Onkyo Wavio SE-200PCI

[jarre]

Hello!

Dose anybody have some info/experience with the Onkyo Wavio SE-200PCI soundcard or other hi-fi soundcard with the surround compatibles and proper RCA contacts on the marked today?

Found this on a Norwegian distributur, http://www.mono.no/display.x?cid=163...1&id=318769860


Best regards

Jarre

[rjm]

I have the basic, output only, version.

Just bought it today, actually. I had put it off because Onkyo didnt put out Vista drivers until last month.

They have a spiffy website with detailed measurements, http://onkyo.jp/wavio/90pci/

I bought it because my Realtek 850 AC`97 built in codec was giving me grief, and because, well, I wanted to give Onkyo my support. Why? Well, the guys at Onkyo really went above and beyond the call of duty on this one:

First: its made in Japan. They actually assembled this in house, not outsourced to China. Onkyo is pretty cool that way, most of the better stuff they make is built here.

Second: 24bit/192kHz DAC and audio controller. I downloaded a sample .wav file at that resolution and it played perfectly.

Third: Silmic II, OS-CON caps, what looks like polypro, and damping tape applied to the critical caps. Someone at onkyo bothered to decide that it sounded better with damping tape, and ordered the tweak applied to all units. The card sells for <$90. Thats hardcore.

Fourth: its two channel. only. Onkyo engineers must have sent marketing into spazms. An $80 sound card that only outputs stereo when the inbuilt codec of the cheapest motherboard does 7.1. Talk about a tough sell...


Alright, how does it sound? All I can say it its lightyears ahead of the Realtek ALC850, but lets face it that's hardly a challenge. Obviously better on all material, including 16bit 44.1kHz audio .wav and DVD movies. I'm neither willing or able to take the trouble to make any useful comparisons. If you buy into the Onkyo philosophy they are selling here, you'll cough up the cash for the card. The measurements alone show they are serious.

Richard

[solich]

Hallo. Here is new e-shop of Onkyo Wavio sound cards: www.onkyowavio.com