Hello, everyone.
I hope this is the right section for this query; I wasn't sure whether to post here, in the PC-based source forum, or perhaps the parts & tools forum.
My current setup comprises a Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD sound card hooked to a Magni 2 Uber headphone amp which drives a pair of Senn HD650.
I'm looking to upgrade this chain but I would like to keep the Titanium HD for the hardware acceleration of EAX and HRTF, so I thought perhaps I could mod it instead to improve upon its SQ.
Unfortunately I do not possess the equipment or know-how to mod it myself, and I was hoping I could turn to a company that offers this kind of service. However, firms of the kind appear to be much more common in the U.S. than within the E.U..
I was wondering whether you knew of any good firms in the E.U. who perform audio modifications and could take care of my sound card?
I'd like to replace its capacitors, voltage regulators, and oscillator (the card has swappable op-amps so I can at least handle that part.)
Thanks in advance! -Andrea
I hope this is the right section for this query; I wasn't sure whether to post here, in the PC-based source forum, or perhaps the parts & tools forum.
My current setup comprises a Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD sound card hooked to a Magni 2 Uber headphone amp which drives a pair of Senn HD650.
I'm looking to upgrade this chain but I would like to keep the Titanium HD for the hardware acceleration of EAX and HRTF, so I thought perhaps I could mod it instead to improve upon its SQ.
Unfortunately I do not possess the equipment or know-how to mod it myself, and I was hoping I could turn to a company that offers this kind of service. However, firms of the kind appear to be much more common in the U.S. than within the E.U..
I was wondering whether you knew of any good firms in the E.U. who perform audio modifications and could take care of my sound card?
I'd like to replace its capacitors, voltage regulators, and oscillator (the card has swappable op-amps so I can at least handle that part.)
Thanks in advance! -Andrea
I am highly sceptical whether a sound card can be improved, to any noticeable margin, by such mods. If it were so easy it would have been done at the time of design/ manufacture and they could have moved to the next level and charged more..
Why not invest your hard earned cash in buying a better card?
Why not invest your hard earned cash in buying a better card?
Hi dhaen,
The Titanium HD is the last Creative sound card that is capable of accelerating EAX and HRTF in hardware. While it is nowadays but a legacy gaming feature, I am reluctant to let go of it.
Out of curiosity, why do you say you're skeptical that a sound card could be improved by higher-grade components? What sets it apart from another piece of audio gear that would instead benefit from it?
The newest Sound Blaster (AE 9) has a better DAC and better capacitors, but I see no mention on its spec sheet of a good clock powered by good voltage regulators. I'm not sure the improvement over the Titanium HD would be significant, and I would lose hardware acceleration on the legacy gaming features.
Alternatively, I could purchase a Schiit Modi Multibit DAC for higher SQ with music, but I would miss out on HRTF/virtual surround for games, movies, and TV series. It would be a trade-off either way.
The Titanium HD is the last Creative sound card that is capable of accelerating EAX and HRTF in hardware. While it is nowadays but a legacy gaming feature, I am reluctant to let go of it.
Out of curiosity, why do you say you're skeptical that a sound card could be improved by higher-grade components? What sets it apart from another piece of audio gear that would instead benefit from it?
The newest Sound Blaster (AE 9) has a better DAC and better capacitors, but I see no mention on its spec sheet of a good clock powered by good voltage regulators. I'm not sure the improvement over the Titanium HD would be significant, and I would lose hardware acceleration on the legacy gaming features.
Alternatively, I could purchase a Schiit Modi Multibit DAC for higher SQ with music, but I would miss out on HRTF/virtual surround for games, movies, and TV series. It would be a trade-off either way.
Any number of people on this forum should be able to help you. And luckily quite a few of them are based right around your neck of the woods 🙂 Getting someone to do it locally seems like a better plan than shipping it around the world.
Hi Andrea,
First of all I notice that this sound card has unbalanced connections. This means that noise on the computer's "ground" (which will be considerable) will be presented at the input of your amp/preamp. How much this affects the audio depends on the design of the amp/ preamp.
So here's what I would do in your situation:
Buy a sound card with balanced audio out and unbalance it before feeding to your amp.
or
Buy a transformer such as an unbalanced to balanced transformer to isolate the ground noise and connect to your amp that way.
I worked in broadcast for 3 decades and we always used balanced connections for 2 reasons:
1. To allow a low loss, long transmission path.
2. To eliminate ground noise. (formally mains hum loops, latterly hf noise).
First of all I notice that this sound card has unbalanced connections. This means that noise on the computer's "ground" (which will be considerable) will be presented at the input of your amp/preamp. How much this affects the audio depends on the design of the amp/ preamp.
So here's what I would do in your situation:
Buy a sound card with balanced audio out and unbalance it before feeding to your amp.
or
Buy a transformer such as an unbalanced to balanced transformer to isolate the ground noise and connect to your amp that way.
I worked in broadcast for 3 decades and we always used balanced connections for 2 reasons:
1. To allow a low loss, long transmission path.
2. To eliminate ground noise. (formally mains hum loops, latterly hf noise).
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