Audiotrack MAYA Soundcard Review - PAGE 1

Introduction

As the great ball of time rolls along, the price of new and cutting edge computer components slowly recedes until even the common man (read: me) can afford. This is no different for audio cards which is why there has been such a bloom in home studios over the past decade or so. Each passing year, the output quality of these studios has increased by an insane degree and the number and variety of products is enough to make me weep (read: also, I am a baby :p).

Obviously though, price is directly proportional to sound quality and functionality. Audiotrak treads a fine line between these vectors with its line of MAYA cards: the MAYA, MAYA44 and MAYA 7.1. Today I will be taking a look at the first of those, the MAYA. Here are the specifications:

Specs

Interface:	PCI
Analog I/O:	2/2 RCA interfaces, 1/4” Mic input
Digital I/O:	20-bit S/PDIF via optical TOS-link (44.1 / 48kHz)
Max Bit-Depth:	18-bit Analog to Digital, 20-bit D to A
Max Sample-Rate:	48kHz (32 / 44 / 48kHz)
Mic amplifier:	+45dB pre-set; +20dB switchable; 0-18dB adjustable; 12V phantom power switchable
Dynamic Range:	90dB A-weighted
I/O Clocks:	None
MIDI:	None
Other:	Internal input for CD-Audio signals, AC3/Dolby Digital/DTS throughput to external decoder
Driver support:	E-WDM drivers for Windows 9x/ME, Windows 2000/XP (MME, DirectSound, ASIO 2.0, GSIF)

It is a wonder why Audiotrak chose to go with 18-bit analog to digital converters since the quality would only be marginally greater then 16-bit (and 16-bit is what the recorded input will be saved as). Because of this, when you see bitrates above 16-bit and below 24-bit, you can generally assume that the sound quality will be roughly that of plain ol’ 16-bit. With a max sampling rate of 48kHz, the MAYA aims for decent, but not mind-blowing quality. That being said, unless you are using quality mics, mixers, instruments and the like, you won’t notice the difference in quality between 16/48 and 24/96. In other words, don’t get all bend about the numbers.

By the way, bitrate and sampling rates are not the be all and end all of sound quality. The quality of the actual AD/DA converters is very important as well. This is why audio recorded on a 16-bit audio card (the MAYA, Echo MIA, etc…) sounds much better than that recorded on a common soundcard (SB Live, Phillips Acoustic Edge, etc…). Anyway, let’s digress back to the review.