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Audiofanzine FR
Published on 11/03/08 at 15:15
(Originally written by lewkey/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
I bought this sound card in 2005. The sound is ok for a consumer product and it can route input signals directly to the output, so the optical and analog inputs appear as master in the windows control panel. I only use the optical connection to avoid contacts with the amp (I had a ground loop problem because the amp was connected to a MD player, which in turn was connected to the PC via a USB cable!!).
I used it mainly as sound card at home because my laptop had no optical connections.
UTILIZATION
No installation problems (don't lose the 3 CD-ROMs provided!!!)
GETTING STARTED
It was a bit difficult to fully understand the drivers operation in order to make a basic installation (to avoid installing unnecessary software that only uses up RAM, space on the HDD and increases CPU usage!). I have another USB sound card (USB Sound Blaster MP3+ - SB0270) but the product isn't listed any more on the manufacturer's homepage so I'm starting to worry about future driver updates!!!!
The latency is not exceptional but it is no surprise for a USB 2.0 sound card. More on this point: if you want to record a signal on an external USB HDD to play it back at 32bit/96kHz, don't use a USB hub because it will be overloaded and it won't ever have enough bandwidth for this!!!
So don't use a USB hub between the PC and this sound card.
OVERALL OPINION
There was probably a voltage surge in the USB slot where the sound card was connected to and it doesn't work any more. Sometimes the power LED lights on a couple of seconds but the PC won't detect the card so I think the chip is burnt or something (after 2 and a half years of use). It's a pity that the manufacturer didn't think about some sort of electrical protection for the USB connector (it can't be that hard to implement!).
Now the card is dead. It's a pity because it was a good sound card.
I bought this sound card in 2005. The sound is ok for a consumer product and it can route input signals directly to the output, so the optical and analog inputs appear as master in the windows control panel. I only use the optical connection to avoid contacts with the amp (I had a ground loop problem because the amp was connected to a MD player, which in turn was connected to the PC via a USB cable!!).
I used it mainly as sound card at home because my laptop had no optical connections.
UTILIZATION
No installation problems (don't lose the 3 CD-ROMs provided!!!)
GETTING STARTED
It was a bit difficult to fully understand the drivers operation in order to make a basic installation (to avoid installing unnecessary software that only uses up RAM, space on the HDD and increases CPU usage!). I have another USB sound card (USB Sound Blaster MP3+ - SB0270) but the product isn't listed any more on the manufacturer's homepage so I'm starting to worry about future driver updates!!!!
The latency is not exceptional but it is no surprise for a USB 2.0 sound card. More on this point: if you want to record a signal on an external USB HDD to play it back at 32bit/96kHz, don't use a USB hub because it will be overloaded and it won't ever have enough bandwidth for this!!!
So don't use a USB hub between the PC and this sound card.
OVERALL OPINION
There was probably a voltage surge in the USB slot where the sound card was connected to and it doesn't work any more. Sometimes the power LED lights on a couple of seconds but the PC won't detect the card so I think the chip is burnt or something (after 2 and a half years of use). It's a pity that the manufacturer didn't think about some sort of electrical protection for the USB connector (it can't be that hard to implement!).
Now the card is dead. It's a pity because it was a good sound card.