Speaker Out or Line Out

[Shadow Lord]

Just wondering, what is the general consensus on using Speaker Out vs. Line Out on older SB cards (e.g. SB 1.5, 2.0, even AWE32). I personally use line out w/ amplified speakers to reduce the amount of noise and distortion from the card, but I am not sure if it would make any difference one way or another.

[Mau1wurf1977]

Unless you are using passive speakers, I don't see a reason not to use line-out.

The noise you hear with the SB 1.5 and 2.0 are more because of poor shielding than amplification.

A SB16 is a good card to test, they usually have a jumper that allows you to toggle between line-out and speaker out.

[Shadow Lord]

Those cards are noisy true but every little bit helps. Taking out the amplifier helps a bit plus those amplifiers are hardly what I would call "acceptable"  .