Just quit a session having built up a new audio computer using my old Turtle Beach Pinnacle sound card. What a change from the SB Live! As I've said in the past, I've had little opportunity to hear any high end CD players, and have never owned anything but Yer Basic Brand CD Player. It's been my theory that it takes really excellent electronics (compared to analog) to make the CD listenable. This is born out by my experience with the Pinnacle today. I immediatetly heard a vast improvement in resolution and musicality. Spent time with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Medieval Babes, the Ventures, Pomp and Pipes, and Michael Murray (pipe organ). Awesome. Can't wait to see if the Card Deluxe is as much better than the Pinnacle as the P is to the SB.

Perhaps there is hope for this medium after all.

BTW, I put this one in a Dell Pentium 450 server. Thing was 300.00 delivered and has an ultra wide SCSI adapter and pull out drawer for 5 drives. Very quiet. Unbelievable. Bet it cost 4,000.00 about 4 years back. Everything you need for a CD player, and more...

Dave

------------------
David A. Mallett
Come taste muh' Klipsch!

This message has been edited by Mallett on 08-05-2002 at 07:20 PM

I hated Creative too for a while, but have recently changed my opinion after a bad experience with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz card. I now have the Audigy, but I am not sure it even comes close to what my SBLive5.1 was... Good to hear that things work for you though. My computer is notorious for not liking new things... sounds like you have a heck of a setup there. Dell servers are nice...

------------------
SoundWise / ProMedia Tech Support / 1-888-554-5665

This message has been edited by trespasser_guy on 08-05-2002 at 08:23 PM

I don't know about the Santa Cruz, but I had two other Turtle Beach cards that really sucked. The Pinnacle is a different animal. Don't know how they could make such crappy cards except for this one.

It is MUCH superior to my 5.1 SB Live.

Dave

------------------
David A. Mallett
Come taste muh'

trespasser,
Just curious. What kind of bad experience did you have with the Santa Cruz card?

Well, I had many problems with bad sounding audio. Check it out here . It was a very odd thing. I tried just about everything I knew to do to fix it and got nothing better. I went to the Audigy, though, and it has improved. 5.1 mp5's sounded good though, lol. But unfortunately, it didn't quite work right while doing this, so...

------------------
SoundWise / ProMedia Tech Support / 1-888-554-5665

This message has been edited by trespasser_guy on 08-05-2002 at 09:17 PM

My card is 2 channel - but a good one - the Digital Audio Labs Card Deluxe. I've had this card for 2 years, and I've been getting very good sound quality from my computer. I think of it as an audio component - good sounding card. Pricey, though - it sells for $399 now, plus the optical bracket is $60. You can add cards for multitrack recording too. I've personally also heard really good results with the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (I know 2 who bought systems with this card, and they love it).

And I repeat:

$399 for a two-channel card is a very high price. Of course, it is good. If I had the money, I'd probably have one too... BUt it wouldn't do me much good with my 5.1 apps... I have no HT, so my computer is it.

------------------
SoundWise / ProMedia Tech Support / 1-888-554-5665

If any of you guys are thinking about a new soundcards give Philips a look see. There cards are real nice sounding for music and games !!!

Craig

------------------

HH Scott 299 Amp
HH Scott LT-110B Tuner
HH Scott P-87 Turn Table
JVC JL-F50 Turn Table
Sony CDP-CA7ES CD Drive
1985 Walnut Heresey I W/Layne Audio Woofers
KSW-15 Sub

The Card Deluxe is the one $tereophile compared favorably to the 15,000.00 Mark Levinson DAC. 399.00 ain't bad for that kind of performance, IMHO.

Dave

------------------
David A. Mallett
Come taste muh'

I didn't know this bit of info Dave - but I do know that it's a "top five" card in almost every comparison I read at the time - and still is. It had the best specs available in any card I looked at, with great reviews to back it up. Not much talk about this one now (unless you do studio type work), since it's 2 channel - and pricey. It's aimed at an entirely different market than the gamers and multimedia folk.

Also of note, the other cards have caught up a great deal since I got the Card Deluxe (TB Santa Cruz is a good example).

I bought it to be an audio component first, computer card second. It fits that description perfectly.

I intend to acquire a Card Deluxe next month to use on a recording gig I have in September. It will go in the Dell with the Pinnacle. I'll be using a 1936 RCA BK3A and two Beyer ribbons to record a piano quintet. After that, it'll be doing the CD honors between gigs.

I was quite surprised to hear such an audible improvement from the Pinnacle. It is still quite highly regarded as well, just between the top level SB's and just below the CD.

Dave

------------------
David A. Mallett
Come taste muh'

Well, there isn't much hope for playing direct from the CD drive. Connected a direct connection to the sound card and got a crappy buzz. Level isn't that high, but too high. Thought it might be convenient for BG music and the PAW when she wanted to listen to something not yet transferred to HDD without having to rip it.

Well, the DAC's in the drives are total crap anyway. Suppose I can live without this...

Wish someone would write software for direct playback through the card. If you can rip a file, you should be able to play it without the cable.

Dave

------------------
David A. Mallett
Come taste muh'

Rather exhaustive listening test of the Pinnacle last night. I disconnected the CD/soundcard cable and the noise went away. Like I said, it didn't sound that good anyway. Found another interesting anomaly. When I switched to phono, all sounded fine even though the Dell server is sitting right next to it. However, when I put the needle down, I heard a low tone somewhere between 500-700 hz that rose and fell in amplitude slowly. This could also be produced simply by touching the stylus. Shut down the Dell, no such sound. Strange. Well, a bit of a nuisance but I don't listen to CD and vinyl at the same time anyway.

As to the Pinnacle, I played back Don Henley, more Pomp and Pipes, Eagles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Will The Circle...CD reissue), Harry James King James Version, Stan Getz, Ottmar Liebert, CCR, Dallas Symphony Gershwin album, Tito Puente from the HDD.

All much, much improved. While the sense of "diet" music is still there, that which remains is much more musical and listenable than I've heard in the past. I am even more convinced that computer/HDD/high end soundcard is the path to CD excellence for those of us on a budget. Further, the convenience of WinAmp in a vintage system is neat. Able to mute, change volume, build playlists, etc. all from my listening position with a wireless keyboard. Using the magnify button on my ScanDo allows me to get WinAmp up to easily readable size on the screen. Since the Dell has easy slide-out room for 4 more HDD's, plus the removable drawer I installed, I think I can house all my CD's there.

Still looking forward to the Card Deluxe.

Dave

------------------
David A. Mallett
Come taste muh' Klipsch!

This message has been edited by Mallett on 08-08-2002 at 11:43 AM