Soundcard tips and facts
this was taken from here. this should help some people out
Soundcard tips
General facts to be aware
General information about soundcards
Under the current model for PC audio, the majority of audio-related problem are the result of improper hardware configuration. Applications designed to run under the MS-DOS® operating system suffer the most, because users are sometimes required to inform the software of the current hardware configuration (I/O addressing, IRQs, and direct memory access (DMA)). Plug and Play has solved numerous resource conflicts for Windows-based applications, there are unfortunate side effects for MS-DOS-based programs. Specifically, the configuration of the audio hardware can change and get out of sync with what the MS-DOS-based application expects. Plug and Play card can be quite problematic to DOS application users.
Numbers on the sound card names can be misleading
No card is yet 32-bit, the number "32" and also the "64" are misleading. So misleading that many people talke about "32 bit soundcards" or 64 bit soundcards", but they are wrong.
32 means (in AWE32 and Terratec Maestro32) that 32 MIDI voices can be played at one point. The 64 means that 64 MIDI voices can be played at one point on the Terratec EWS64 (AWE64 can play 64 voices when it uses considerable amount of PC processor power to play half of those voices).
16 bits does not automatically mean CD quality
PC soundc cards and CD players are both 16 bit devices and can use same sample rate, but this does not meant the sound quality of those devices is the same. PC soundcards typically have much worse signal to noise ratio (around 80 dB) than CD players (>90 dB), which means that PC soundcards are more noisy. CD players have good straight frequency response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but PC soundcards typically have low and high frequencies attenuated noticably.
Signal to noise (S/N) ratio is one of the most important measurements (specs) to look for when purchasing any audio device. It measures the ratio of noise generated by the device, and added to the outgoing signal. Its measured in dBu and the higher the number the better.
Why the bass frequencies in many cheap soundcards are attenuated ?
A lot of cheap cards roll off the low end to increase dynamic headroom/reduce clipping problems on the little pc speakers which usually aren't equipped to handle low frequencies anyway. Sometimes unintentional bass attenuation is caused just because the analogue design has been made to be as cheap as possible and uses too small signal coupling capacitors.
What's problem with no-name cards ?
No-name cards have usually much more problems to get them to run and after they have it running once the problems aren't away. Now with name products you have support, web-page for new drivers and so on.
What is in typical soundcard ?
The picture blow shows the parts which are included in typical modern Wavetable soundcard (for example AWE32, AWE64 and similar):
Description of the parts:
* ROM includes the preset wavetable syntetizer samples
* RAM is for downloadable wavetable instruments
* Wavetable syntetizer makes sounds ouf of the samples in ROM and RAM
* CODEC does the A/D and D/A conversion of the audio signals
* FM syntetizer plays FM sounds (for orignal Sound Blaster/Adlib compatibility)
* MIXER is an analogue mixer IC which mixes together the sound from the various inputs to (microphone, aux input, wavetable syntetizer, FM syntetizer, CD-ROM audio,) to the final mix which is then sent to line level and speaker outputs.
The electronics needed for MIDI/Joystick interface are not shown in this picture. The joystick interface electronics is just like in any other PC joystick card.
Where I can find the block diagram of Sound Blaster 16 ?
block diagram of SB16
This same block diagram applies also to vary many other simple PC soundcards.
Why only one Windows program can output sounds at the same time ?
The current Windows sound model has a significant shortcoming: You can only hear one application at a time. If you try to run the second sound application at the same time, the system will either omit sounds or present a dialog box indicating the audio hardware is busy.
What is the difference between full-duplex and enhanced full-duplex sound cards ?
Full Duplex = Sound card can record and play back sounds at the same time. Typically sample playback and recording sample rares must be same.
Enhanced Full Duplex = record at one sampling rate, play at a different sampling rate, simultaneously.
Can I connect my soundcard to home stereo system ?
Yes you can. Just plug the line level output of the soundcard to the stereo AUX or TAPE input. You need just a suitable cable and it will work nicely. With home stereos you can enjoy the much better sound quality than with your multimedia spakers.
Are there any problems associated when I connect the soundcard to stereo system ?
The connection itself should not cause any major problems. Depending on where the equipment are plugged and is there sny connections to antenna/cable Tv you might get a humming noise entering to your sound system. If you get this humming noise then it is caused by a ground loop problem. You can find lots of useful information how to find and solve ground loop problems at Ground loop problems and how to get rid of them.
Installing tips
Tips for installing card to PC
Your soundcard is very sensitive electronics so keep it away from noise soirces inside the PC. Install the sound card away from other noisy card in the PC bus (like modems, graphics cards, hard disk controllers). It is also a good idea to keep the soundcard away from the power supply and the wiring inside the PC.
Connecting sound card to your HIFI system
For best sound quality I would recommend you to toss out those cheap multimedia speakers because they sound really bad when you compare them to even cheap HIFI system.
Connect the sound card line level output to your stero system AUX or CD input. Do not use the speaker output of the soundcard because they sound bad. When connecting soundcard to HIFI system do it in the following order to avoid damaging any equipment:
* unplug the computer from mains
* turn off the HIFI system and turn the volume down
* connect the audio cable between soundcard and HIF system
* reconnect the PC to mains
* turn on the PC
* turn on the HIFI system
* adjust the volume in HIFI system
If your computer is connected to ordinary grounded power outlet then you might sometimes notice humming noise then the HIFI system is connected to cable TV network. If you have this problem then disconnect the antenna wire going to the HIFI system. If you want to keep both cable and computer connected at the same time you need cable Tv ground loop isolator.
Common problems and how to solve them
Hissing sound in background
A typical problem: I just bought a new soundcard have noticed background hissing after a sound is played. It doesn't appear to be in the speaker system as I ran a portable cd into it.
PC soundcards are cheap consumer electronics and they are built using cheap parts using designs which are not the best possible. This causes that soundcards electronics generate noise and pick up interference from other electronics inside the PC. You hear all this as hising noise in the soundcard output.
The soundcard design has effect how little noise you can get, but usually the reason for most noise is not the soundcard, but how you use it. You can even make the best studio audio system hiss very noticably if you set the settings to very non-ideal values. Soundcards are typically used by people who do not know how to use audio systems properly which causes that they set up the systewm baddly which leads to very poor performance.
Some tips for users of Sound Blaster family of soundcards:
* The obvious would be a microphone enabled. Mute it. (Win 95 mixer)
* Next would be gain settings set at x4, change it to x1 (CL Mixer)
* Turn 3D Stereo Enhancement off. (Device Manager)
If you you soundcard connected to amplified multimedia speakers or hifi system remember to use line level output connector. Line level output connector typically gives out better sound quality and less noise.
Humming noise when I connect my soundcard to my hifi system
You have quite propably ground loop problem or bad audio wiring in your system. Check the wiring. If the wiring does not have any fault, then check the ground loop problem. First remove the antenna wire going to you receiver going to your hifi system. If your humming goes away, them you have a ground loop problem caused by antenna wire. This kinds of problems can be most easily solved using antenna cable isolator. For more information about ground loops go to my AV systen ground loop web page.
Sound playback
this was taken from here. this should help some people out
Soundcard tips
General facts to be aware
General information about soundcards
Under the current model for PC audio, the majority of audio-related problem are the result of improper hardware configuration. Applications designed to run under the MS-DOS® operating system suffer the most, because users are sometimes required to inform the software of the current hardware configuration (I/O addressing, IRQs, and direct memory access (DMA)). Plug and Play has solved numerous resource conflicts for Windows-based applications, there are unfortunate side effects for MS-DOS-based programs. Specifically, the configuration of the audio hardware can change and get out of sync with what the MS-DOS-based application expects. Plug and Play card can be quite problematic to DOS application users.
Numbers on the sound card names can be misleading
No card is yet 32-bit, the number "32" and also the "64" are misleading. So misleading that many people talke about "32 bit soundcards" or 64 bit soundcards", but they are wrong.
32 means (in AWE32 and Terratec Maestro32) that 32 MIDI voices can be played at one point. The 64 means that 64 MIDI voices can be played at one point on the Terratec EWS64 (AWE64 can play 64 voices when it uses considerable amount of PC processor power to play half of those voices).
16 bits does not automatically mean CD quality
PC soundc cards and CD players are both 16 bit devices and can use same sample rate, but this does not meant the sound quality of those devices is the same. PC soundcards typically have much worse signal to noise ratio (around 80 dB) than CD players (>90 dB), which means that PC soundcards are more noisy. CD players have good straight frequency response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but PC soundcards typically have low and high frequencies attenuated noticably.
Signal to noise (S/N) ratio is one of the most important measurements (specs) to look for when purchasing any audio device. It measures the ratio of noise generated by the device, and added to the outgoing signal. Its measured in dBu and the higher the number the better.
Why the bass frequencies in many cheap soundcards are attenuated ?
A lot of cheap cards roll off the low end to increase dynamic headroom/reduce clipping problems on the little pc speakers which usually aren't equipped to handle low frequencies anyway. Sometimes unintentional bass attenuation is caused just because the analogue design has been made to be as cheap as possible and uses too small signal coupling capacitors.
What's problem with no-name cards ?
No-name cards have usually much more problems to get them to run and after they have it running once the problems aren't away. Now with name products you have support, web-page for new drivers and so on.
What is in typical soundcard ?
The picture blow shows the parts which are included in typical modern Wavetable soundcard (for example AWE32, AWE64 and similar):
Description of the parts:
* ROM includes the preset wavetable syntetizer samples
* RAM is for downloadable wavetable instruments
* Wavetable syntetizer makes sounds ouf of the samples in ROM and RAM
* CODEC does the A/D and D/A conversion of the audio signals
* FM syntetizer plays FM sounds (for orignal Sound Blaster/Adlib compatibility)
* MIXER is an analogue mixer IC which mixes together the sound from the various inputs to (microphone, aux input, wavetable syntetizer, FM syntetizer, CD-ROM audio,) to the final mix which is then sent to line level and speaker outputs.
The electronics needed for MIDI/Joystick interface are not shown in this picture. The joystick interface electronics is just like in any other PC joystick card.
Where I can find the block diagram of Sound Blaster 16 ?
block diagram of SB16
This same block diagram applies also to vary many other simple PC soundcards.
Why only one Windows program can output sounds at the same time ?
The current Windows sound model has a significant shortcoming: You can only hear one application at a time. If you try to run the second sound application at the same time, the system will either omit sounds or present a dialog box indicating the audio hardware is busy.
What is the difference between full-duplex and enhanced full-duplex sound cards ?
Full Duplex = Sound card can record and play back sounds at the same time. Typically sample playback and recording sample rares must be same.
Enhanced Full Duplex = record at one sampling rate, play at a different sampling rate, simultaneously.
Can I connect my soundcard to home stereo system ?
Yes you can. Just plug the line level output of the soundcard to the stereo AUX or TAPE input. You need just a suitable cable and it will work nicely. With home stereos you can enjoy the much better sound quality than with your multimedia spakers.
Are there any problems associated when I connect the soundcard to stereo system ?
The connection itself should not cause any major problems. Depending on where the equipment are plugged and is there sny connections to antenna/cable Tv you might get a humming noise entering to your sound system. If you get this humming noise then it is caused by a ground loop problem. You can find lots of useful information how to find and solve ground loop problems at Ground loop problems and how to get rid of them.
Installing tips
Tips for installing card to PC
Your soundcard is very sensitive electronics so keep it away from noise soirces inside the PC. Install the sound card away from other noisy card in the PC bus (like modems, graphics cards, hard disk controllers). It is also a good idea to keep the soundcard away from the power supply and the wiring inside the PC.
Connecting sound card to your HIFI system
For best sound quality I would recommend you to toss out those cheap multimedia speakers because they sound really bad when you compare them to even cheap HIFI system.
Connect the sound card line level output to your stero system AUX or CD input. Do not use the speaker output of the soundcard because they sound bad. When connecting soundcard to HIFI system do it in the following order to avoid damaging any equipment:
* unplug the computer from mains
* turn off the HIFI system and turn the volume down
* connect the audio cable between soundcard and HIF system
* reconnect the PC to mains
* turn on the PC
* turn on the HIFI system
* adjust the volume in HIFI system
If your computer is connected to ordinary grounded power outlet then you might sometimes notice humming noise then the HIFI system is connected to cable TV network. If you have this problem then disconnect the antenna wire going to the HIFI system. If you want to keep both cable and computer connected at the same time you need cable Tv ground loop isolator.
Common problems and how to solve them
Hissing sound in background
A typical problem: I just bought a new soundcard have noticed background hissing after a sound is played. It doesn't appear to be in the speaker system as I ran a portable cd into it.
PC soundcards are cheap consumer electronics and they are built using cheap parts using designs which are not the best possible. This causes that soundcards electronics generate noise and pick up interference from other electronics inside the PC. You hear all this as hising noise in the soundcard output.
The soundcard design has effect how little noise you can get, but usually the reason for most noise is not the soundcard, but how you use it. You can even make the best studio audio system hiss very noticably if you set the settings to very non-ideal values. Soundcards are typically used by people who do not know how to use audio systems properly which causes that they set up the systewm baddly which leads to very poor performance.
Some tips for users of Sound Blaster family of soundcards:
* The obvious would be a microphone enabled. Mute it. (Win 95 mixer)
* Next would be gain settings set at x4, change it to x1 (CL Mixer)
* Turn 3D Stereo Enhancement off. (Device Manager)
If you you soundcard connected to amplified multimedia speakers or hifi system remember to use line level output connector. Line level output connector typically gives out better sound quality and less noise.
Humming noise when I connect my soundcard to my hifi system
You have quite propably ground loop problem or bad audio wiring in your system. Check the wiring. If the wiring does not have any fault, then check the ground loop problem. First remove the antenna wire going to you receiver going to your hifi system. If your humming goes away, them you have a ground loop problem caused by antenna wire. This kinds of problems can be most easily solved using antenna cable isolator. For more information about ground loops go to my AV systen ground loop web page.
Sound playback