1 - ADC and DAC data capacity
ADC refers to Analog to Digital Conversion and DAC refers to Digital to Analog Conversion. Both actions are reverse of each
other. Analog and digital are two formats of sound. Analog format of sound travels in the form of waves and requires a medium
to travel. Digital format is full of codes and numbers.
| While recording, the sound input is in an analog format. The sound card converts this into digital format and stores it on the computer. While giving the output, the digital format is again converted into analog format for the human ear to listen to. |
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This ADC and DAC data capacity is measured in bits. A bit-rate of 8 is the lowest in the category of sound cards.
Generally a 16-bit sound card is preferred. 24 bit sound cards are used by professionals who develop sound tracks and CDs.
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2 - SNR and TND
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) are two important aspects of sound output.
Signal refers to the sound output. This could be music, dialogues, beeps or voice. Many a time, you hear irritating hissing sounds whilst the output being played or sometimes even when nothing is being played. This is known as noise interference. SNR refers to the amount of disturbance. A high level of SNR refers to less noise interference and a low SNR would mean higher interference. SNR is measured in decibels. A high level of SNR is anything more than 100db.
Total Harmonic Distortion refers to the various unwanted noise picked up by the sound track while traveling from the sound card to the hard drive and through the microphone. THD is measured in percentages. The lower the percentage the lesser is the interference. Ideally anything less than 0.5% is preferable.
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3 - Frequency Response and Sampling Rate
Frequency can be high, medium or low. A shrilling sound or whistle is a high frequency sound. Something like a drum falls under low frequency. A voice or rhythm instruments like guitar can be referred to as medium frequency.
Frequency response refers to the ability of the equipment to play each of these frequencies with minimum or no deviation. Frequency response is represented by +0.5/-0.3 db or +/-1db. A frequency response that is les than 1 db is considered ideal.
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Sampling Rate
Analog to digital conversion and vice versa takes sometime. This conversion is also known as sampling.
The time taken for one sampling is known as sampling rate. The faster the sampling rate, the better is the performance
of the equipment. Sampling rate affects the quality of the sound output. |
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4 - Input and Output
Sound cards are installed inside the computer. They have to connect externally to speakers, headphones, microphone, TV or your music system. For this there must be ports through which the respective equipment can be connected. A port each, for microphone input and headphones output is the least requirement. You can have more number of ports for connecting to multiple speakers, woofers or to TV or stereos.
Output channels
Output channels refer to the audio output device. In this context, it refers to speakers. Output channels indicate the number of speakers that can be connected to the sound card. Sound cards must support minimum two channels – left and right.
A channel of 5.1 is an ideal sound system setup. This includes six channels – five satellite speakers and one sub-woofer. The 5 channels include left, right, center, left surround, and right surround. Similarly there are 6.1 and 7.1 which give better sound effects. These are ideal for a home theater setup.
| With more output channels, the different constituents of a sound track are distributed. For example, the sound of drum, guitar and the vocals are the components of a track. Each channel would support one of these components better than the other. This enhances enjoying the tracks. |
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Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are supports used by applications to communicate with the sound card. Different applications use different APIs. If the APIs are not compatible with the sound card, the application may not function properly.
The various APIs available are DirectSound, EAX from Creative Labs and MacroFX, Sensaura, Interactive Audio Special Interest Group and QSound.
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5 - Surround and 3D Sound
A sound card is most essential while watching movies, listening to music and playing games. Movies and music generate linear, non-interactive audio. You are engrossed in watching a movie. It doesn’t matter to you if the sound comes form the rear or the front as long as the sound is in sync with what is happening on the screen. This is known as surround sound.
On the contrary while gaming, the sound is a part of something you are involved in. It enhances your gaming experience. You would want sounds to be heard from different angles and directions. This would give a realistic effect to your racing or shooting. This is known as 3 D sound.
Ensure that your sound card supports applications such as; EAX, DirectSound 3D, QSound, A3D and Dolby Digital. The sound card must also have multiple output jacks to connect multiple speakers.
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6 - Misc.
Certifications ensure authenticity of a product. Check for THX certification and Dolby Master Certification. THX Certification ensures compatibility of the sound card with all kinds of sound track formats.
For gaming, movies and music, you can find a sound card at a range from USD 50 to USD 150. Consumer sound cards can cost you between USD 5 and USD 250.
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