[binormalkilla]

Well this sucks. I was just loving my new Denon receiver with my Prelude sending optical out, and all of a sudden I notice that it sounds horrible. I thought it was the new driver that I recently installed, so I tried reinstalling with no luck.
I tried installing the card in my wife's PC and testing and it sounds the same.
Sooooo...I think the optical out is done for. The analog sounds great, but that's not going to suit me well.

To make matters worse, it only has a 1 year warranty. What kind of crap is that? Has anyone dealt with Auzentech on RMAs?
I read that if you bought a card after July 1 2008 and register online (I registered, but bought mine in 02/2008) you get a 1 year extension on your warranty.

So it looks like I will have a $200 paperweight (unless someone wants to buy it at a discount that uses analog only.)
What's really lame is that I've only been using the optical out for ~1 month.

 

[Flinch]

Going out on a limb here, but have your tried another toslink?

 

[binormalkilla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flinch Going out on a limb here, but have your tried another toslink?

No, but I guess it's worth a shot. THanks for the input.

 

[binormalkilla]

Nope, still distorted *sniff*
Time to try digital coax....

 

[binormalkilla]

Yep, definitely the card. I tried digital coax and it sounded the same. I hooked up my Soundmax onboard to my Denon receiver via TOSlink and it sounds much better than the Prelude on my wife's PC...I played the exact same song and the difference is huge.
This is horrible.......I mean 1 year warranty? Come on.......

I'm going to call them in person, as I've had better luck with RMAs if I speak with them instead of doing it electronically.....hopefully they'll hook me up.
If not I don't think I'll be buying anymore Auzentech products, as $200 is a steep price to pay for a PC component that lasts 1 year.

 

[binormalkilla]

GAH the really frustrating thing is that it sounds fine over analog........:angry:
I suppose if they won't RMA it then I can sell it for a deal here......there are plenty of people that don't even touch optical.

Another note: I forgot just how crappy onboard sounds, even if it's being passed through to a decent receiver.

 

[noname]

Auzentech RMAs SUCK. I attempted one, but got completely lost. You need to email them , for them to email you a form, for you to email it back to them for them to give you a number for you to send it in. and wait.

Anyway, im pretty sure optical out on your prelude is a waste of a great card.

 

[binormalkilla]

Wow.......I'm sure everyone already knew this, but newegg is amazing. They took the RMA with no questions asked (other than the reason for RMA.) I'm blown away by their level of customer service. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I've spent over $10K there in the last few years

BTW Auzentech's customer service is a nightmare. Before I talked to newegg I called them all day and didn't get a hold of anyone but a person that barely speaks

Quote:

Originally Posted by noname Auzentech RMAs SUCK. I attempted one, but got completely lost. You need to email them , for them to email you a form, for you to email it back to them for them to give you a number for you to send it in. and wait. Anyway, im pretty sure optical out on your prelude is a waste of a great card.

How so? I use it for home theater, and at night when my wife is asleep I connect the headphones to the Denon unit. Are you saying that you think the DACs are better on the Auzentech than the DACs in my Denon unit?

 

[noname]

Quote:

Originally Posted by binormalkilla Wow.......I'm sure everyone already knew this, but newegg is amazing. They took the RMA with no questions asked (other than the reason for RMA.) I'm blown away by their level of customer service. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I've spent over $10K there in the last few years BTW Auzentech's customer service is a nightmare. Before I talked to newegg I called them all day and didn't get a hold of anyone but a person that barely speaks How so? I use it for home theater, and at night when my wife is asleep I connect the headphones to the Denon unit. Are you saying that you think the DACs are better on the Auzentech than the DACs in my Denon unit?

If you are using optical out- you are bypassing the DAC on the sound card. Analog connections (like headphones) use the DAC.

 

[razr7]

there's an adapter for optical from a 3.5

 

[binormalkilla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by noname If you are using optical out- you are bypassing the DAC on the sound card. Analog connections (like headphones) use the DAC.

Yea I know that, but my point is that I bet the DAC in the Denon unit is of higher quality, or at least it sounded that way when I compared analog vs digital to my headphones. I'll give it another listen when I get my replacement back in just in case...... I could run headphones on the analog jack and my surround via optical if that's the case.

The DACs in my receiver are Burr Brown PCM-1791s.......I'm not sure about this specific DAC, but I do know that Burr Brown is the preferred brand around AVS forums.

 

[noname]

Quote:

Originally Posted by binormalkilla Yea I know that, but my point is that I bet the DAC in the Denon unit is of higher quality, or at least it sounded that way when I compared analog vs digital to my headphones. I'll give it another listen when I get my replacement back in just in case...... I could run headphones on the analog jack and my surround via optical if that's the case. The DACs in my receiver are Burr Brown PCM-1791s.......I'm not sure about this specific DAC, but I do know that Burr Brown is the preferred brand around AVS forums.

Oh, yeah it is. I wasn't trying to say it wasn't , i was saying that if you are using your sound card ONLY for digital out, its like kind of a waste. But since you are using you sound card for you headphones then its all good

 

[Flinch]

binormalkilla,

Check your pm's