamlığı ve konusu itibarı ile sakınca görmedim.Şimdi meşhur Meridian kartık ikinci nesil versiyonu çıkmış.Bu konuda açıklama yapabilirseniz çok sevineceğim.Çünkü creative'a mahkum olmak istemiyorum.Gerek windows 7'deki sürücü sorunu ve tekel olarak yer almaları beni hep sinir etti ve hala daha ediyor.Sorun öncelikle bu değil tabiiki.Yeni aldığım 5+1 Edifier S550 sistemime güzel bir ses kartı seçmek.Sonuçta bendeki soundmax 5+1 ile nereye kadar yani.Konuyu uzatmadan linkini verdiğim kart hakkında her türlü yorum yapılırsa çok sevineceğim.Gerek çipi ve geriye kalan bir çok özelliği gibi.
NOT: Umarım önemli ve sağlam açıklamalarda bulunan terranigma arkadaşımızda buradadır hala.Onun yorumlarını merakla bekliyorum :)
Ip işlemleri
Bu mesaj IP'si ile atılan mesajları ara Bu kullanıcının son IP'si ile atılan mesajları ara Bu mesaj IP'si ile kullanıcı ara Bu kullanıcının son IP'si ile kullanıcı ara
KAPAT X
Bu mesaj IP'si ile atılan mesajları ara Bu kullanıcının son IP'si ile atılan mesajları ara Bu mesaj IP'si ile kullanıcı ara Bu kullanıcının son IP'si ile kullanıcı ara
KAPAT X
