Showing posts with label creative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Moulding speakers

In any sound system, the quality of audio depends on the speakers. The best recorded material encoded on the most advanced data storage device and played by top-of-line stereos/ PC and amplifier will sound awful if the system is hooked up with poor speakers. A system's speaker is the component that takes the electronic signal from media storage devices like CDs, tapes and DVDs and turns it back into actual sound.
Altec Lansing VS4121
Now when it comes to Pc speakers we have many choices, ranging from two speaker system to eight speaker system. Out of this, three speaker setup (commonly referred to as 2.1 channel) and six speaker setup (commonly referred to as 5.1 channel) are most popular. A primary consideration in deciding between 2.1 and 5.1 speaker sets is whether its music you intend to use on the one hand, or DVD movies and games on the other. 2.1 are suited more ideally for music listening than 5.1 systems. A 2.1 Channel sound uses two stereo speakers, a subwoofer and a special surround sound decoder to create an enveloping surround sound listening experience. 2.1 Channel systems use special decoders to create the illusion of multi channel surround sound effects, commonly known as Virtual Surround Sound (VSS). Various 2.1 channel speakers use 5.1 channel decoders combined with special digital circuits that simulate the sound of rear channel speakers. A good 2.1 speaker set can outperform a 5.1 set in the same price range if mp3 and audio tracks are considered. This is because most music such as on CD is encoded with two channel playback.
Logitech Z 5500
There are many ways to make and present a sound recording. The simplest method is called monaural or simply mono. Mono means that all the sound is recorded onto one audio track or channel, which is typically played on one speaker. Two-channel recordings, in which sound is played on speakers on either side of the listener, are often referred to as stereo. This isn't entirely accurate, as stereo (or stereophonic) actual refers to a wider range of multi-channel recordings. Surround recordings take this idea a step further, adding more audio channels so sound comes from three or more directions. While the term "surround sound" technically refers to specific multi-channel systems designed by Dolby Laboratories, it is more commonly used as a generic term for theater and home theater multi-channel sound systems. 5.1 channel sounds is for movies-DVD movies and games. DVD movies that use DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II need a 5.1 sound system for proper reproduction of sound. Top brands include CreativeAltec LansingLogitech
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Audiophile: Sound Card

An obscenely large percentage of the world’s population shares the same passion - music. With the introduction of MP3 and file sharing programs most of us now have gigabytes of music collection. No one loves if the bass coming from sub woofer is not powerful enough or the mids are not clear. When it comes to good music a dedicated sound hardware is a must, and when it comes to PC hardware making a good choice becomes really feverish.

With basic PC hardware sound, the first thing we have to decide is a sound card. We get two options here, either we can go with the onboard sound or we can have a dedicated sound card. Onboard sound has improved a lot than what it used to be a few years back. All new generation motherboard comes equipped with at least 6 channel sound as a de facto standard. Latest onboard sound cards are capable of producing 8 channel audio. Intel’s new high definition audio has not only multi stream capabilities but it can also send two or more audio streams to different locations at the same time. This means we can play decent music while voice chatting on net. Another great feature is “jack retasking”, i.e. one jack can have more than once function. The card is smart enough to detect whenever a new device is plugged in. It can change its port functionality if the device is plugged into wrong one. ALC 880 and ALC 880D are also great onboard cards which provide good 7.1 sound. It provides four 24 bit, 2 channel DACs, with sound-to-noise ratio achieving up to 100 dB; making it suitable for high multimedia PCs.
Realtel ALC880
Audiophiles and music lovers often opt for dedicated sound cards. These cards have higher sound-to-noise ratio, higher bit rate and takes off load from CPU. In the area of PC sound card no one beats creative. Creative has a range of dedicated sound cards for music lovers to gamers to enthusiasts. At the low end of the hierarchy we can see “Sound Blaster Live Series”, for the mid section one can opt from the “Audigy” series of cards. For extremists and audiophiles creative has launched “X-Fi” series. The Sound Blaster Live supports up to 7.1 channel surround sound and Creative’s EAX Advanced HD Technology. Audigy series has various cards in its stack from audigy value and to Audigy 4 pro. Audigy value has a sound-to-noise ratio of 100 dB has audio quality of 24 bit/96 kHz .Audigy 2 value is a minor upgrade from the audigy value series. Audigy 2 ZS boasts Ceative’s advanced HD audio quality playback and has sound-to-noise ratio of 108 dB. It is capable of producing DVD Audio at 24 bit/ 192 kHz in stereo or 24 bit/ 96 kHz in 5.1 channel surround. The premium card of the series “Audigy 4 pro” has sound-to-noise ratio of 113 dB and supports recording up to six channels at 24 bit/ 96 kHz. The latest gem in the Creative’s bag is the X-Fi series of cards. In terms of processing power X-Fi series is supposed to have twenty four times more powerful than its predecessor. X-Fi audio processor delivers an "Active Modal Architecture" that allows, to switch between one of three modes (Gaming, Entertainment & Audio Creation) available. Various variants of card are: “X-Fi Xtreme Audio”, “X-Fi Xtreme Music”, “X-Fi platinum”, “X-Fi Fatal1ty”, and “X-Fi Elite Pro”. The Fatal1ty and Elite Pro series has an onboard X-Ram of 64 Mb. Platinum, Fatal1ty and Elite Pro connects to an external hub and comes bundled with a remote control.
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro
Whether it’s just for music or for meeting the requirements of the top end games, sound cards (both onboard and dedicated) deliver top performance whenever asked for.For more reading visit here
 
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