The best PC soundcards were made in 1999.

Is there a soundcard available now that's as good as the ones made in
1999? Or some kind of amplification device that doesn't require an AC
adapter wasting power?

I'm not an expert. I'm just a guy who wants a soundcard that does more
than just whisper to me. Apparently, the soundcards made in 1999 are
better than any the ones made now.

Why? One reason: A 4x amplification port.

Used to be that you could get the Soundblaster 64 AWE and it had two
outs- regular and 4x amplified.

Now, you can't. Even if you use a pci soundblaster card circa 2001
that does have the amped out, you still can't use the amp port on it
because windows drivers don't support it.

So now I'm told that I have to get speakers for my PC, which I don't
want, and I'll have to have those speakers plugged in all the time,
and of course they use a vampire plug (AC adapter) which over the
course of a year will cost me what- $20, $30 in power consumption?

The best video cards were made in 1999. Now they're all patheticlly
quiet.

Oh you experts are going to talk about how the amp port was getting
some tiny bit of interference from the motherboard's power, something
that only an expert would care about. What ****ing ever. I was happy
before, now I'm not. The industry has gone in the wrong direction.

Is there a soundcard out there that's as good as the soundblaster 64
awe was?

"mrbog" wrote ...
Is there a soundcard out there that's as good as the soundblaster 64
awe was?

Maybe you will feel better after the hangover wears off?

On 30 Oct 2004 22:54:58 -0700, (mrbog) wrote:

Used to be that you could get the Soundblaster 64 AWE and it had two
outs- regular and 4x amplified.

If that's what you want, I'm sure you'll find one cheap on ebay.

Now, you can't. Even if you use a pci soundblaster card circa 2001
that does have the amped out, you still can't use the amp port on it
because windows drivers don't support it.

So now I'm told that I have to get speakers for my PC, which I don't
want, and I'll have to have those speakers plugged in all the time,
and of course they use a vampire plug (AC adapter) which over the
course of a year will cost me what- $20, $30 in power consumption?

So put it in a switched outlet.


The best video cards were made in 1999. Now they're all patheticlly
quiet.

Eh? Video cards now sometimes have fans, so if you want a noisy one,
get one of those:-)

"mrbog" wrote in message
om

Is there a soundcard available now that's as good as the ones made in
1999?

Almost all of them are better, some 5 years later.

Or some kind of amplification device that doesn't require an AC
adapter wasting power?

That hardly seems like an earth-shaking issue.


I'm not an expert. I'm just a guy who wants a soundcard that does more
than just whisper to me.

Letsee, that means you want a sound card that has a power amplifier built
in?

Apparently, the soundcards made in 1999 are
better than any the ones made now.

Not hardly.

Why? One reason: A 4x amplification port.

Very few cards made in 1999 had that feature.

Used to be that you could get the Soundblaster 64 AWE and it had two
outs- regular and 4x amplified.

Yes, but it was a pretty nasty-sounding card if you tried to record and
playback at the same time.

Now, you can't. Even if you use a pci soundblaster card circa 2001
that does have the amped out, you still can't use the amp port on it
because windows drivers don't support it.

Well, if you need your headphones to be louder, why not get a headphone amp?
The Boostaroo runs about $20 and is really pretty good. It has 2x gain.

So now I'm told that I have to get speakers for my PC, which I don't
want, and I'll have to have those speakers plugged in all the time,
and of course they use a vampire plug (AC adapter) which over the
course of a year will cost me what- $20, $30 in power consumption?

Over how many decades?

A wall wart for a headphone amp might use 2 watts. That's a KWH every 500
hours or about a month. Cost less than $0.25 just about anyplace. $0.25 per
month is $3 a year or about $30 in a decade.

Here is my cumulative response to all of your general wrongness. In
fact nearly everything Crowley, Payne, and Krueger said was either
wrong or not applicable. So much so that I feel like a troll. None of
you are addressing the issue that the average user could get a sound
card in 1999 that worked better for the average user's needs than
those made in 2004. I'll break it down like james brown:

Payne: "If that's what you want, I'm sure you'll find one cheap on
ebay."

I just said in my original post that the drivers for new versions of
windows don't support it.

Payne: So put it in a switched outlet.

A what? Who actually has those? 0.1% of the population?

Payne: Eh? Video cards now sometimes have fans, so if you want a
noisy one,
get one of those:-)

Hello? We're talking about audio devices here. When I say it's quite
I'm not talking about the circuit board I'm talking about the AUDIO
OUTPUT, ****HEAD.

Krueger: Almost all of them are better, some 5 years later.

As stated, no audio card today (afaik) has a 4x or 2x amplified out
port. I was happy with my soundcard in 1999, and I have incredibly
simple, common needs for a soundcard, now there is none that will make
me happy. Ergo, the year 1999 had better soundcards than 2004.

Krueger: Letsee, that means you want a sound card that has a power
amplifier built in?

Um yea, that wasn't clear from my post????

Krueger: Very few cards made in 1999 had that feature.

Yea, you're right, and NONE have that feature in 2004 (afaik). I could
get a better soundcard in 1999 than I can now.

Krueger: Well, if you need your headphones to be louder, why not get a
headphone amp? The Boostaroo runs about $20 and is really pretty good.
It has 2x gain.

Thanks, exvept then don't I have to keep buying batteries? Do you
want to do some of your math on the cost of replacement batteries over
1 year?

Krueger: A wall wart for a headphone amp might use 2 watts. That's a
KWH every 500 hours or about a month. Cost less than $0.25 just about
anyplace. $0.25 per
month is $3 a year or about $30 in a decade.

You're so naive, krueger. Reach over behind your desk right now and
touch any one of your AC adapters. Notice anything? They're HOT. Do
you have any idea how expensive it is to produce heat energy compared
to a measly 2 watts? Even if a device outputs 2 watts, the AC adapter
for it will constantly, 24 hours a day, drain money out of your
wallet. 10% of the average american's power bill is from AC adapters
for devices that are turned OFF. The NY times wrote an article about
it six months ago, do some googling for it. The *device* may take 2
watts, but the adapter takes a hell of a lot more, 24 hrs a day. Go
look at the specs on some AC adapters and do your math over again.

The boostaroo doesn't come with an AC adapter. I googled for other
ones... the lowest powered adapter I could find is 9v..

BTW $30 is more than I paid for my soundblaster 64 awe in 1999.

I'm not aware of any current products with the feature you desire. People
vote with their wallets. Evidently other features were more popular. Have
you considered more sensitive headphones? If that's not acceptable, then it
would seem that an external amplifier would be the only available
alternative with the current products. Frustrating, I understand.

"mrbog" wrote ...
As stated, no audio card today (afaik) has a 4x or 2x amplified
out port.

OK. So your definition of "better" is higher-power output.

Clue: Most (all?) of the rest of us consider things like SNR,
frequency response, distortion, etc, etc, to be infinitely more
important than power output. Your mileage obviously varies.

In the future you might want to either avoid using the undefined
and ambiguous word "best", or at least define what *you* mean
up-front.

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:36:19 -0800, mrbog wrote:

Here is my cumulative response to all of your general wrongness. In fact
nearly everything Crowley, Payne, and Krueger said was either wrong or not
applicable. So much so that I feel like a troll. None of you are
addressing the issue that the average user could get a sound card in 1999
that worked better for the average user's needs than those made in 2004.

I think you've got a pretty funny idea of the "average user". The average
user these days has amplified speakers, or an external amplifier driving
their passive speakers. A sound card with amplified output does not make
sense for these people. Sorry, but it's no surprise that you got unhelpful
responses, because, reading your original post, you just bitched and
moaned about the "good old days", told us everything about what you DON'T
want, and little helpful information about your actual needs.

So now I'm told that I have to get speakers for my PC, which I don't
want, and I'll have to have those speakers plugged in all the time, and
of course they use a vampire plug (AC adapter) which over the course of
a year will cost me what- $20, $30 in power consumption?

Taking a wild guess at your actual usage, it seems that you are using
headphones, directly connected to your card's line-out. Of course, this is
just a guess because you say that you don't want to get speakers - but for
all I know you're putting your ear next to the little hole at the back of
the PC.

You're right about the power bricks, so let's focus on headphones. It's
rather strange that the sound level is too low for headphones, because my
current card (Audigy 2) has no trouble. Perhaps your best bet is to try
out an external USB sound "card" with a volume knob to control output
(these are pretty much just for headphone users, because like I said, most
speakers are amplified and have their own volume control). The Creative
Sound Blaster Extigy might be a good starting point, but there are plenty
of others.

On the other hand, if you're trying to drive passive speakers direct from
the card, you're out of luck. If you were to get hold of, say, an old
Aureal Vortex 2-based card, the support is there in Linux now, but not in
any version of Windows since 1998.

The best video cards were made in 1999. Now they're all patheticlly
quiet.

No good blowing anyone's head off - you did say "video cards"...


Good luck,
Minderbinder.

"Richard Crowley" wrote in message ...
"mrbog" wrote ...
As stated, no audio card today (afaik) has a 4x or 2x amplified
out port.

OK. So your definition of "better" is higher-power output.

Clue: Most (all?) of the rest of us consider things like SNR,
frequency response, distortion, etc, etc, to be infinitely more
important than power output. Your mileage obviously varies.

In the future you might want to either avoid using the undefined
and ambiguous word "best", or at least define what *you* mean
up-front.


You're saying I didn't define what I mean by "best" in my post??? Go
read my post and tell me how that's not clear. It was clear to
everyone else who responded but you Crowley.

mrbog wrote:
Here is my cumulative response to all of your general wrongness. In
fact nearly everything Crowley, Payne, and Krueger said was either
wrong or not applicable. So much so that I feel like a troll. None of
you are addressing the issue that the average user could get a sound
card in 1999 that worked better for the average user's needs than
those made in 2004. I'll break it down like james brown:

Payne: "If that's what you want, I'm sure you'll find one cheap on
ebay."

I just said in my original post that the drivers for new versions of
windows don't support it.

Payne: So put it in a switched outlet.

A what? Who actually has those? 0.1% of the population?


It's called a surge protector. (Looks just like a power strip.) Plug the
wall wart into it and turn the whole strip off when you don't need the
wall wart powered up.

Any other problems you need solved knucklehead?


TBerk