SB Audigy SE

[40oz]

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=205&product=14189

I really want to improve the sound on my laptop because it's pretty shitty, (especially midis and mp3s) and I found this in my local walmart for around $30

I dont really know much about the internal stuff about computers, and I dont know if you guys do either, but I'd like to know if it's any good. I'd also like to know if it's compatible with my computer. I have an Acer Aspire 5315-2153 laptop and I'd be pissed if it wouldnt work with it. It meets most of the requirements (at least the ones I can understand)

[AirRaid]

Well for a start that's a PCI sound card, meant for a desktop PC.

I doubt you'd be able to upgrade the sound device in a laptop at all.

[Planky]

The only way you can get around this is to purchase USB speakers. Either that or get a new laptop.

[exp(x)]

What about these?

[AndrewB]

Just get an Audigy 2 ZS for your PCMCIA slot.

[Remilia Scarlet]

AndrewB said:

Just get an Audigy 2 ZS for your PCMCIA slot.

I had one of those, and I can attest that they're actually pretty good. Though I never used it (never was a fan of them), it has Soundfont capabilities like a real Audigy, so MIDIs should sound better if you can find a decent sample set that you like.

The only issue I had was when I would record from it to a MiniDisc (in realtime, using the oldskool method). Somehow, I had this odd thing going on where it sounded like all the sound was passing through a compressor before getting recorded. But it never happened with anything else. It also was lacking some of the low end, but the only way I could tell this one was in my car at the time.

I'd probably still be using mine if I hadn't accidentally snapped it in half.

[AndrewB]

DJ_Haruko said:

I had one of those, and I can attest that they're actually pretty good. Though I never used it (never was a fan of them), it has Soundfont capabilities like a real Audigy, so MIDIs should sound better if you can find a decent sample set that you like.

Don't bother with the card if you're planning on using it for MIDI. Certain MIDI signals cause the hardware to crash. It's Creative, so of course, there is no support and no patch available.

For straight-up listening, though, it's ideal.

[Csonicgo]

Funny, my Sound Blaster USB hasn't crashed yet.

god I love that thing. it works in linux, and is full duplex, and can sample output to input like most good cards did until the RIAA tried to bribe some to close the analog hole.

[40oz]

usb sound cards sound pretty neat, any reccomendations in terms of better midi support? and hopefully better mp3 quality too.

[AndrewB]

Allow me to speculate that sound cards and MP3 quality have nothing to do with each other.

[40oz]

So it's just midi then? I could live with that. Mp3 quality on this comp is not nearly as bad as the midis.

[AndrewB]

JohnnyRancid said:

So it's just midi then? I could live with that. Mp3 quality on this comp is not nearly as bad as the midis.

I hope you know what you're talking about, because I don't.

[40oz]

It's a question. Allow me to restate.

"So is it true that Soundcards do not make any difference to the sound quality of MP3s, but on the contrast, improve the sound of midi's instead?"

Got that?

[leileilol]

MP3s sound bad on anything you throw at it. it's nothing more than a patented, evil, lossy compression format.

Some sound cards have a higher playback rate than others (Sblive is stuck at 48kHz)

[AirRaid]

leileilol said:

MP3s sound bad on anything you throw at it. it's nothing more than a patented, evil, lossy compression format.

Well that's just bollocks right there. HEY MP3 IS THE MOST POPULAR FORMAT! SO IT SUCKS! FIGHT THE MAN!

Sure it might not be the most perfect format for sound quality, but to say "All MP3s sound bad on anything" is just pure bullshit.

[Sharessa]

VBR .mp3s sound just as good as any .ogg I've heard. If you think differently, you're probably lying to yourself to try to be some elitist special person.

[Fredrik]

If by VBR you mean variable between 192 and 320.

Meanwhile, my 112 nominal kbps oggs sound perfect, and 80 kbps still sounds decent.

[AndrewB]

JohnnyRancid said:

It's a question. Allow me to restate.

"So is it true that Soundcards do not make any difference to the sound quality of MP3s, but on the contrast, improve the sound of midi's instead?"

Got that?

Much clearer. Yes, it's true that sound cards basically have no effect on the quality of MP3s. Some may claim to decode them with a better algorithm, but even if that's true, the same effect could be achieved with software using any other cheap sound card. So there is no relationship between a sound card and it's MP3 playback quality.

And yes, different sound cards will make MIDIs sound different. However, it's a strange area, as most new sound cards you'll buy these days have an extremely cheap synth bank that is basically thrown in for compatibility purposes. Even the expensive "musician" style sound cards include no MIDI instrument bank whatsoever. That's because MIDI has shifted away from games into the musician domain, and musicians are expected to provide their own instrument samples to the sound card.

Weird times.