hardware reviews?

[imperialreign]

I just noticed this and found it odd . . .

why do we not have any reviews for new audio hardware? I mean, with the ongoing march of sound cards being released from big vendors (like Auzen, Creative, ASUS, HT Omega, Razer), I would've thought we'd at least have one or two reviews archived in the TPU site . . . it seems like audio hardware is really the only area of the tech industry we don't touch upon . . .

[Solaris17]

thats a good question.....would it be relatively hard though? i mean

how would we compair sound cards

how would we compari audio quality as if you have crappy speakers a SB live sounds the same as a X-FI etc.

i think it would be a good idea if we could figure it out.

[imperialreign]

well, I've noticed the few other sites that review audio hardware use RightMark AudioAnalyzer to compare actual soundcard specs (what's rated as to how they perform), even CPU usage can be figured out for measuring how dependant an audio card is on the CPU -

speaker playback, though, would be subjective and up to the impressions of the reviewer - maybe even bringing in other "blind" individuals to listen to the same quality tracks on two exactly the same rigs and flag which one they think sounds better

[thoughtdisorder]

Sounds (no pun intended) like a good idea. If nothing else it would drive more people to the site, creating more hits and be a good thing for TPU. Right?

[imperialreign]

Sounds (no pun intended) like a good idea. If nothing else it would drive more people to the site, creating more hits and be a good thing for TPU. Right?

I would imagine so - there are really only a handful of big sites that do audio hardware reviews, and only a few that I trust for providing quality reviews. It'd be nice, IMO, to see TPU start joining in as well - I mean, we have users who come here looking for our advice in just about every aspect of PC related topics, and TPU has become a trusted source for great hardware reviews with a knowledgable, open community that's more than willing to answer peoples questions - and in light of the audio industry, it's hard to choose between different cards unless you really know what you're looking at, and even then it can be confusing when you start looking at specs and what a card is capable of. Even more so when you consider that audio output quality is way more subjective than video card output quality, and how could one determine if a Prelude or Xonar is overkill if you don't understand what it's intended to do, y'know? I really think expanding the reviews section to encompass everything would be a great idea.

Hell, I'd even be willing to help if there was something I could do . . .

[jbunch07]

i was wondering the same thing the other day.
but of course if someone here on tpu was going to say something about it than who better than you
imperialreign. i would love to see more reviews on sound cards.

[DanTheBanjoman]

Look at motherboard reviews. They include some audio tests. There are various headset reviews as well.
Though to give a more direct answer: get us the hardware.

[farlex85]

Yeah soundcards and tv tuners. I have a hard time choosing either of them because there are not enough reviews of the products or they are too vague to inform me as to whether it's what I'm looking for or if it just "sounds good." The ladder I especially am having trouble finding a unanimously (or at least close) positively reviewed one. I have never seen such mixed reviews of every product in its class on newegg.......

[Frederik S]

Reviewing sound cards is not that much of a problem. All it requires is a mini to mini interconnect and Rightmark audio analyzer installed and calibrated, just like you see in W1zz's motherboard reviews. The real problem here is getting the hardware. And of course a good selection of headphones and a decent benchmark card.

TV Tuners is actually a bit harder to do because they are extremely sensitive. I work for a PC manufacturer were we do a lot of HTPCs, you would be amazed how much difference there can be in the image quality on the same card being fed from different antennas and signal amplifiers. Once you are done with that you need to find out how RF sensitive they are and how they handle EMC/EMI from the other components in the PC.

[imperialreign]

Look at motherboard reviews. They include some audio tests. There are various headset reviews as well.
Though to give a more direct answer: get us the hardware.

I've seen the headset and mobo tests - but, TBH, I don't consider those "audio hardware," especially with motherboards. One doens't go out looking for a motherboard based solely on it's onboard capabilities, and if one is looking for a sound card, you're not going to go read motherboard reviews. Headsets and speakers I consider to be audio peripherals, and place them into the same category as a mouse, keyboard, webcam, etc.

On your last statement, if I had the money to purchase that many audio cards I'd be more than willing to review 'em for TPU - but my pockets aren't anywhere near that deep . . .

would there be a way to get manufacturer's to cough up hardware samples to TPU staff for reviews?

[WarEagleAU]

I thought I saw on here awhile back a review of Asus or Auzentechs sound cards. Am I mistaken?

[imperialreign]

I thought I saw on here awhile back a review of Asus or Auzentechs sound cards. Am I mistaken?

I think so - I haven't run across one on TPU :confused: