Sound Blaster AWE32 frequency response

SoundBlaster AWE32 frequency response

These performance figures are measured from AWE32 sold 1994.

Accoring a newer test I saw in Tietokone magazine 1996, the frequency response in AWE32 has changed. The high frequency response has been become better, but the bass response have become worse: Bass response starts to drop at 200 Hz and drops 6..12 dB at 20 Hz depending on the input/output combinations. So the frequency response in new AWE32 cards is quite the same like in old SB16 cards:

The new test also mentioned that THD distortion at 1 kHz is about 0.035 %. Signal to noise ratio in line signals is no better than 67 dB (CCIR weighted).

On new AWE32 card this record and playback frequency response is quite the same in both line and microphone level inputs.

How measurements were made

The figures in magazines (whwere I took some data to draw my own graphs) were measured with 50 second frequnecy sweep from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The frequency sweep in is digitized using the soundcard under test. When the sound is played back, the output is measured and the graphs are drawn using this data. Those performance of the newer versions of the soundcards might be something different. In soundcard industry some products are changing fast and not always to a better direction.

References

• Mika Koivusalo: 16-bittiset ��nikortit, Tietokone, April 1994, page 44
• Leo Backman: ��nenlaatu mittausten valossa, Tietokone, August 1996, page 42