[kupan787]

How does the "onboard" sound of the G5 compare to an audio card on the PC side? A friend of mine coming from the PC world was asking me, and I really have no idea.

[Madrag]

I don't know for the G5, but should be the same (or better) as in my G4 400.
The sound is very good!
mutch better than comparing to the on-board sound on PCs (my parents have one of those)

[Detrius]

The G5 has optical audio in and out. Therefore, the onboard audio of the G5 supports whatever the software supports. You can play Dolby Digital 5.1, or DTS, or whatever you want. Therefore, this would seriously beat out the stereo 16 bit audio included in most PCs. The audio cards on the PC side tend to only include a coax digital jack. However, the bottom line is that it's similar.

[tooki]

"Only" a coax?

Coax and TOSLINK (optical) are functionally identical. The signaling is absolutely identical (S/PDIF), and can be converted easily between coax and optical, and every receiver with a surround decoder will have both types of inputs.

tooki

[MORT A POTTY]

if you want a real sound card, you can check out the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 (or the cheaper 5.1) at www.m-audio.com

Ok, now where is my cheque?

[Mafia]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
if you want a real sound card, you can check out the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 (or the cheaper 5.1) at www.m-audio.com

Ok, now where is my cheque?

i don't like analog surround sound. its kind of pointless. dts speakers hooked in through optical on the g5 is so much better.

[tooki]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
if you want a real sound card, you can check out the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 (or the cheaper 5.1) at www.m-audio.com

What for? Those cards don't have Dolby Digital or DTS decoders, so they don't do DVD surround, and only a few Mac games support the card.

The G5's internal digital output, connected to a surround receiver, will do just as well.

tooki

[jamil5454]

But how does the PM's sound quality compare with other cards?

[tooki]

Its analog audio is good, but not pro-audio caliber.

from http://developer.apple.com/documenta...H207-TPXREF134

Line Out
Based on a 1 kHz, -1 dBFS sine wave playback, 24-bit 44.1 kHz output format, -3 db output level and 100 kilohm load no weighting (unless otherwise specified below) , the line output has the following electrical characteristics (nominal specifications):

output voltage (full-scale output): 1.4 Vrms (+5.1 dBu)
output impedance: <50 ohms
bits per sample: 16-bit or 24-bit
channel separation: > 65 dB
THD+N (total harmonic distortion plus noise): < –78dB (0.0125%) no weighting
frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0.5 dB/–3.0 dB

Line In
Based on a 1 kHz, 2VRMS sine wave input, 24-bit 44.1 kHz input format, 0 db input gain and no weighting, the line input has the following electrical characteristics :

maximum input voltage: 2 Vrms (+8.2 dBu)
input impedance: > 47 kilohms
bits per sample: 16-bit or 24-bit
channel separation: greater than 75 dB
frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0.5 dB/–3.0 dB
THD+N distortion: below –78 dB (no weighting)

Using the digital input/output, the quality is solely determined by the equipment connected to the digital connectors, such as an analog-digital converter, or surround receiver.

tooki