Subject: REVIEW: Delfina Lite sound card
From: [email-masked] (Rick VanGessel)
Date: 17 Sep 1998 11:13:09 -0400
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Delfina Lite sound card

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	A 16 bit sound card (Zorro II) with a DSP unit.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Petsoff Ltd.
	Address:		P.O. Box 1009
				FIN-53301 LAPPEENRANTA, FINLAND

	Telephone:	
	FAX:			+358 5 451 5223 (24h)

	E-mail:			[email-masked]
	World Wide Web:	http://www.sci.fi/~petsoff

LIST PRICE

	$329.00 (USD), but is available from many dealers for less.

DEMO VERSION

	None

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		Any Amiga computer than has a Zorro II slot.
		68020 or faster CPU
		About 5 MB of HD space

	SOFTWARE
	
		AmigaOS 2.04 or higher

COPY PROTECTION

	None

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	A4000 w/12 MB 60 ns Ram on motherboard
     CSPPC 604e+ 200mhz w/ 060 50 mhz
         128 MB Ram on CSPPC card
     CV64 w/ Cybergfx 3
     MFC III card
     Delfina Lite
     Video Magician card

INSTALLATION

The card fits well in the Zorro II slot.  Use care when fitting the card so
that you don't put to much pressure on the card and fracture it.

REVIEW

The card works great.  My Amiga has never sounded so good.  Using the Delfina
Lite really helps to reduce the load on the CPU when making sounds and
music.  Using the freeware software - AHI, many program's output is
re-routed through the Delfina Lite.  The card has two pair of inputs (RCA
type), one that has an amplifier connected.  There is one output pair (RCA
type).  The card also has an internal CD-Rom audio connector.  The card also
has an expansion slot on it which I hope the manufacturer will produce some
cool expansion products for the card.  TRhe onboard DSP unit is the Motorola
56002 DSP unit running at 40 Mhz, this gives about 20 MIPS of processing
power. 

The included software seems to work alright.  With it I can adjust the audio
to nearly elimainate the sound difference between the Amiga and the sound
card output.  There are not a lot of programs that use the sound card
directly.  Included inthe software is a soundFx manipulating program.  With
this program you can record and play uncompressed AIFF and AIFC sounds in 16
bit real time quality.  There are realtime meters and clipping indicators to
help obtain the best sound.  Effects can be added to your sample such as
echo, noise gate, compression, distortion, and phaser.  There is also a
10-band equalizer.  The Delfina can also emulate playback of the Toccata
sound card, recording emulation will be supported later.

 The card apparently needs a powered microphone connected to it to be able
to record though which is a disappointment to me.

DOCUMENTATION

The documentation consists of a folded booklet with two or three pages of information.
It tells how to install the product and connect the internal CD-Rom connector.

 Also included in the software are three AmigaGuide files with info on the
included software.  These do not contain enough information on how to use
the card effectively.

 They merely skim the surface settings.

LIKES

Great sound with less CPU power taken.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

There could be more information in the docs.  Needs a powered microphone.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

I have not used other Amiga soundcards.  This is the only soundcard with a
built-in DSP unit.

BUGS

Get the latest version of the Delfina.library and other support software.
Also, I had random lockups and crashes when playing audio with version 1.1
of the card.  Replacing the card with Verison 1.2 has seemed to eliminate
most problems by increasing the buffering on the card.  More time will have
to pass to see if all problems are gone.

VENDOR SUPPORT

The manufacturer was very helpful with all my technical questions.  The were
quick to respond to my emails for help.  When my card needed to be replaced,
they shipped a new one to me, then upon my receiving it, I shipped the old
one back to them.  This did take a little time as the manufacturer lost the
original request to swap the card.  Even so, service like this is hard to
come by in the Amiga product line.

WARRANTY

I am not sure what the warranty period is.

CONCLUSIONS

This is a great product.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This review is freely distributable.

	Copyright 1998 Richard A. VanGessel, Jr.

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