24-bit Analog Recording using Creative Audigy

[dforion]

One CreativeLabs tech-support said the Audigy-1 would not record at 24-bit.

Another tech said it would if I D/L a 24-bit Codec....from Microsoft or somewhere else. I could not find any such thing on Microsoft. Any comments on this???

[Action Jackson]

I can't be sure about this, but I've read that the first generation Audigy cards had "software emulated" 24 bit recording.

The Audigy 2 was supposed to be true 24 bit.

[dforion]

Thanks for the info Action Jackson.

My brief contact with Creative Labs has been less than impressive. One tech says I can do this with the Audigy-1, the other says I can't. And the specs on the product are ambiguous because they say "24-bit conversion from Analog to Digital" but also say "16-bit recording @48Khz". This is where I get confused.

With this kind of poor support, if I do end up with a new soundcard, there must be a suitable alternative to the Creative stuff.

[cfitz]

DFORION, I would suggest reading the following revies as a starting point if you wish to learn more about the Audigy line of sound cards (all from www.tomshardware.com) :

Original Audigy

Original Audigy vs. Terratec DMX 6Fire 24-bit card

Audigy 2

This is an interesting quotation from the last article:

The Audigy 2 Platinum eX uses the same system as the Audigy Platinum eX, meaning a card and an external rack, but it has some extra technical features that will interest music-makers, especially the fact that it alone supports the ASIO 2.0 standard, and so it can handle recording and processing in 24 bits/ 96 kHz with Cubase VST. The basic Audigy 2 and Platinum only have ASIO 1, so they are limited to 16 bits/ 48 kHz in this respect. What's more, the external rack has been completely redesigned and will look like the Extigy.

The Audigy 2 Platinum eX is due for release early in 2003.

So, despite Creative's first claims that the original Audigy was a 24-bit card (which turned out to be, for all practical purposes, not true) and their follow up claims that the Audigy 2 truly is a 24-bit card, they are now saying that it is the enhanced Audigy 2 Platinum eX being released in 2003 that will finally (this time they really mean it) allow true 24-bit recording?!??!

cfitz

[cfitz]

This site has a number of reviews of higher-end sound cards:

http://www.digit-life.com/sound.html

cfitz