Boy, it sucks! (I don't care what they say)

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

So my W7 box finally gave up the ghost and I bought a W10 box from Newegg.   It is one of their builds and was very inexpensive for what it was.   It is built with a Gigabyte H410M S2H motherboard.   I did a bit of reading on them and one of their sales points is that it has "audiophile sound".   They show the nice gold caps and some sort of barrier on the board to isolate the sound section from everything else.   So I thought perhaps I wouldn't need to bother with a peripheral this time.

I played a few favored files with the on board sound through my Grados then again through the only working outboard I have on hand at the moment, an Avid FastTrack Duo.   It was no comparison.   The onboard audio SUCKS!   No depth, no imaging.   It was so bad that I went to YouTube and found a balance test just to make sure it wasn't faulty and summing to mono.   It wasn't, it's just completely without balls.

For years I've been spoiled by my E-Mu 1010.   Sadly, there are no W10 drivers for it.   I've been wanting to check out the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.   I think it's time to pull the trigger.

[scorpio333]

If I didn't use my 2i2 daily, I would lend it to you for a test drive. I don't really have anything to compare it to other than sub $20 DACs. It just sits there, sends music to an amp or tiny soundbar speaker or headphones. The gold for me is the built in ADC to record vinyl.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

If I didn't use my 2i2 daily, I would lend it to you for a test drive. I don't really have anything to compare it to other than sub $20 DACs. It just sits there, sends music to an amp or tiny soundbar speaker or headphones. The gold for me is the built in ADC to record vinyl.

Yes, that is exactly why I am considering it rather than a Schitt DAC.   Rather than loaning me the unit, perhaps you could email me a track that you needledropped that you are particularly proud of.

[scorpio333]

See if these work, been awhile since I used dropbox. First two are FLAC files I did a long time ago. #3 is Pearl Jam - Black - from an original Ten. #4 is Rooster - Alice In Chains Unplugged. 3&4 are AIFF.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m21wk4rqhsc130f/Warren_Haynes_RIver.flac?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9mog643vm7imvp/Rock_It_24_96.flac?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6o5m5ttr2eg5fb7/Black%20-cr1.aiff?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wkrmz1qn6q147b8/Rooster-cr.aiff?dl=0

I had to take my daughter out to Volkwein just past Robinson, they had Presonus USB96 DAC's on the counter for $99. NO clue how good/bad they are, only mention it because it's local and it's the same shape as the 2i2.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

What is the cartridge you used for Rock It?

[scorpio333]

Shure V15 w/SAS stylus. That was for the FLAC files, the AIFF used a AT OC9 III.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

I thought it was s Shure.   I just wanted to be sure the mids weren't so forward because of the Focusrite.