(28/07/2010 04:45 AM)Assassinator Wrote:  Also shows there's probably litte point to encode above 80kbps in HE-AAC.  Actually I suck so much at this I can't even tell the difference between the 56 and 64.

The bitrate steps there are quite small, so telling the difference between the two isn't that easy.  Rather, did you mean 56kbps and original?

(28/07/2010 04:52 AM)PSPkiller Wrote:  If they'd had an optical connection you'd have wasted your $37 on the X-Fi. The optical out from a cheap-donkey motherboard is exactly the same as the optical out on a $300 card. When you buy an expensive sound card you're paying for the D/A converters and all the analog circuitry that goes after. If you use a digital output then you're bypassing all of that. The signal stays digital meaning it doesn't have a chance to be marred by analog noise and distortion.

Ah, I see.  Actually that reminds me that I read some article a long time ago that most of the cost of sound cards are on the DACs.
So would a speaker with optical connection + integrated audio have been better?
I guess it would mean that there's no interference between the sound card and speaker, but the quality would depend on the DAC in the speaker - is my random assumption anywhere close?

(28/07/2010 04:52 AM)PSPkiller Wrote:  If you're still have noise issues make sure that the wires carrying audio do not run parallel to any other data or power lines. Audio can run parallel to audio but not anything else. If the wires do need to cross try and keep them at right angles.

Ehehe, yeah, well, my wiring is a mess.  I guess I might try taping some wires to the table or something.

(28/07/2010 04:52 AM)PSPkiller Wrote:  There wee are. You caught my eye when you said in the title about audio stuff and now I've completely unecessarily emptied my head into a post.

Thanks PSPkiller (resident digital audio expert?) :)

(28/07/2010 10:02 AM)SchmilK Wrote:  Yes it is not directional, but it DOES BOUNCE and putting it in a corner vs the center of the room will sound different.  Also having it in a 'box' such as under your desk can tend to amplify the power of the kick as well as drown out the frequencies that may be overlapped in coverage from your desktop speakers to your woofer.

Hmm, I guess I could just turn down the bass then?  (speakers have separate treble/bass volume controls)

(28/07/2010 10:17 AM)Vegetano1 Wrote:  i had seen these >> http://www.komplett.nl/Komplett/product/...fault.aspx

Eek, 137 Euro (~AU$200)
Looks like nice speakers though.

(This post was last modified: 28/07/2010 03:42 PM by ZiNgA BuRgA.)