On Tue, 2005-03-01 at 19:43 -0800, Florin Andrei wrote: > > Ok, i pulled it out and re-packaged it for return to the store. Then I > plugged the studio monitors into the on-board sound card (a regular AC97 > thing). OMG! The on-board card sounds like crap, by comparison with the > 1010! It's flat, harsh, muffled and... um... lifeless, sort of. > I guess the average listener wouldn't perceive the difference (or care > about it) but for critical listening, it's like night and day. I didn't > even had to A/B it with the 1010, it was clear from the beginning. I got my 1010 replacement today. Meanwhile, i was using a SoundBlaster Live Value, i just couldn't stand the onboard AC97 sound output. I pulled the SBLive out now and replaced it with the new Delta 1010. Shock! Horror! I used to think that SoundBlaster are decent cards - well, now, after getting used to the SB sound and migrating to 1010... there's a clear difference! The sound cards are driving a Mackie Big Knob which, in turn, drives a pair of Sennheiser HD600 via one of it's phones outputs (which seem pretty damn good AFAICT). On the HD600, i can tell that there's an obvious difference between the SoundBlaster and the Delta 1010. The 1010 is, somehow, more authoritative, the sound is fuller, more crisp, yet more gentle and rounded, full-bodied if i may say so. And i think i can hear more details too (which is, BTW, the strong point of the HD600). The SoundBlaster lacks "meat", it's somewhat more harsh and not as luscious. It's still much better than the onboard AC97 crap, but it's no match for the 1010. I'm listening to various electronica songs, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, some lesser known authors that use lots of Moog and analog synths... it all sounds very smooth now and... dunno how to put it... "organic". The sound is alive, has texture and depth. There's no going back for me now. :-) I've been totally spoiled. -- Florin Andrei http://florin.myip.org/
