Can I use regular headphones/speakers with Audiophile 2496 soundcard?

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-- Can I use regular headphones/speakers with Audiophile 2496 soundcard?

Posted by 4am on Dec-13-2005 21:45:

Can I use regular headphones/speakers with Audiophile 2496 soundcard?

I'm going to get a soundcard that will just lighten the load on my CPU. I'm currently using a Soundblaster Live! with ASIO4ALL drivers. I'm thinking of getting the M-Audio 2496 soundcard. However, do I have to buy new headphones and speakers now too? Or are there converters available? If so, what kind do I need to ask for?

Please don't tell me to get pro monitors or something. I have to wait for those until February. For now, I want to continue to use my crappy old headphones and my computer speakers. My main goal is to reduce my CPU load.

Thanks.
-Heather

Posted by Azza Robinson on Dec-13-2005 21:52:

i don't think that is really going to make a difference tbh, i think correct me if im wrong but cpu is memory? like ram im not a computer whizz so im not sure, but i own that soundcard you have and it is good but i don't really think it helped my cpu well not on this computer anyway...just got my new pc so prob have more luck with that.

Sorry i can't be of more help

Sorry about the headphones hehe i run my audiophile 2496 to my stereo in the aux inputs then plug headphones into my stereo i don't think there is a way you can plug headphones straight into the soundcard unless you get a headphone amp which plugs from your soundcard but you can swap between headphones and monitors when you get some but for the meantime just headphones and plus 4 people can listen back to your track at 1 time if you got a headphone amp, i think there only �60 or something.

http://www.dv247.com/invt/16474

Posted by qiushiming on Dec-14-2005 01:04:

the m-audio audiophile 2496 doesnt have a normal 1/8" jack for headphones or lowend computer speakers...its meant to run with studio monitors

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_...e2496-main.html

buying a new soundcard wont help with your cpu load...and probably isnt worth the money till you get some monitors to take advantage of the card....

as the guy above said...load up on ram and maybe a new cpu instead

Posted by richg101 on Dec-14-2005 01:39:

definately get the audiophile!

its brilliant and great sound quality.

you prob wont see much difference but when tracks are played loud you will! its the entry level pro soundcard and is highly regarded.

just get a little mixer and put it between your audiophile and the powered speakers. then you ll have a headfone out aswell as some external outs/ins that you then wont have to reach behind your pc for when you want an external input..

Posted by 4am on Dec-14-2005 02:15:

quote:

buying a new soundcard wont help with your cpu load...and probably isnt worth the money till you get some monitors to take advantage of the card....

I heard that getting a sound card with ASIO drivers would take some of the sound processing load. This is not correct?

Also, even though I could not take advantage of the better sound quality thru monitoring, it would improve the quality of my mixdown, correct?

Thanks,
Heather

Posted by qiushiming on Dec-14-2005 02:49:

are you using a midi controller? asio allows for low latency (ie no delays in the signal)

what kinda headphones and speakers we talking about? yeah im sure an audiophile 2496 would present your mixes better than a soundblaster :P

Posted by 4am on Dec-14-2005 04:50:

I use Logitech speakers and shit headphones. I'll get some proper monitors in Feb. I'm looking into the Rokit RP5's.

Posted by Storyteller on Dec-14-2005 10:17:

quote:
Originally posted by 4am
I heard that getting a sound card with ASIO drivers would take some of the sound processing load. This is not correct?

Yes it would take a bit off, but asio is mostly designed for low latency.

quote:
Also, even though I could not take advantage of the better sound quality thru monitoring, it would improve the quality of my mixdown, correct?

Thanks,
Heather

Not right. Your mixdown is only as good as you make it. And if your monitoring sucks than it will probably still suck if you have a better soundcard but crappy speakers.

I do work with speakers and/or headsets on my audiophile I made a converter so I can plugin in my jack headset every once in a while

Posted by Low Profile on Dec-15-2005 00:17:

Asio doesn't exactly lighten CPU load, but they work together to produce the sound.

the CPU creates the sound it self (and btw. Azza, I'm correcting you, CPU is not the same as memory... ), it then chops the sound into little bits and sends them to the soundcard, the size of each piece is measured in samples, and it's kept in a buffer, it's a temporary place that holds data while it is transferred. The Asio driver is the software part that oversees the transfer from the CPU to the soundcard.

Think of it like a transit system: If you set the buffer low, many small trains come and the wait is short, but it's very costly to keep up and running. If you make the buffer bigger, making bigger traincarts and stuff more people in each train (but more time between trains), the people have to wait longer for each train, but running costs are much lower and it's generally safer (less trains = less chance of an accident).
This is just the same as with latency. If you have a bigger buffer you don't need as much CPU, if you have many smaller trains you need a lot of CPU, but the latency isn't as much. If you set the buffer too low that means the traincarts are too small and you can't fit all the people in them, that means people get left behind and the sound starts to pop and click.

back to the original question: Yes, a new soundcard will, "in theory" lighten you CPU load, but mostly because the asio drivers are more effective (think of it as if the trains were moving at higher speeds between stations), but you're not going to see a dramatic increment if you use lots of softsynths, since the sound is synthesized by the CPU and the soundcard has nothing to do with that process...

... Oh, and in order to connect a 1/8" mini-jack (standard computer connector) you just need an RCA->Mini jack converter (more precicely 2x RCA to stereo mini jack). A mixer er also a very good idea, you can get cheap Behringer mixers for like 40$ and they have every possible connector you'd need.