Thread: Audio Hardware for Advanced Features

Many of the new sound cards and motherboards with onboard sound are intended for advanced gaming, DVD audio playback, and sound production uses and has extra connectors to support these uses, like the given below:

• MIDI in and MIDI out. Few superior sound cards do not need you to convert game port to MIDI interfacing by offering these ports on a individual external connector. This allows you to utilize a joystick and have an external MIDI device attached at similar time. Usual place: external device.

• SPDIF is also known as SP or DIF in and SPDIF out. The Sony or Philips Digital Interface gets digital audio signals straight from compatible devices without converting them to analog format first. Usual place: external device.

• CD SPDIF. Attaches compatible CD-ROM drives with SPDIF interfacing to digital input of sound card. Usual place: side of audio card. The cable utilized resembles cable shown in Figure, but it utilizes only two wires. In figure shows example of a usual sound card using a CD SPDIF cable.

• TAD in. Attaches internal modems with Telephone Answering Device support to sound card for sound processing of voice messages. General place: side of audio card.

• Digital DIN out. This supports multispeaker digital speaker systems, like those made by Cambridge for use with SoundBlaster Live series. General location: external device.

• Optical SPDIF in/out. This carries home theater and digital speaker systems with optical inputs. General locations: rear of card or external device.

• Aux in. Gives input for other sound sources, like a TV tuner card. General location: side of audio card.

• I2S in. This allows the sound card to accept digital audio input from an external source, like two channel decoded AC-3 from DVD decoders and MPEG-2 Zoom Video. General location: side of audio card.

• USB port. This allows sound card to attach to USB speakers, game controllers, and other kinds of USB devices. The Hercules Game Theater XP series, first sound card with built-in USB ports, supports USB 1.1 only. General location: external breakout box.

• IEEE 1394. This allows sound card to attach to IEEE 1394 well-suited DV camcorders, scanners, hard drives, and extra devices. Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy, Audigy 2 series, and Hercules Digifire 7.1 every characteristic one or more IEEE 1394 ports. General location: card bracket or external cable or breakout box.

Occasionally, these extra connectors are located on card, or sometimes they are connected to an internal or external breakout box, daughter card, or external rack. Now, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum and Platinum Pro sound cards from Creative Labs are two piece units.

Other latest models that feature a same design add Audigy 2 Platinum EX, Audigy 2 Platinum, Audigy Platinum, and Hercules Game Theater XP 6.1 and 7.1. Though details differ, every one of these models features a PCI-based sound card with basic I/O ports and an individual component with extra and improved I/O ports. Audigy 2 ZS Platinum routes its extra connections to an internal breakout box that fits into an unused 5 1/4'' drive bay. The top of the line Platinum Program utilizes an external breakout box with similar connection choices. Both models feature a remote control and external volume controls. The Hercules Game Theater XP series also featured an external breakout box, which Hercules refers to as an audio rack.

Usually, audio card upgrades have been designed particularly for users of desktop PCs, leaving increasing number of notebook PC users out in cold if they determined that bare-bones features of their included audio were not enough. Though, many companies now developed USB based audio processors that can be utilized by both notebook and desktop PCs.

When you think a USB depending solution, remember that, unlike a normal sound card upgrade, you do not want to stop your existing onboard sound or get rid of a sound card. USB based audio can coexist with current sound cards. Usually, with most hardware, just installed hardware in a category becomes default, but you can return to original audio hardware through Windows Control Panel Sound properties sheet.

Beyond ability to include audio to about any new system, USB-based audio is mainly appealing if your current sound card or onboard audio does not support 5.1 or 7.1 audio, can't digitize sound at 24-bit/96KHz rates, or lacks digital outputs. Table lists the main features of current and new USB-based audio products.

The connectors and controls on Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX are shown in Figure. Before you buy a new sound card or USB-based audio solution for a desktop PC, you must test system or motherboard documentation to see whether you already have six channel audio onboard. If your motherboard features six-channel (5.1) or best audio output but only ports built in to rear of motherboard are for a normal stereo (2.0/2.1) configuration, you want to include a header cable to motherboard same to shown in Figure. If motherboard did not ship with header cable, contact the retailer.

Figure The built-in ports on the ATX port cluster (left) support stereo output, but the header cable (center) adds support for four-channel and six-channel audio and digital sound.