NOOB: AudioTrak Maya EX7 Usb soundcard: Anygood for pc dsp audio processing?

**Petegt** · 01-25-2010, 03:07 PM

Hi im a noob to this pc sound processing and this is my first post on here. I have just bought a Audiotrak maya EX7 soundcard http://www.audiotrak.net/products/mayaex7/

I want to start off with just a 2.1 set up but would like to be able to run a active 2 way plus sub.

Has anyone used this soundcard succesfully?

**soundman98** · 01-25-2010, 04:23 PM

not sure how close they are, but i have been using a ESI gigaportHD in my setup--4 channel active(2 tweeters, 2 mids) w/ sub--according to your link, the maya was replaced with ESI's gigaport ag, so i think their close...

i have had decent success with it(use the windows drivers), though the output voltage is a little low, so i would recommend a preamp of some sort to complement it.

**Petegt** · 02-02-2010, 05:51 AM

Thanks for the reply, got it working now with console

Bi amping the mains, sub. The hardest bit was getting music to play through console, sounds great now though.

**soundman98** · 02-02-2010, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by Petegt

Thanks for the reply, got it working now with console

Bi amping the mains, sub. The hardest bit was getting music to play through console, sounds great now though.

now you can start on the real fun and start actively crossing over everything, and add a couple of eq's

recently, i have been using karma fx plugins the most (www.kvraudio.com has a huge library of free vst plugins that work!)

just remember to save your setup as often as possible...

**Petegt** · 02-02-2010, 01:15 PM

Thanks for the link, so far im using ls filter as my crossover with voxengo sound delay. Dont think i want to go much thurther today as i cant really eq without my rta

**JuniorGeezer** · 11-12-2010, 09:23 PM

I conducted a comparison between the native Instruments Audio 2 DJ and the Gigaport 8 HD USB soundcards. This was not a blindtest. I ran the soundcards just with two channels. I ran them simultaneously through VAC (virtual audio cable) ASIO4All and the Consol VST host. Results. I plugged Sennheiser HD265 headphones back and forth between the two soundcards while music was running. I tried to adjust the volume control on the Audio 2 DJ to match the Gigaport.

Results:
- The Audio 2 DJ was overall slightly more pleasing.
- The Audio 2 DJ sounded ever slightly darker.
- The Audio 2 DJ had slightly better bass definition.
- The Gigaport 8 HD sounded slightly "woody" compared with the Audio 2 DJ, for lack of a better term.

The store salesman said that the Gigaort 8 HD is not very good. He didn't say it is very bad either.

I guess the Gigaport 8 HD is comparable or slightly better than modern Onboard HD Audio such as ALC889.

I have no idea if I could reproduce my own conclusions in a blindtest.

**soundman98** · 11-12-2010, 11:01 PM

you have piqued my curiosity

could you try to explain "woody"? as in there was more grain, or lack of detail then with the audio 2 dj?

**JuniorGeezer** · 11-12-2010, 11:45 PM

Humm. First of all, I meant to write "wooden" lol. I was trying to say "less silky" but I don't know if that's the same as "more grainy". I don't remember however that the Gigaport HD veiled details that the Audio 2 DJ didn't.

Slightly off topic, I remember that the HRT Music Streamer II on the tweeter channels in the car uncovered a detail here and there that I hadn't remembered from the the ALC889 mainboard audio.

This should be blind testing territory but who has the time and equipment.