hd audio question

[Ryan_Sama]

hey hey just wondering if its possible to get hd audio for a homemade desktop even if the motherboard doesnt include it?

 

[Geoff]

HD Audio is just a gimmick, there's really nothing "HD" about it. You can however get MUCH better sounding sound cards that use either a PCI or PCI-E slot, such as the Creative X-Fi.

 

[Ryan_Sama]

thanks man!!

 

[oregon]

HD Audio is just a gimmick, there's really nothing "HD" about it. You can however get MUCH better sounding sound cards that use either a PCI or PCI-E slot, such as the Creative X-Fi.

Actually, I think there is a difference... HD audio refers to multiple channels (5.1, 7.1) usually used for surround sound. I believe this requires higher bitrate. You're right though that the sound quality as we hear it is more or less the same.

 

[Geoff]

Actually, I think there is a difference... HD audio refers to multiple channels (5.1, 7.1) usually used for surround sound. I believe this requires higher bitrate. You're right though that the sound quality as we hear it is more or less the same.

That is true, however a lot of manufacturers aren't fulfilling all of the requirements.

Intel High Definition Audio (HD Audio or "Azalia") refers to the specification released by Intel in 2004 for delivering high-definition audio that is capable of playing back more channels at higher quality than previous integrated audio codecs like AC97. During development it had the codename Azalia.

Hardware based on Intel HD Audio specifications is capable of delivering 192 kHz/32 bit quality for two channels, and 96 kHz/32 bit for up to eight channels. However, as of 2008, most audio hardware manufacturers do not implement the full high-end specification, especially 32-bit sampling resolution.

Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows XP SP3 (see Microsoft Article KB888111) include a Universal Audio Architecture class driver which supports audio devices built to the HD Audio specification. Linux also supports Intel High Definition Audio controllers, as do the FreeBSD, NetBSD, Mac OS X and OpenBSD operating systems.