Calling all audiophiles!!! (questions)
Ok, I'm looking to pimp out my new G fizee with some audio stuff, so I am looking for advice on what to get. Creative's Sound Blaster is pretty much out of the question for sound card because the Mac Sound Blaster has terrible OS X drivers and is way dated compared to their PC offerings (Audigy). I wish Creative would offer the Audigy for Mac but I guess not.
I am not very knowledgeable in terms of audio stuff & hardware, but I have heard really good things about the Audiophile 2496 sound card. I checked out midiman.net and also noticed how they were the first to have Mac OS X-ready products, so that is a plus. The card seems to be very good and I can get it for $170.
I have a few questions. Does this card have Dolby Digital 5.1 & EAX? I think these are pretty big, but will it be all that without?
I also noticed the DiO which would be $30 and is slightly better, but lacks the MIDI. It does have some extra things and I'm not sure if I need the MIDI. I don't have any MIDI instruments or hardware and I am going to just do stuff with Reason/Logic/Cubase that is just computer based really. I am wondering if this card is worth an extra $30.
Also I want to get some speakers but I don't want real expensive ones. Are there any really good cheap speakers that you can recommend for my setup? Is it stupid to get a good sound card and get cheap speakers? I just want some good quality ones that won't set my wallet back.
Thanks in advance.
I am not very knowledgeable in terms of audio stuff & hardware, but I have heard really good things about the Audiophile 2496 sound card. I checked out midiman.net and also noticed how they were the first to have Mac OS X-ready products, so that is a plus. The card seems to be very good and I can get it for $170.
I have a few questions. Does this card have Dolby Digital 5.1 & EAX? I think these are pretty big, but will it be all that without?
I also noticed the DiO which would be $30 and is slightly better, but lacks the MIDI. It does have some extra things and I'm not sure if I need the MIDI. I don't have any MIDI instruments or hardware and I am going to just do stuff with Reason/Logic/Cubase that is just computer based really. I am wondering if this card is worth an extra $30.
Also I want to get some speakers but I don't want real expensive ones. Are there any really good cheap speakers that you can recommend for my setup? Is it stupid to get a good sound card and get cheap speakers? I just want some good quality ones that won't set my wallet back.
Thanks in advance.
Comments
you mean they have NO OS X drivers
[quote]
I have a few questions. Does this card have Dolby Digital 5.1 & EAX? I think these are pretty big, but will it be all that without? <hr></blockquote>
no. It's basically a pro audio i/o card not a gaming or surround sound card.
[quote]
Also I want to get some speakers but I don't want real expensive ones. Are there any really good cheap speakers that you can recommend for my setup? Is it stupid to get a good sound card and get cheap speakers? I just want some good quality ones that won't set my wallet back. <hr></blockquote>
very stupid. better off buying expensive speakers and a cheap soundcard or even no sound card.
I have a soundblaster with the FSP2000 4.1 speaker set. Great speakers. Got the whole package for $149 @ MWNY
<strong>Hmm, well somebody said that it does support Dolby Digital surround 5.1 actually. I guess I just want high-quality sound. Also I've heard even with games they sound really good so I don't know. Agree on the speaker things. Do you think for $100 or so I can get pretty descent speakers though?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Even if it did support DD5.1 it would be useless as Apple doesn't support it. I think you also would need an external decoder.