Why do you need a sound card, processor, and RAM in a computer? The best sound card for a computer.

Evolution sometimes changes objects beyond recognition. Look at the same monkeys... Specifically in the IT industry, this happens so quickly that often the old names of objects can no longer correspond to the essence. Would you dare call a one-kilogram colossus in an iron box with a bunch of handles a “card”? But there’s no other way...

Historical reference

PC Speaker was the first. And, surprisingly, it still exists in all modern PCs. When you turn on the computer, you hear its tuneless trills...

PC Speaker was actually used to play music in old DOS toys and simple programs for writing music, mainly educational ones - the “squeaker” could and can reproduce elementary sounds of a given frequency. In the 80s, the PC Speaker was also used to play more complex music, but for a very short time.

In 1982, the Tandy sound card appeared. Or rather, it’s hard to call this miracle a board: the contraption had a built-in speaker and through it reproduced sounds of a given frequency and volume.

Then there was Covox. This is a rather awkward device that connected to the computer via a printer (!) LPT port and reproduced sound using the first digital-to-analog converter in PC history. There are still quite a lot of guides on the Internet for creating a homemade Covox.

The first mass-produced computer sound card was Adlib. The secret to its success was that it used a chip from Yamaha designed for use in slot machines. Remember PacMan? The heartbreaking squeaking sounds were carried over into the first DOS games, which made early PC gamers incredibly happy. All decent games since 1987 began to use the capabilities of the Adlib synthesizer. The board was capable of reproducing nine types of musical instruments and six drums, which at that time was the pinnacle of PC engineering thought.

Well, in 1989 he appeared Sound Blaster. The new board was an outright clone of Adlib, but added support for digital recordings to the music synthesizer - Sound Blasters allowed you to play and record any sounds in 8-bit, 22 kHz format. SB instantly became the de facto standard; all games and music programs supported Sound Blaster.

Next came the SB modifications: SB 2.0, SB Pro with stereo support, and the crown of creation - Sound Blaster 16. The last board became the object of cloning by a variety of Asian manufacturers, due to which the statement about SoundBlaster compatibility became synonymous with high-end for the first half of the 90s sound card.

The 16-bit, 44kHz mode has become the multimedia standard - the so-called “CD-quality”, being, however, only formally such. In fact, the sound quality of boards of those years was so disgusting that there was no question of any CD quality.

One of the most significant revolutions in the world of sound cards was Sound Blaster Live!. It marked the transition from the obsolete ISA bus to PCI, which gave a lot of new possibilities: huge bandwidth, the use of computer memory to store samples, and much more. Sound quality Live! was significantly higher than all its predecessors and remains acceptable to this day.

This is where the story ends, and “our era” begins.

What are they needed for

Today, sound cards are a whole class of devices, many of which serve much higher purposes than simply outputting MP3 files to five-dollar speakers. They become the centers of home cinemas, hi-fi systems, home and professional studios...

By the way, the boards were called boards because they were a printed circuit board inserted into an ISA or PCI slot. Today, sound cards are also connected via USB, FireWire, PCMCIA... In short, it’s time to figure it out.

Classification of sound cards

Built-in sound cards

Where are they built in? IN motherboards. Inputs/outputs and codecs are soldered directly onto the motherboard, and the central processor takes over all computing processing. Such a sound solution is almost free, and therefore more than acceptable for unassuming users - despite the disgusting sound quality. Do not attempt to use these devices to play MP3 files with quality higher than 96kbps! You won't feel the difference. To avoid shock, do not plug a microphone into these boards under any circumstances - you will not recognize your voice.

In the latest motherboards, the built-in cards provide a 5.1 output - that is, theoretically, even with the help of such a thing you can build a “home theater” by connecting a set of 5.1 speakers. But this option is for the most ardent haters of sound in modern cinema.

Price range: $0-4 (in the form of additional payment for a motherboard with audio).

Multimedia sound cards

This is the most ancient category of boards: they were the ones who appeared first and made the computer a means of playing and recording music. These cards, unlike built-in ones, have their own sound processor, which processes sound, calculates three-dimensional sound effects used in games, mixes audio streams, etc., which allows you to relieve the computer's central processor for processing more important tasks.

As a rule, the sound quality in individual multimedia cards is indeed higher than that of the built-in ones. You can not hesitate to connect not the worst computer speakers and acoustic sets to them - although this is still very far from the Hi-Fi level. A home theater will sound more or less decent in combination with 5.1 speaker sets made specifically for computer use.

Moreover, it’s already somewhat possible to record sound using multimedia cards: it’s quite capable of karaoke level. Yes, and simple programs for working with sound will function normally.

Several years ago, the market for multimedia cards was very saturated, there were battles between manufacturers and their products... The most prominent competitors were Aureal and Creative. The cards from these companies used different algorithms for working with 3D sound - each had its own fans.

With the advent of motherboards with built-in audio, the conflicts resolved themselves: all manufacturers of cheap sound cards died. Only Creative remained afloat with its Sound Blaster Audigy/Audigy2 line, considered the top level in multimedia.

Price range: $15-80.

Semi-professional sound cards

Actually, these boards can be called differently - either semi-professional or top-end multimedia... But rather, these are still semi-professional boards. As a rule, they are produced by manufacturers of professional equipment, focusing not on musicians, but on amateurs good sound. In other words, cards for audiophiles.

They differ from multimedia ones primarily in their professional circuitry solutions and high quality sound reproduction. At the same time, as a rule, they do not use serious sound processors, and again the central processor takes on the entire burden of processing 3D audio.

But these cards are ideal for listening to music. If you have good acoustics, devoid of the shameful term “computer”, or decent headphones, you can get sound close to an inexpensive Hi-Fi system. You will finally be able to distinguish MP3 files from normal recordings... And you will begin to fear low-quality “empatrishes” like fire.

Such cards are also quite suitable as a basis for cinema sound. The sound will be clear, not distorted - in general, very decent.
As a rule, cards from professional equipment manufacturers are equipped with drivers for professional programs for working with music and sound. So this board will be an excellent start for a beginning musician. However, many of these cards are unsuitable for professional sound recording and in this regard are no better than their multimedia counterparts.

Price range: $80-200.

Professional sound cards

These cards are designed for professional musicians, arrangers, music producers... Anyone involved in the production and recording of music. In accordance with the tasks - and features: the highest quality of sound playback and recording, minimum distortion, maximum opportunities for working with professional software and connecting professional equipment.

Professional cards typically lack multimedia drivers and DirectX support, making many of them useless for gaming. They do not even support standard system volume controls - each channel is adjusted in a special control panel that shows the signal level in decibels.

Inputs/outputs instead of the standard “minijack” are made either on RCA “tulips”, or on “large jacks”, or in the form of XLR connectors, output using special interface cables. Many cards have external blocks where all connectors are located for easy connection. There is simply nowhere to plug computer speakers... These cards are designed to connect professional studio acoustic monitors, mixing consoles, preamplifiers and other “serious” devices.

However, inexpensive professional cards can become best choice for a true connoisseur of quality sound. Cards with RCA connectors are very convenient for connecting Hi-Fi equipment and will be a good sound source for a decent audio system. Cards with stereo jack outputs will allow you to connect expensive headphones without adapters and associated distortion. However, as a basis for home theater Only a few of the professional boards are suitable, the number of outputs of which will allow you to connect all six speakers. After all, the main thing here is not the number of channels, but the sound quality of each of them.

Price range: $200-$...

External sound cards

This is a relatively new trend in the world of sound cards, which has only developed over the past year. External sound cards are connected to a computer using USB, USB 2.0 or FireWire interfaces.

What are these devices made for?

Firstly, moving the card outside the PC case makes it easy to solve some problems associated with interference and interference coming from other computer components and affecting sound quality. Manufacturers of expensive boards solve these problems with the help of high-quality elements, special insulation, etc., which increases the cost of the device.

Secondly, barebone systems are becoming increasingly popular - small system units with a large number of interface connectors and, as a rule, no more than one PCI slot, which may have to be occupied by something more useful to the user than a sound card.

Thirdly, a portable professional sound card that can be connected “on the fly” to any computer - this is a ready-made portable studio!

But there are also problems. First released for USB devices have not gained due popularity due to the low bandwidth of this interface. Restrictions were introduced on the quantity and quality of transmitted signals. Nevertheless, there are still enough multimedia USB cards on the market that provide decent sound and a small number of input/output channels.

Today there is a real boom in professional cards connected via the FireWire bus: due to the high bandwidth of the interface, there are practically no problems with the number of channels and signal quality.

Price range: $60-$1000-...

What are they made of

Before we get to the review specific devices, you should understand what the sound cards themselves are actually made of. What affects sound quality? What are the fundamental differences between $10, $100 and $1000 cards?

You will find a detailed description of the sound card design in a separate publication in this issue of the magazine - we will focus on the most basic elements.

If the device is designed correctly and without obvious flaws, the most important element responsible for sound quality will be the DAC - digital-to-analog converter. This is a chip that performs a single task: to convert the input digital audio stream into analog signal, which, after amplification, is fed to all sound-reproducing devices - headphones, speaker systems. The DAC is an integral element of any device that deals with digital audio: CD, DVD players, flash players, MD players...

Cheap DACs treat the signal poorly: the output stream is rich in distortion, has a low dynamic range, and is noisy; however, noise is often caused by other poor circuit design solutions on the board. This is why the sound turns out to be undetailed, unclear, and unnatural.
More serious converters use various systems of filtering, correction, signal smoothing, interpolation and other things, which as a result have a beneficial effect on sound quality.

Thus, only by seeing the converter installed on the board, you can make a preliminary verdict about the sound level of the device. For example, in multimedia and embedded cards, cheap converters from Sigmatel are very common, which sound very disgusting. The worst converters, Crystal and Philips, are not pleased with the sound either.

On more expensive boards you can find AKM, Wolfson, Burr-Brown converters - their presence indicates the good potential of the product. Of course, each manufacturer has its own top-end and cheap chips - but these two brands have not yet been noticed in the production of outright consumer goods.

The line of Crystal converters is very wide: in addition to the poor ones mentioned, the company makes DACs for professional and super-expensive devices installed on cards costing more than $1000.

Thus, our slogan is: “tell me what DAC you have - and I will tell you who you are!” That is why, for example, all statements about super sound Creative cards Audigy compared to its predecessor SB Live! were refuted by studying the markings on the DA chip. The marking indicated that the Sigmatel converter was by no means a top series. Again they were greedy to install something better... But the Audigy2 has a rather serious chip from Crystal - hence the much better sound last card Creative.

As for sound recording, everything is exactly the same here, only instead of a DAC there is an ADC - an analog-to-digital converter.

It would be wrong to say that the DAC is the only link responsible for sound quality. Conditions can be ruined by cheap circuitry on the board, which introduces interference, noise and distortion into the analog signal, as well as by the drivers and DSP processor of the board. For example, in most multimedia boards there is a flaw associated with the AC’97 standard, which sets the main audio sampling frequency to 48 kHz. At the same time, most of the audio material is recorded at a frequency of 44 kHz - since the most popular audio carrier is still the CD. Therefore, when listening, any sound is converted by drivers or a DSP chip into the 48 kHz format, which introduces quite serious distortions into the sound.

I think that’s enough theory – it’s time to move on to specific examples.

To the point

So, there are four sound cards on the cutting table - four bright representatives of different classes, each with unique capabilities and features. Our task is to finally understand what is going on in the modern computer audio market.

M-Audio Revolution 7.1

Outputs: 4 analog stereo outputs (minijack), 1 digital S/PDIF output (RCA, “tulip”)
Inputs: 1 stereo line, 1 mono microphone (minijack)


Support for 3D audio technologies: DirectSound 3D, EAX 1.0/2.0, Sensaura, 7.1 surround
Price: $115

M-Audio famous name in the professional audio industry, and Revolution 7.1 is the manufacturer's first multimedia sound card. What is its difference from more serious products?

In fact, in the little things. Firstly, all analog connectors are made on mini-jacks, which makes it easier to connect computer speakers, inexpensive headsets and headphones. Secondly, the board is equipped with a microphone input, which can be found on either cheap or very expensive devices. Thirdly, the drivers and capabilities of the card are tailored to work with 3D sound in games: Sensaura and EAX technologies are supported. As for the 7.1 specification, for now it is rather a luxury, and in reality there are almost no recordings (movies) using the 7.1 surround sound circuit. However, when calculating effects in games, all 8 channels are used.

It is much more interesting to find out what little Revolution inherited from its three times more expensive professional brothers.

Firstly, the card is built on the VIA Envy24HT sound chip, the latest modification of the Envy24 processor installed on a huge number of professional boards from different manufacturers. The processor allows you to work with digital audio in formats up to 24bit/192kHz and the number of output channels up to 8, which is what the board uses. Another consequence of using such a serious chip is the full functionality of the board in professional audio applications - ASIO 2.0 drivers are included (they are used by software built on VST technology - Cubase, Samplitude, etc.). Due to this, high latency, which all multimedia cards are famous for, does not threaten Revolution.

And the last thing is the availability of high-quality AKM converters. The card is built on two DACs: an inexpensive 6-channel AK4355 and an advanced stereo DAC AK4381. The first is used to output sound to surround channels, the second manages the main stereo output. Thus, the sound quality of the main channel is higher than the others; this means that the Revolution is not suitable as a multi-channel output card.

The ADC converter is AKM AK5380, also not top-end, but decent enough. You can record using Revolution - for example, digitize analog recordings, connect external players, etc.

Summary: Revolution is an excellent board for high-quality music listening and DVD viewing, which has high sound quality and has uncompromising capabilities for working with professional audio software.

Audiotrak Maya44 MKII

Outputs: 2 analog stereo outputs (1/4 Jack), 2 digital outputs S/PDIF: RCA, optical
Inputs: 2 stereo line (1/4 Jack), microphone preamp
Playback: up to 24bit/96kHz
Playback: up to 24bit/96kHz

Price: $139

Audiotrak is a division of ESI, a well-known company in professional circles, which produces expensive audio interfaces, professional monitors, etc. Audiotrak produces budget professional and multimedia sound cards. Maya44 MKII is the top product in the company's professional line. The price difference with M-Audio Revolution is minimal, but the capabilities and purposes of the boards are completely different.

So, Maya44 MKII is designed primarily for musicians. Accordingly, the board solves the following problems: high-quality playback and recording of audio, and working with professional audio recording software.

Instead of minijacks, the card has stereo TRS connectors soldered in – popularly known as “big jacks”. Usually on professional devices these connectors are monophonic - that is, one “hole” for each channel. Here, each connector is stereophonic. On the one hand, it’s convenient - you can directly connect professional headphones without minijack adapters, on the other hand, connecting, for example, an amplifier or active speakers will have to be done using an adapter.

The board is built on the same processor as Revolution - Envy24HT, or rather, a special “cut down” version with fewer output channels. All the advantages are there: full-fledged work with professional software using ASIO 2.0, low latency. A sign of a professional card is that in the Maya44 system, MKII is seen as several devices, each of which is one of the inputs/outputs of the card. Those. you can send audio streams from different programs directly to different outputs. Another one interesting feature– DirectWire function, which allows you to connect any virtual inputs and outputs to each other on program level– without any loss in signal quality.

For example, to record audio from WinAmp into a Cubase sequencer, you must connect the WDM outputs (standard Windows audio drivers) to the ASIO input. In this way, you can, for example, record WMA files that are prohibited from editing and copying without losing a single bit of the quality of the original file.

The Maya44 MKII is equipped with not the most expensive Wolfson converters, which nevertheless provide very clear, distortion-free sound that is unavailable with multimedia sound cards. The card is more than suitable for entry-level professional audio recording and playback.
Summary: Considering the price, the Audiotrak Maya44 MKII is the best solution for the beginning musician.

M-Audio Firewire 410

Outputs: 8 analog mono outputs (1/4 Jack), two headphone outputs (1/4 Jack), 2 digital outputs S/PDIF: RCA, optical
Inputs: 2 mono line (1/4 Jack), 2 mono microphone, 2 digital S/PDIF: RCA, optical, MIDI 1x1
Playback: up to 24bit/192kHz
Playback: up to 24bit/96kHz
Support for 3D sound technologies: 7.1 surround
Price: $475

Another product from M-Audio - this time from a completely different sector and price category. The Firewire 410 is, as the name suggests, an external audio interface that connects to your computer using Firewire. We have already talked about the advantages of such a connection: the absence of interference from the PC system unit, ease of switching (no need to climb to the back panel of the computer every time), and also mobility, i.e. the ability to use the device as a portable studio if there is any computer nearby: PC, laptop, Mac.

The interface is designed taking into account professional needs, as it is aimed primarily at professionals. Everything here is grown-up: analog connectors are monophonic, in the form of a “big jack” and XLR microphones. There are digital inputs and outputs different types– coaxial, optical, as well as MIDI interface for connecting external synthesizers, MIDI keyboards and other similar beasts. The most important thing is the presence of two microphone/instrument preamplifiers, allowing you to connect any professional microphones, unlike the vast majority of boards that lack this capability. The presence of two headphone outputs is also very convenient: each with its own level control. Some “ears” are taken by the sound engineer, the other by the performer himself, and during recording they simultaneously hear what they are doing. By the way, the presence of 8 analog outputs allows you to use Firewire 410 to build a 7.1 system.

As for the software part, only a professional can handle Firewire 410 firewood straight away. The control panel provides ample opportunities for routing (redirecting) signals from any inputs to any card outputs, creating buses into which audio streams from various software are collected, etc. The interface has a special knob to which you can assign a variety of parameters: from adjusting the overall volume to controlling the sound level of a separate program.

And now - attention. The Firewire410 interface is built on the same DAC/ADC as its almost four times cheaper friend Revolution 7.1: the main stereo output is AKM AK4381, the other outputs are 6-channel AK4355, the input is AKM AK5380 ADC. What does this say about the “commodity” of Firewire 410 or the seriousness of Revolution 7.1? Rather, about the second one. However, the sound of the boards cannot be called the same: with the same converters, the measured parameters of Firewire 410 are slightly better than those of Revolution: probably due to better circuit design, absence of PC interference, professionally tuned drivers, etc. However, only the owner of high-quality acoustics costing well over $500 will feel the difference.

Summary: Firewire410 is an ideal, albeit expensive, solution for a portable and serious home studio, which has all the tools for full-fledged professional recording.

Echo Indigo

Outputs: 1 analog stereo output (minijack), 1 headphone output (minijack)
Inputs: no
Playback: up to 24bit/96kHz
Playback: no
Support for 3D audio technologies: no
Price: $135

And finally, the most non-trivial product: a PCMCIA sound card, i.e. audio interface exclusively for laptops. The card was created for those who do not want to settle for the usually terrible built-in audio of a regular laptop. In general, Echo Indigo is the first link in a whole line of PCMCIA boards, including Indigo DJ (has two independent outputs) and Indigo IO (one input, one output). Accordingly, “simply” Indigo only allows you to output one channel of audio, the DJ version is created for DJs who use a laptop instead of turntables/CD players (two outputs will allow you to connect the laptop to a normal DJ console), Indigo IO is for those who need high quality recording.

The Indigo series was created by another company known in professional circles, Echo, based on its popular PCI board Echo Mia ($250), which served as a standard for sound quality for its price range. The Indigo uses the same converters and the same 24-bit Motorola DSP. At the same time, Indigo is significantly, almost half, cheaper than its progenitor.

One of the features of Echo cards is the presence of 8 virtual inputs - the system sees Echo as 8 devices, each of which can be signaled independently. The signals are mixed in hardware using the board's DSP processor, due to which it is possible to obtain high quality sound – hardware mixing is often better than software mixing.

Summary: Indigo is the most convenient and inexpensive solution to turn your laptop into a Hi-Fi player.

conclusions

Everything is already clear to the most attentive readers. The price range of high-quality sound boards is very wide; Acceptable solutions start at $100. Studio cards costing around $500 often use the same elements as several times cheaper budget solutions from the same manufacturers, giving buyers of inexpensive devices serious sound. According to the same pattern, the top products of consumer goods manufacturers are not much different from their low-end products.

In any case, to catch the difference you need high-quality speaker systems or headphones - we recommend turning towards inexpensive Hi-Fi or budget professional monitor speakers, or just a good pair of headphones.

Many musicians and other people who somehow often work with sound on a computer or just listen to music are unhappy standard sound on the computer. This is where a sound card comes to the rescue. Let's talk about how to choose a sound card, what are its types.

When purchasing a computer or laptop, you will in any case have a standard sound card installed on the motherboard. Often it is enough for ordinary ordinary users who do not care about sound quality and who just need sound.

Interesting fact: About 15 years ago, standard sound cards were not inserted into the motherboard, and you had to buy one separately. Because there was simply nowhere to connect speakers (headphones).

The built-in sound card is not suitable for musicians and audiophiles, so sooner or later they are faced with the question of buying an additional sound card. Any, even the most budget external sound card will make the sound much richer and brighter.

Of course, first of all, you must decide why you need a sound card. And based on this, you can choose a specific device.

What you might typically need a sound card for:

• You just need more connectors (inputs and outputs).
• Do you want high-quality sound in games?
• To listen to music.
• For sound recording and sound processing (for musicians).
• To watch movies.
• Etc.

Types of sound cards

To know, how to choose a sound card, you need to understand that they are all conditional can be divided into 2 categories:

1. Musical. Such devices are intended mainly for musicians, sound engineers - for people who have to work with sound recording and processing. Such sound cards are more expensive than other cards.
2. Multimedia. These models are suitable for ordinary users: for watching movies, for playing games, for recording videos, for general listening to music. Such devices are more common and cheaper than musical ones.

In addition, sound cards are also divided into the following types:

It is worth noting that if you are choosing a sound card for a laptop (or tablet), then you should choose an external device. You simply cannot connect the internal card anywhere.

Audio outputs

The more sound outputs, the more devices you can connect to the sound card. Of course, each user needs their own number of connectors. Therefore, first decide why you need a sound card in order to estimate how many sound outputs you need.

Ideally, at a minimum, the sound card should have the following connectors:

1. Microphone input.
2. Headphone output.
3. S/PDIF connector. S/PDIF - you can connect various devices. It is believed that when connected through this connector, you can get better sound.
4. Line output.
5. MIDI inputs and outputs (if you plan to connect MIDI devices, such as synthesizers.

Which connector is needed for what:

Availability of headphone and microphone preamplifiers

Before, how to choose a sound card, please note that there are devices that are equipped with built-in preamplifiers for headphones and microphone, and there are also those without preamplifiers.

What is a preamplifier? The fact is that, for example, the microphone itself is weak, and in order to record it, a preamplifier is needed.

If sound quality is really important to you (both when recording and when listening), it is better to take a sound speaker without preamplifiers, and buy them separately, because the built-in preamplifiers are not of very good quality. But keep in mind that separate preamplifiers will take up additional space. At this point, decide for yourself what is most important to you.

Availability of built-in ASIO driver

When choosing a sound card, be sure to check or ask the seller whether the device has a built-in ASIO driver. What it is?

This is a special protocol that is needed to minimize the delay of sound when it is transmitted from the sound card to the computer.

For example, when you play a guitar (via a sound hook into a computer), you first hit the strings, and you hear the sound in the speakers after a while (even a split second - and you can already hear how the sound lags behind). Or when you play, the same thing can happen: first you press a key, and you hear the sound in the speakers after a while.

So, the ASIO driver minimizes this delay to such an extent that you will not hear it. That is, it will, of course, be there, but it will be so minimal that the human ear will not hear it.

So if this is important for you, make sure that such a driver is available when choosing a sound card. Otherwise, you will have to additionally install an ASIO driver for the program in which you will work, which is not always convenient.

Compatibility with your software

There are such problems when you bought a sound card, connected it - but it does not want to work with yours. operating system, or with the program in which you work as a musician.

Therefore, inquire in advance and make sure that the sound card will not conflict with your software. As a last resort, do not hesitate to ask the seller about it.

How to choose a sound card: price

Of course, it is difficult to talk about prices for a particular model, since the price depends on many factors: the type of device, the manufacturer, the number of inputs and outputs, and the quality of the sound card.

We can only say that music sound cards are more expensive than multimedia ones, because the former are more demanding on sound quality.

The cheapest and most primitive sound card can cost you literally 100 rubles. For example, this one from China ():

Of course, don't expect a significant improvement in sound quality from this interface. Unless you get a couple of additional connectors, and that’s it. Moreover, for that kind of money, especially from China :) But for those who want to indulge, this option may be suitable.

Sound card of average quality, normal, may cost about 10-15K ruble y.

Professional sound cards, especially for professional musicians and sound engineers, can be very expensive, up to 300K rubles, and even higher.

Conclusion

So we figured out a little about this issue - how to choose a sound card. We can conclude that before you buy this device, you need to clearly understand why you need it. Based on these goals, you should choose a sound card.

Pay enough attention to choosing a sound card, don’t be lazy. You shouldn’t immediately run to the store and buy the first model you come across. Also, do not forget to study the technical characteristics of the device you like.

Do you know what other criteria you need to pay attention to when choosing a sound card? Write in the comments!

Gone are the days when computers hit store shelves “deaf and dumb”: today even the most budget models. Now speakers or headphones can be connected to any computer - be it office or gaming, desktop or mobile, expensive or cheap.
The problem is that the sound quality output from built-in cards often leaves much to be desired. Anyone understands that when choosing a motherboard, the last thing a buyer will pay attention to is the characteristics of the built-in sound card; The manufacturer understands this too. Therefore, the first (and often the only) criterion for a manufacturer to select a sound chip for a mother card is its price.

Cheap sound chips have low-bit DACs with low speed and are often very noisy - as a result, the output sound is very far from ideal. And if for an office such sound quality may be sufficient, then for a home computer the capabilities of the built-in sound card may no longer be enough - if you connect a 5.1 (or 7.1) speaker system to the computer, then to get a truly three-dimensional sound picture you will need an appropriate sound card.
A separate sound card will also be required for gaming computer– Built-in cards do not support surround sound technologies used in games.
If you are interested in writing music and/or playing musical instruments, you will need a sound card with a Midi interface and (possibly) a high-impedance input for connecting an electric guitar.

Classification of sound cards.

Although the operating principle of all sound cards is the same, according to their characteristics and supported formats they are usually divided into two classes: professional and multimedia.

Professional Sound cards are used, as the name suggests, for professional sound work:
- for creating high-quality recordings from studio microphones;
- to record music from connected musical instruments;
- for “voice acting” (including polyphonic) and applying sound effects to film audio tracks;
Such cards are most often external, equipped with specialized connectors, regulators and multi-channel high-performance ADCs (analog-to-digital converters). DACs (digital-to-analog converters) on such cards also have high speed and bit depth, providing high-quality sound output to speakers. The main disadvantage of such cards is that they are expensive. In addition, such cards usually do not support gaming surround sound formats.

Multimedia cards are designed for the average user and are presented in a wide range of both prices and other characteristics. Such cards are characterized by the absence of professional connectors, a minimum of adjustments, and a simple (usually single-channel) ADC. But even in the cheapest sound cards This class declares support for surround game audio formats.

Characteristics of sound cards.

Location cards can be external or internal. Internal cards, as the name suggests, are installed inside the computer in a free expansion slot. External cards have their own housing and are located outside the computer, connecting to it via an interface cable (usually USB). Such devices are most often used with mobile computers - laptops and tablets. However, it is not uncommon to use professional external sound cards with a desktop computer - built-in cards have a platform for connectors of limited size, and a large number of connectors simply will not fit on it.

Format sound card corresponds to the number of playback channels and determines whether a multi-channel speaker system connected to the sound card will work fully. Most sound cards provide only stereo sound playback (2.0 format, two channels of playback). To connect and full use 5.1 (6 channels) and 7.1 (8 channels) surround sound systems will require appropriate sound cards.
DAC capacity determines how reliably a high-quality audio file will be sounded. It is important to understand that when playing an audio file recorded with a 16-bit bit depth (for example, audio CD tracks), there will be no difference between playing it through a 16-bit or 24-bit DAC. 16-bit resolution means 65536 amplitude gradations - in most cases this is enough. But theoretically, under ideal conditions, the human ear is capable of providing greater resolution. And while the difference between recordings sampled at 96 kHz and 48 kHz can be debated, many people with good hearing can distinguish 16-bit audio from 24-bit audio in the absence of background noise. Therefore, if you are going to use a sound card to listen to high-quality audio (DVD and Blu-ray) and dub Blu-Ray movies, you should choose a model with a 24-bit DAC.
Maximum DAC frequency determines at what frequency digital data will be converted into an analog signal. The higher the sampling rate, the closer the conversion result is to the original signal. It would seem that the higher this figure, the better. But, according to Kotelnikov’s theorem, to transmit a signal of any frequency, a sampling frequency twice the frequency of the signal itself is sufficient. Taking into account the fact that the highest frequency audible is 20 kHz (for most people, the upper limit of audible sound generally lies in the region of 15-18 kHz), a sampling frequency of 40 kHz should be sufficient for high-quality digitization of any sound. Audio CD sampling frequency: 44.1 kHz, and maximum sampling frequency of mp-3 files: 48 kHz, were chosen based on this criterion. Accordingly, the DAC of a sound card that plays audio tracks and mp3 files must have a sampling frequency of at least 48 kHz, otherwise the sound will be distorted.
Theoretically, such a sampling frequency should be sufficient, but in practice sometimes there is a need for a higher frequency: a real audio signal does not fully meet the requirements of Kotelnikov’s theorem and under certain conditions the signal may be distorted. Therefore, recordings with a sampling frequency of 96 kHz are popular among connoisseurs of pure sound.
The DAC sampling frequency is higher than that of the source file and does not affect the sound quality, so purchasing a sound card with a DAC frequency higher than 48 kHz only makes sense if you are going to listen to blu-ray and DVD audio or loseless music with a sampling frequency on your computer , greater than 48 kHz.
If you are firmly set on purchasing a sound card with a sampling frequency above 48 kHz, then you should not save on the purchase. The DAC, like any other audio device, adds its own noise to the signal. In inexpensive models, the noise can be quite high, and given the high sampling frequency, ultrasonic noise that is dangerous for speakers may appear at the output of such a converter. And in the audible range, the noise can be so high that it overshadows all the benefits from increasing the sampling frequency.

Maximum frequency And ADC capacity determine how accurately an analog signal from a microphone or line input will be converted to digital. These parameters are important if the card is intended for recording high quality sound. For most household needs, a single-channel ADC with a maximum frequency of 44.1 kHz and a bit resolution of 16 bits is sufficient.
To record stereo sound, you must have at least 2 recording channels.

PCI	PCI-E	USB

Connection interface determines how the sound card will be connected to the computer. PCI and PCI-E are interfaces for connecting internal sound cards, which must be installed in the corresponding slot on the motherboard. USB – interface for connecting external sound cards.

Signal to noise ratio determines the level of noise added to the signal by the sound card itself. The higher this indicator, the cleaner the sound remains. For listening to music, it is undesirable for this figure to be below 75 dB. Hi-Fi equipment provides a minimum of 90 dB, and high-quality Hi-End devices are capable of providing a signal-to-noise ratio of 110-120 dB and higher.

EAX, OpenAL, A3D support Determines whether the card supports gaming surround sound formats. Using these formats (using a multi-channel acoustic system), imaginary sound sources, sound reflections from virtual walls, and others are created in space sound effects. Of course, for all this it is necessary that the game itself also supports this format.

ASIO support. ASIO is a software interface for direct (bypassing the operating system) data exchange between the sound card driver and the sound recording/playback program. The need for this format arose due to the fact that Windows OS (which uses this format) high load systems may delay the transmission of audio data. By ear, this is defined as “jamming” and “slowing down” of the sound. And, if (for example) when watching a film, isolated such cases can be ignored, then with professional sound processing this, of course, is unacceptable.
At the same time, ASIO support does not guarantee that audio tracks will sound without delays - much depends on the quality of the sound card and its drivers. You shouldn't expect much effect from enabling this mode on a cheap, basic-level card.

Availability of digital output(S/PDIF, HDMI) allows you to transmit audio signals to digital form to audio equipment that can receive such a signal - for example, to a home theater. With this connection, the DAC parameters of the sound card are unimportant - the conversion of the digital signal to analog is carried out by the home theater DAC. Such a connection is justified if the home theater DAC is of better quality than the one built into the sound card.

Availability of digital input allows you to receive a digital signal from audio equipment (for example, digital microphones and audio players). When using a digital input, the ADC characteristics of the sound card are unimportant - the sound already enters the card in digital form. In this case, the work of converting analog audio to digital (if it is performed) is taken over by the ADC of the device from which the digital audio signal comes.

Availability built-in headphone amplifier It will be useful if you often sit in front of a computer with headphones. If you have a high-quality high-impedance headphone, an amplifier is simply necessary - otherwise they will sound quiet. You can buy a separate headphone amplifier, or you can choose a sound card with a built-in amplifier.

Microphone phantom power used when connecting condenser studio microphones - it is believed that such a microphone provides the best voice recording. To connect conventional dynamic microphones Phantom power should be turned off, otherwise the microphone may be damaged.

High impedance instrument input (Hi-Z) designed for direct connection of electronic musical instruments with high pickup impedance (for example, electric guitars, electric cellos, violins, etc.) When connecting such instruments to a conventional line input, the amplitude-frequency response of the signal may be distorted.

Balanced inputs and outputs necessary when required increased protection from interference on audio cables. Unlike conventional (unbalanced) inputs, balanced inputs use three wires per channel instead of two. IN regular entrance one wire is ground, the second carries an audio signal. Noise induced on the audio signal easily reaches the ADC input, spoiling the main sound. In a balanced input, one wire is ground, the second is an audio signal, and the third is an audio signal in antiphase. In the card, the audio signal in antiphase is subtracted from the main one, while the induced interference - since it is in the same phase on both signals - disappears, and the useful signal is amplified.

On balanced inputs, a universal connector is often used, which can work as both balanced and unbalanced.

ASIO support, phantom power for the microphone, high frequency and bit depth of the ADC, the presence of balanced, instrument and Midi inputs – distinctive features professional sound cards capable of producing high-quality sound recording.

Any personal computer consists of certain components that working together allow the user to perform certain actions. However, many do not know why a computer needs RAM, a video card, a processor, a motherboard, a power supply, a hard drive, etc. Let's try to figure out what these elements are and what their role is in the design of a modern PC.

CPU

The heart of any computer is the processor, which can also be called a microprocessor. This component is a microcircuit whose main task is to process information received from input/output devices and RAM. Even to calculate two numbers, you need to access a specific processor command. During the entire operating time of the computer, this element performs computational operations. In modern PCs, processors are even used in video adapters (video cards), which allows you to remove most of the load from the central processor.

Some personal computers have video cards with very powerful components that are capable of instantly performing complex graphics calculations when running games. Of course, it is impossible for an inexperienced person to fully understand why a processor is needed in a computer, since there are extremely many subtleties of its operation. The main thing is to understand the essence. It also comes down to calculations and processing of data received from peripheral devices. In other words, even moving the mouse is an operation processed by the processor, the result of which the user sees as the cursor moving across the screen.

Modern elements have several cores. These are separate processors operating in parallel based on the same circuit. This division of the chip into cores makes it possible to almost double the efficiency and speed of information processing, which entails high speed of operation of the system as a whole. There are four- and eight-core processors. However, the number of such elements does not always mean an increase in the efficiency of the device.

So why do we need cores in a computer? First of all, they are necessary to increase the speed of information processing, and secondly, to save energy consumption. Laptops that use mobile processors often use quad-core elements, in which two cores are high-performance and the other two are energy-efficient. The latter begin to work when the processor is not required to process a large amount of data. However, when the amount of information and the complexity of processing tasks increases, high-performance cores are used. Power increases sharply and energy consumption increases.

Why does a computer need a video card?

A video card is practically the same processor. However, it does more graphics-related calculations. What does it mean? In games, his work is especially important, since GPU processes great amount calculations and converts them into a signal for the monitor so that the user on the display can see beautiful textures, shadows, the movement of leaves in the wind, etc.

Thanks to special algorithms, part of the calculations can be assigned to the central processor, which can increase the speed of data processing. All this only roughly makes it clear why a computer needs such components.

RAM

Speaking about components, it is appropriate to tell why RAM is needed in a computer. If we talk in simple words, then such an element of the system is a temporary container for information and data that is currently running on the PC and is used by the system. Any program takes up a certain amount of random access memory (RAM). Are there any exceptions? Even open window or a Word document are objects that occupy the computer's RAM. In other words, at the time of typing, all this text is in RAM, and only when saved does it enter the physical memory of the hard drive. And there it will be stored until the user deletes it.

Essentially, RAM is temporary storage for files that can be accessed in seconds. These files, stored in RAM, are regularly requested and processed by the CPU and graphics card processor.

Quite often they try to replace RAM with hard disk memory. There is even a special tool for this in the operating system. However, you should understand that the hard drive is slow. Therefore, it cannot be used as another element. The essence of RAM comes down to high speed access to files stored in it.

Sound card

Also, some users are trying to understand why a sound card is needed in a computer. Based on the name, it’s easy to guess why such an element is needed. It is an expansion slot or chipset integrated into the motherboard for creating sound. What functions does it perform? Thanks to this card, sound can be reproduced in speakers or headphones connected to the sound card via the Jack connector.

The card's operation is simple: it receives a digital signal and converts it to analog. This signal can be picked up by headphones, simple speakers or other acoustic devices.

Why do computers need hard drives?

Hard drives or HDDs are digital media information - storage for files. The disc contains a movie that can be played on a computer. Games, music, documents and other files are also stored there. Unlike RAM, files will remain on the hard drive until the user deletes them.

Motherboard

The motherboard is the connecting link. It is to this that all computer components are connected. This is a hard drive, video card, processor, RAM, sound card. The latter is often built-in (integrated) into the motherboard. It is on the basis of this element that all computers are assembled.

Finally

Now you roughly understand why a computer needs the components listed above. These are what each PC system unit consists of. Without any of the mentioned devices (except for the sound card), the computer is impossible to operate in principle.

At first, the signal played the role of a reminder or warning. Subsequently, the developers began to create music for the first computer games, in which signals of different pitches and durations were used. However, it bore little resemblance to real music.

Fortunately, the audio capabilities of computers increased significantly in the 1980s, when several manufacturers released expansion cards designed to control audio. A modern computer with a sound card can do much more than previous tweeters. It is capable of creating 3D audio for gaming or surround sound when playing videos. It can also capture and record audio from external sources.

Of course, you shouldn’t expect fantastic sound from headphones and simple speakers connected to the sound card; it’s another thing to find yourself in a stadium, where a linear sound array of CLA-8A modules like , creates a sound of incredible power that the voices of fans are simply drowned out.

In this article, you'll learn how a sound card allows your computer to create and reproduce real, high-quality sound.

Analog and digital signals

Sounds and computer data are significantly different. Sounds are analog - they are made up of waves that travel through a medium such as air or water. People hear sounds when these waves cause their eardrums to vibrate.

But computers exchange information digitally using electrical impulses corresponding to a logical zero or one (0 or 1). Like a video card, a sound card converts digital information from the computer into analog information from the surrounding world, and vice versa.

The simplest sound card is printed circuit board, which contains four main components for converting digital and analog information:

Analog-to-digital converter (ADC);

Digital-to-analog converter (DAC);

ISA (obsolete), PCI or PCI Express (the most modern) interface connector for connecting the card to the motherboard (MP);

Input and output connections for microphone and speakers.

Instead of separate ADCs and DACs, some sound cards use an encoder/decoder chip that performs both functions and is called a codec (formed by the combination of CODER-DECODER).

X-FI

One of the latest developments in the field of sound cards is X-FI technology(short for Xtreme Fidelity”, literally “high precision”), embodied in the Sound Blaster X-Fi model range of the famous Creative sound card manufacturer.

Main features of X-FI

Architecture active modes(Active Modal Architecture), which allows the user to choose one of three modes of operation of the card: gaming, relaxation or music creation, optimizing it computing power to perform a specific task;

Latest processor digital processing signals (eng. digital signal processor, DSP), contains 51 million transistors;

Several hardware and software processors, each of which performs certain operations with sound;

24-bit Crystallizer technology, which is designed to counteract certain losses in sound quality that occur during the 16-bit audio recording process.

ADC and DAC

Imagine using a computer to record your voice. First, you speak into a microphone connected to the sound card. An ADC converts the analog waves of your voice into digital data that a computer can understand. To do this, the ADC digitizes the sound by making precise measurements of the wave parameters at short intervals.

The figure below shows a simplified example of an ADC that periodically measures the amplitude of a sound wave and converts it into a set of digital values ​​(bars) of equal duration, the sequence of appearance of which resembles the original continuous wave:

The number of measurements per second is called the sampling rate and is measured in kHz. The higher the map's sampling rate, the more accurate the reproduced waveform is (that is, as the frequency increases, the digital waveform becomes smoother and more closely resembles the original audio waveform).

If you play the recorded recording through the speakers, the DAC will perform the above basic operations in reverse order. Thanks to precision measurements and high sampling rates, the reproduced analog signal will be almost identical to the original sound wave.

However, even high sampling rates cause some degradation in sound quality. The physical process of transmitting sound through wires can also cause distortion. Manufacturers use two metrics to describe this degradation in sound quality:

The coefficient of nonlinear distortion, THD (Total Harmonic Distortion, THD), is measured as a percentage;

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is measured in decibels (dB).

A low THD value and a high SNR indicate a high quality sound system. Some cards also support digital input, allowing you to store digital recordings without converting them to analog.

METHODS OF SOUND CREATION

Computers and sound cards can use several methods to create sounds. One of them is synthesis using frequency modulation, FM synthesis (Frequency modulation synthesis, FM synthesis), in which a computer combines several sound waves(layers them one on top of the other) to get more complex waveforms.

Another is wavetable synthesis, which uses fragments of recorded sounds of real instruments (called “samples”) to reproduce music. This synthesis often uses multiple samples of the same instrument at different pitches to achieve a more natural sound. In general, wavetable synthesis reproduces sounds much more accurately than FM synthesis.

Other components of the sound card

In addition to the basic components required for audio processing, most sound cards have additional hardware or input/output connections, such as:

Digital Signal Processor (DSP)

Like the graphics processor of a video card, the DSP is a specialized microprocessor. It partially offloads the central processing unit (CPU), because it independently performs calculations for analog and digital conversions. The DSP is capable of processing multiple sounds or channels simultaneously. Sound cards that do not have DSP use the CPU for such calculations.

Memory

As with a video card, a sound card can use its own RAM for more fast processing data.

Input and output connections

Most sound cards have microphone and speaker connectors. But some contain so many inputs and outputs that external units are created for them (other names: remote panels, front panels, reobass), which are often installed in a free section of the computer system unit intended for optical drives (thus, all additional connectors are conveniently located on the front panel of the system unit). Among these compounds are:

Numerous connections for 3D audio and surround sound;

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) - a digital audio interface from Sony and Philips - is a protocol for sending digital audio data. Uses both coaxial (RCA, BNC) and optical (Toslink) connectors for two-way exchange of information with the sound card.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a digital interface for musical instruments, used to connect synthesizers or other electronic musical instruments to a computer;

FireWire and USB connectors are designed for connecting digital audio and video recording devices to a sound card (voice recorders, DVRs, video recorders, etc.).

MODERN SOUND TECHNOLOGY AND API

Game developers use 3-D sound technology to create moving, dynamic sound that changes depending on where the player is in the game. In addition to using several sound sources, this technology also allows you to reproduce sound realistically, avoiding or passing through various obstacles.

Surround sound technology also uses multiple sound sources, but the sound does not change depending on the listener's actions. Surround sound is primarily used in home theater systems.

Like a video card, a sound card uses software(software) to improve its interaction with application programs and other components of the computer. Such software contains both the drivers of the card itself, which allow it to interact with the operating system, and application programming interfaces (API), which are sets of standards or rules for performing certain tasks that facilitate the work of application programs with a sound card.

The most common APIs:

Microsoft DirectSound;

Creative: Environmental Audio Extensions (EAX) and Open AL;

Sensaura: MacroFX;

QSound Labs: QSound (QSo).

Other ways to control sound

Not every computer is equipped with a sound card. Most modern motherboards have a built-in audio processing subsystem. An MP with its own DSP can simultaneously process several data streams. The built-in audio codec can even support 3D (positional) audio and Dolby surround sound. However, despite such capabilities, most reviewers agree that individual sound cards provide best quality sound.

Laptops, as usual, have audio subsystems or small sound cards built into their motherboards. However, given the small volume (in portable devices lacks free space) And the need for tough Temperature control (effective cooling plays a key role in the construction of portable equipment) the creation and production of high-quality miniature internal sound cards is, at the very least, impractical. Therefore, laptop users can purchase external sound controllers that connect via USB or FireWire. Such external modules can significantly improve the sound quality reproduced by laptops.

Selecting a sound card

There are many factors that affect the performance of a sound card and its ability to reproduce clear, high-quality sound. Before purchasing a sound card, pay attention to the following characteristics:

The capacity of the ADC and DAC is measured in bits;

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD);

Amplitude-frequency response, frequency response, determines the sound volume of the card at different frequencies;

Sampling frequency;

Number of independent channel outputs (for example, 5.1 or 7.1 configuration);

Supported application program interfaces (APIs);

Certifications including Dolby Master and THX.

Anyone who invests in a high-end sound card should also have high-quality speakers. Even the best sound card cannot compensate for the poor quality of the speakers.