Terratec EWS88MT soundcard. Any audiophile that knows how this old soundcard works?

So, here is a link to the card's info.

Long story short, I found this card in a case which was inside a box near a recycling bin(third card I find in the trash basically). I have no knowledge of how proffessional soundcards work(especially old ones).

Things I want to know are how this thing works, what do you plug on its IO panel and to what kind of demographic it was aimed at.

I dont know when or if I use it, and thats partially because I dont know much about it.

That thing is old. Soundcards are mostly a waste of money at this point of time IMO. I'd say they've become deprecated as soon as Windows Vista started processing all the sound via Windows (meaning games don't take advantage of the soundcard any more).

@KHAndAnime: So, you dont know?

terratec.ultron.info/Audio/EWS/88D/Manual/EWS88D_Manual_GB.pdf ,pdf manual,and a decent overview/review, http://www.pcrecording.com/ews88review.htm ,hope this helps you out PETERAKO.

I did not notice that we've got a new hardware board for pc before posting this reply,at long last.

A rough indicator is the SNR on the soundcard, it's 108 on the one you linked. Just compare it to your motherboard's audio.

With that said, motherboard audio is still more susceptible to interference in my experience. (e.g using your gpu)

It works by finding a PC so old that you'd have to dig through the trash to find(just like how you found the soundcard)

Let's say you found a soundcard that was one of the best ones released (ever)

I'd still tell you it's unnecessary

All soundcards I've used had some EMI issues to some extent or another. At least my Auzentech and X-Fi offerings did. Didn't seem like EMI exists through onboard audio.

@KHAndAnime: I am a collector. I Like making these things work, and Yeah I got motherboards that take this card. I just want to know how it works. Im unfamiliar with its ports and IO panel. Im not interested in making this card work so that I can use it as my main thing.

@PETERAKO: Moved to Hardware forum

I've had plenty of EMI issues with onboard sound, and soundcards for that matter. But I have had it occur much less often on soundcards, even with worse SNR ratings.

With that said, if you are having EMI issues with onboard, you're probably going to have them with a soundcard. USB is a good fix, although I personally like to just have everything internal if I can.

As long as you use analog output even a decade old soundcard will make better sound than most onboards (if not all). Sound processing is just one thing, but you still need to turn digital information to an analog signal, and that's where onboards flop. If you use a digital receiver then it doesn't matter.

Maybe in 1995 when that card was used but mobo onboard sound has been fine for at least a decade.

You'll notice a marked improvement with even a cheap soundcard in most cases.

Sure. A cheap modern soundcard. Not an ancient soundcard made for Microsoft Windows 95/98 like the OP linked.

If you want good sound from a computer, buy a external DAC with asynchronous USB input.

@KHAndAnime: there is still a big difference between onboard sound and seperate card.

You act like all onboards are equal or all soundcards are equal. They aren't. Onboard mobo sound of today is easily better than old soundcards. It's not even debatable, you'd have to be literally a loon to argue this.

Do you guys know what system requirements are? Do you guys run Windows NT or Windows 95? Why are you trying to tell this guy to try to use a soundcard make for Windows 95? Are you guys on crack?

@KHAndAnime: of course its better than before (as is just about everything) but its definitely not better nor on par with a dedicated card.

standalone is and always has been better.

as for the OP. clean than thing up and enjoy a fancy paper weight. that thing retired a long time ago

Get one of these cards OP. They come with a 600 Ohm headphone amp and the bass is great.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G28N1670

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2F83MX8711

I know the Audigy FX and Sound Blaster Z are leagues better then onboard that don't have amps.

@KHAndAnime: Well he already has the card, so why not just try it out? I didn't know the thing was THAT old, but soundcards generally don't get obsolete the way other components do. I'm still using Audigy 2 ZS, and it works even better in Windows 10 than it did in 7 - no driver needed, Windows recognized it and set everything up automatically. And it sounds noticeably better than onboard, but that's with an old hi-fi system. With cheap plastic speakers it really doesn't matter what kind of soundcard you have.