What Is The Best Soundcard?

Cube623 · Nov 29, 2006, 07:07 PM

O.k i will be honest, i've never payed much attention for sound cards, the best s'card i've ever got has been a Soundblaster 7.1 24bit

. since then it's been AC97 audio all the way, until now! I went round a friends house and he had either an Audigy 1 or 2 can't remember and the sound quality and difference was mind blowing (and ear blowing

with his 5.1s). So now for crimbo i want a new sound card to finally replace my realtek ac97 audio

But because i've never payed too much attention to sound cards i have no idea what is the best. I've heard the x-fi is the best but this was a while ago and i've also heard the opposite and that there are issues with certain configs\parts\computers so i really don't know. ATM it is money no object so knock yourselfs out

Cheers

Cube623

p.s. also whats a good 5.1/7.1 speaker system, again money no object but i've seen some expensive speaker sets so don't go too overboard

>GSXR<mrbusa · Nov 29, 2006, 07:19 PM

Here is a review of a few with the xfi platimum on top.
http://compreviews.about.com/od/mult...SoundCards.htm

Here is a link to a high end HD soundcard from Onkyo. I am not sure where to buy it but you can search the model number and find a bunch of info on it. Looks expensive and if money isn't a problem it might be a good choice to blow your friends CL card away.
http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news...ound+card.html

Judas · Nov 29, 2006, 07:43 PM

Remember,

Speakers are huge when it comes to quality, and so is the sound device.

ATM imo the Onboard Realtek HD audio (ALC88x series) combined with a head throbbing logitech 5.1 z-5300e or better, it's pretty damn nice in comparison to a creative audigy X-FI card by far.

They also perform very excellently to.

***Veridian3*** · Nov 29, 2006, 08:08 PM

Judas, if you honestly think that then your speakers are broken, your X-Fi was or you need your ears cleaned.

Zardon · Nov 29, 2006, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

Remember,

Speakers are huge when it comes to quality, and so is the sound device.

well yeah, without either it would be pretty quiet.

Quote:

ATM imo the Onboard Realtek HD audio (ALC88x series) combined with a head throbbing logitech 5.1 z-5300e or better, it's pretty damn nice in comparison to a creative audigy X-FI card by far.

Utter nonsense man. Unless you mean the realtek HD with speakers is better than just the XFI without speakers, which then might make some sense.

Quote:

They also perform very excellently to.

What about an XFI and a set of gigaworks? they must be even more excellently.

Zardon · Nov 29, 2006, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cube623

p.s. also whats a good 5.1/7.1 speaker system, again money no object but i've seen some expensive speaker sets so don't go too overboard

Without getting into audiophile territory i would recommend the creative gigaworks THX speakers.

Judas · Nov 29, 2006, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veridian3

Judas, if you honestly think that then your speakers are broken, your X-Fi was or you need your ears cleaned.

I haven't heard the gigaworks in action,

But i've had a X-FI Fata1ity, used it, and disliked it.

And it's not me, my father is an audio crazed nut, he has a habit of picking out things i don't noticed and i can understand where i get my own "pickyness" if you will.

Pushing a large amount of wattage using a x-fi, he and i have both agreed that the x-fi has a large habit of "over producing" is what he said, it's like the trebble is a little to high for his liking, and there is a noticeable amount of noise.

Between a z-5300e used on both the x-fi and realtek HD ALC882 onboard sound, the CPU usage is negleable, the overall gameplay and audio effects are similare, the only advantage the x-fi has is the extra front panel plugs and as of yet, i haven't found a use for the 64mb onboard. Course thats more for the truely audio file nut that can find a use for those features. (EAX HD isn't all that great, it's sure, amazing initially but it loses alot of the quality when it's turned on, more similare to that of a "filter" more then actually fully realtime positioning, it's like sacrificing one thing for another, oventually the feature is turned off and things sound better)

He/she asked for what is the best sound card.

Generally none is the best sound card. Stick with a decent onboard solution, or go for something cheaper in the card department that isn't crap.

IMO, creative is still crap in comparison to the realtek HD audio. Course i'm not to pleased with the results that AD's HD audio that asus's has been putting on there AM2 boards.

Zelig · Nov 29, 2006, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

Without getting into audiophile territory i would recommend the creative gigaworks THX speakers.

I'd recommend the same, or Klipsch Ultra speakers, depending on price/preference. Gigaworks if outside North America though, the Klipsch don't produce in any other voltage.

Either of those systems will put most other stuff in the price range to shame.

Edit: To the original post: with speakers/soundcards, your opinion is really what matters. If possible, try to find a way to demo any speakers or soundcards you plan on buying, keeping in mind they're going to sound different in your house than in a large warehouse store.

Zardon · Nov 30, 2006, 12:20 AM

Zelig, id agree.

Im not even responding to Judas, he talks shit constantly. I age a year with every post I read.

riles9262 · Nov 30, 2006, 12:59 AM

On the sound card front, the xfi's sound just fine. A couple good alternatives are the auzentech x-meridian (which sounds amazing and has lots of features) and I heard one m-audio card that sounded great too, but I don't remember which model it was.

On the speaker side, the klipsch and gigaworks series are nice, and though some say differently, I think the higher end logitechs sound good (z5500 or z2300 for eg). Of course the best option is a good receiver and speaker combo imo.

ROBSCIX · Nov 30, 2006, 01:41 AM

I would reccomend the X-Meridian to you. The sound is just amazing, truly amazing. You also get alot of nice audio standards and full digital compatibility. 24/192 in 7.1 over digital connection. You will probably need a HT setup to use 24/192 in digital as no digital computer speaker to date can handle 24/192, not that I have seen. YOU can also upgrade the Opamps if your using anlog which make the card sound even better. Your asking what is the best soundcard but that is not a easy quetion becasue it depends on what you are into and what you would like to do with your card. Some cards are better for this some are better for that. Hope that helps.

Cube623 · Nov 30, 2006, 11:59 PM

so the general assumption is x-fi,x-meridian,onkyo,realtek ALC88x series or is there anything else?

and for the speakers logitech z5500\z-5300e, creative gigaworks?

one question, the realtek ALC88x series is HD which i assume stands for high defenition? do the other sound cards that i have listed have that feature?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

Your asking what is the best soundcard but that is not a easy quetion becasue it depends on what you are into and what you would like to do with your card. Some cards are better for this some are better for that. Hope that helps.

i would like a sound card that is absolutly mind\ear blowing in games

(highest priority) but i would also like it to transform my huge music collection as well (lowest priority but still a priority)

**dj_stick** · Dec 1, 2006, 12:17 AM

HD pretty much means 24/96 support

most non-CL cards released in the last year or 2 have this support (CL's support for anything other than 16/48 is pretty flaky - might be different on the x-fi though)

but if gaming is your priority, atm, CL is the best way to go, x-fi, audigy 2zs

Zelig · Dec 1, 2006, 01:15 AM

Keeping in mind that music cds are 16-bit/44.1KHz, as is all your music at best, unless you're using SACDs or DVD-audio.

The Last Command · Dec 1, 2006, 06:55 AM

I would like to get some wireless speakers cause I have a 7.1 speaker set by creative (wired), man no matter what I do I cant get the other 3 to work, I go through the nostic program and its got me changing wires all over the place and the ones it said are ok it wants to to change again. So hopefully the wireless speakers are easier to use.

Neshi · Dec 2, 2006, 11:16 PM

I've got A8N-E, with no sound card, with ALC '97 audio... would sound get better when using a sound card? and what would you suggest for me... a cheap card with still pretty decent output?

ROBSCIX · Dec 3, 2006, 01:52 AM

Well, I wowuld sugegst for a cheap soundcard that still has what you need is a AUdigy 2 Value or OEM....NOT a AUDIGY Value...
YOu can also get a X-Fi Xtreme Music really cheap these days, not to be confused with a Extreme audio -which doesn't contain hardware acceleration. so you don't really want it.

Nightowl225 · Dec 3, 2006, 06:23 AM

Naw I would suggest which can be had cheap off Newegg, eith the Diamond Xstreme Sound 7.1 with Dolby Digital Live or the Turtlebeach Montego DDL. Either card can be had for around $60.00 or under off Newegg.

If you prefer Creative than get the an Audigy series card, such as the Audigy 2 or the Audigy 4.

Azultra · Dec 3, 2006, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

Well, I wowuld sugegst for a cheap soundcard that still has what you need is a AUdigy 2 Value or OEM....NOT a AUDIGY Value...
YOu can also get a X-Fi Xtreme Music really cheap these days, not to be confused with a Extreme audio -which doesn't contain hardware acceleration. so you don't really want it.

Why do you still recommend Audigy 2 cards ? The only decent cards from Creative are X-Fi series ( starting from XtremeMusic )
I must not be really convincing...

ROBSCIX · Dec 3, 2006, 05:09 PM

Price, there is nothing wrong with the A2, if he's trying to save some cash. IF he has the money then by all means grab a X-fi. I was only saying the bottom of the list is the A2 Value-no lower.

Nightowl225 · Dec 3, 2006, 05:47 PM

You have a point there. I'm saying if he decides against Creative, there are decent non Creative cards like I've mentioned out, for $60.00 or under.

tEiS · Dec 3, 2006, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

IMO, creative is still crap in comparison to the realtek HD audio. Course i'm not to pleased with the results that AD's HD audio that asus's has been putting on there AM2 boards.

sorry, but you and ur dad don't seem to have much knowledge of audible stuff ..

treble too much from an x-fi .. funny..
maybe he's too used to analog audio, acoustic instruments?

does your dad master/mix stuff in an high-end studio?
if not, then your opinion is very irrelevant .. sorry

tEiS · Dec 3, 2006, 07:22 PM

i come from the amiga platform.

i had my first pc back in 2000, with it i bought me an Terratec EWS64XL,
isa-slot card, also i got myself a Soundblaster Awe64 Gold.

one i used for audio stuff, the other for fastracker2 (hihi) ..

then i got stuck to soundblaster as terratec hasn't continued the good work
of the ews64xl. in between i also used an onboard soundchip, realtek ofcourse.
but it hasn't made me happy at all. my next card was a soundblaster audigy2zs,
which was actually very nice with kxproject and then youp-pax drivers.
and now since a month i got a X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS, mind you i am also a gamer.

and the sound of the X-Fi is just awesome, despite the fact that the 24bit-Crystalizer is
sometimes a pain in the ass if your audio material is already mastered to the fullest.

but when gaming, it's just the bomb.

and nevertheless, i like it. i am not speakers user, i've been using headphones since
ages as i've been a DJ for some couple of years and am producing my own music.
maybe thats why my opinion differs to alot of others here

tEiS · Dec 3, 2006, 07:23 PM

i come from the amiga platform.

i had my first pc back in 2000, with it i bought me an Terratec EWS64XL,
isa-slot card, also i got myself a Soundblaster Awe64 Gold.

one i used for audio stuff, the other for fastracker2 (hihi) ..

then i got stuck to soundblaster as terratec hasn't continued the good work
of the ews64xl. in between i also used an onboard soundchip, realtek ofcourse.
but it hasn't made me happy at all. my next card was a soundblaster audigy2zs,
which was actually very nice with kxproject and then youp-pax drivers.
and now since a month i got a X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS, mind you i am also a gamer.

i also always wanted to check out one of these M-Audio cards, but wasn't in need
of all those plug-in's it had.

and the sound of the X-Fi is just awesome, despite the fact that the 24bit-Crystalizer is
sometimes a pain in the ass if your audio material is already mastered to the fullest.

but when gaming, it's just the bomb.

and nevertheless, i like it. i am not speakers user, i've been using headphones since
ages as i've been a DJ for some couple of years and am producing my own music.
maybe thats why my opinion differs to alot of others here

tEiS · Dec 3, 2006, 07:25 PM

sorry for double-post!!

Azultra · Dec 3, 2006, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

Price, there is nothing wrong with the A2, if he's trying to save some cash. IF he has the money then by all means grab a X-fi. I was only saying the bottom of the list is the A2 Value-no lower.

Hmm.. why do you recommend the Audigy 2 instead of AV-710, Fortissimo IV, SQ714.. ?
I'm not sold on by the perspective to repeat again all I said in a previous thread, so here's the thread :
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/audio-general-technical-discussion/122605-soundcard-opinion-needed.html
two other links :
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=78913
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...44#post1054844

ROBSCIX · Dec 3, 2006, 08:15 PM

You have your opinions and other people have theirs...simple.
I upgraded form a A2 few months ago and couldn't be happier...

instantiated · Dec 13, 2006, 10:25 PM

well I've been lurking around these forums for quite some time and now I've read enough of this and today I feel like finally adding my own .02....first of all, my lurking has put me of the opinion that anything Zardon says about sound you can take to the bank (that means his opinions are generally well supported by a nice dose of fact and experience) ... also whoever it was that said they started on the amiga...immediate respect for that one

Never had an amiga but a couple of my BBSer buddies did so needless to say I got an earful. So let's get on with my first post here at driverheaven.

I have experienced all cards in question.

I will try to keep this very short and you audiophile types please take note that I'm basing this on his gaming needs and the assumption that he doesn't care quite as much about getting to bit-perfect-Nirvana (you want Ghost Recon in bit perfect sound? Join the Army) bhaha

anyway...
CL Audigy 2ZS - best bang for the buck, EAX is NOT a feature that you just turn off after a while, whoever said that doesn't know shit about it or games (if whoever said it was someone I like, sorry

But EAX is very important for gaming and is a technology that is so widely supported that you will continually be angered when you see it greyed out in the options

CLX-Fi - Elite Pro is the only one worth getting, it's a fair card....so here's what you do, get the elite pro and then take that piece of junk ugly monster they give you with it (the external controller) and sell that on eBay cause someone out there probably broke theirs and will in turn pay you back a portion of the lame price of the Elite Pro...there, you now have a buffed up Audigy 2ZS....I won't even get into only other good XFi with the drive bay ports, here's something I didn't think of when I tried that one....there's a door on my computer case.....damn...sell that thing on eBay, those drive bay extensions are a hot item...or buy a ZS and hack that thing for the ZS

RealTek ALC882 - I switched to this because I have no PCI slots left and this is built into my mobo....so I hate it already and I have had so many compatibility issues with it and frickin problems with sound cutting out, hardware mixing problems, you name it...so that one went into the garbage except it was just a daughter card so I hate it even more that I can't throw the whole thing out haha....well i will say though, I've researched some on RealTek and they appear to be quite intelligent about the future and for everything I've read, it would seem my ALC882 really should be a lot better than it is....

So out of those three, get the elite pro...don't listen to the fool talk about too much high end, the x-fi has a feature, crystallization, which I think sounds fairly ok but nothing to write home about...I can see how a commoner might think the timbre was a bit too shiny...unless he just thought it was something else and cranked the crystalization all the way up..heh..well...anyway, here's my current setup and by far blows the crap out of all of those previously mentioned cards.

My happy setup #1: Get a high end sound card, not one of these junkers, passthru to a TASCAM DSM7.1 and personally I've been a big fan of Denon for pushing my sound out with excellent pure results.

I now have a Denon AVR4806CI and I must say that coupled with a high end set of speakers will blow your house right off the computer room and you'll be left with nothing but the smoldering cores of all those creative and realtek fans, fried in their own boots as they tried to run from the almighty power of Denon

I can't stress enough how important a good speaker system is though.....your system will sound only as good as your speakers so research speakers first and then buy something that will push the speakers you like and have all the features you want. That TASCAM DSM7.1 is awesome for 3d sound but it's more aimed for studio work and the Denon I mentioned above really doesn't like it much either (you should note that for the AVR4308CI and say 3000 for speakers, you'd end up spending somewhere in the 6 to 8 thousand dollar range but you said price was no object, right?)

Did anyone actually ask what your friend had that you want to blow away? I can't remember now....that'd be good info to base suggestions on heh

>GSXR<mrbusa · Dec 14, 2006, 01:47 AM

Hey instantiated,
The only part I disagree with is the fact of not being able to game without EAX. It is not the EAX standard that is at fault, I believe it is game developers not optimizing game play for EAX that is the problem. There is just to much degradation of performance and smoothness of play to use it, at least on my system.

The rest of your post I agree with in full and you made a very opinionated and detailed post, I like.

Welcome to DH.

EDIT: For some of the people posting in a thread that is asking for an opinion of a product, why make it personal? Saying that someones personal ,good or bad, experience is irrelavant or don't mean shit is just uncool. Especially when this type of product is based on personal preference. Calling names on the Internet is crap and uncalled for.

instantiated · Dec 14, 2006, 07:05 AM

Yea busa, that's a good point, I should have used a bit more tact and thought on the EAX thing. Really in this world of information we're in, anything like that (especially something that has become a 'standard' although I don't know if I'd go quite that far with EAX but very close) ..it's a shame that something that widely supported has to be proprietary like it is...it really limits evolution and I think of it as modern day oppression. That is something that 90 percent of the population it seems really get caught up in, like the iPod (you just mention the iPod around me and I actually start to gag and foam at the mouth and fire spews from my eyes as I attempt to strangle the one who said that four letter word) Now there's a 300 dollar set of shackles for you. I always like to say: Beware of any who would deny you information, for in their hearts they see themselves as your master.

So anyway, sorry I feel like this post is a bit of a hijack so uh, back to the request for soundcards please.. Just one thing that might help make a decision that I'd like to add...I did have a better experience with EAX and Creative's 3D spatialization or whatever you call it ...basically the "placement" of a sound in your 3d area. It felt much more convincing to me in games, I think mainly because for some reason my ALC882 wasn't even close to as smooth in a big round speaker to speaker pass, I never could get the hand-offs calibrated to my satisfaction...and that's another very good reason to go with an X-Fi over the ALC882. the software packaged with the X-Fi's is really quite enjoyable to operate, especially the THX optimizer thingy and the utility that sets your delay and finds you automatically by having you align offset clicking patterns...i did like that although I couldn't help myself and had to go replace Creative's white noise sample with a pink noise sample of my own for it's noise calibrator.....you know you're picky when you run pink noise tests several times in a row and each time it takes a while because that analog decibal meter sitting in front of me likes to take a moment to average a benchmark as well....need I say more (no, I've said too much already)

thanks for listening though, I'll keep it short from here on out

(you got a 'busa eh? drive safe, don't die! those things are SCARY fast!! I tool around in an M3 myself, '95, modded injectors/HFM/CAI/ShortShift/and some other stuff...my best friend's got a 'busa, I am trying to convince him to sell it....anyway, ya, soundcards....)

Nov 29, 2006, 07:19 PM	#2
>GSXR<mrbusa im a FREAK Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,107 Rep Power: 55 System Specs	Here is a review of a few with the xfi platimum on top. http://compreviews.about.com/od/mult...SoundCards.htm Here is a link to a high end HD soundcard from Onkyo. I am not sure where to buy it but you can search the model number and find a bunch of info on it. Looks expensive and if money isn't a problem it might be a good choice to blow your friends CL card away. http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news...ound+card.html Last edited by >GSXR<mrbusa; Nov 29, 2006 at 07:28 PM.

Nov 30, 2006, 12:59 AM	#10
riles9262 Driverheaven brewmaster Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,842 Rep Power: 70 System Specs	On the sound card front, the xfi's sound just fine. A couple good alternatives are the auzentech x-meridian (which sounds amazing and has lots of features) and I heard one m-audio card that sounded great too, but I don't remember which model it was. On the speaker side, the klipsch and gigaworks series are nice, and though some say differently, I think the higher end logitechs sound good (z5500 or z2300 for eg). Of course the best option is a good receiver and speaker combo imo. __________________ A beer a day keeps the doctor away.

Dec 1, 2006, 01:15 AM	#14
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Keeping in mind that music cds are 16-bit/44.1KHz, as is all your music at best, unless you're using SACDs or DVD-audio. __________________ --

Dec 1, 2006, 06:55 AM	#15
The Last Command DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	I would like to get some wireless speakers cause I have a 7.1 speaker set by creative (wired), man no matter what I do I cant get the other 3 to work, I go through the nostic program and its got me changing wires all over the place and the ones it said are ok it wants to to change again. So hopefully the wireless speakers are easier to use. __________________ <V0rtex> can u tell me some interesting commands for IRC please <Rogue> /quit * V0rtex has quit IRC (Quit: B-o-z-I-R-C 2.01.00 - Online Time: 1sec) * V0rtex has joined #hack13 <ChRiZzY> I need to find something that will make me cute and doable <TheWhiteRabbit> alcohol <BetterMan> rotfl, low blow...but funny as hell lol [COLOR=#000080] [/COLOR]

Dec 2, 2006, 11:16 PM	#16
Neshi S.N.A.F.U. Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Wellington, NZ Posts: 3,261 Rep Power: 150 System Specs	I've got A8N-E, with no sound card, with ALC '97 audio... would sound get better when using a sound card? and what would you suggest for me... a cheap card with still pretty decent output? __________________ If one does not attach himself to people and desire, never shall his heart be broken. But then, does he ever truly live? Life is just too damn short for if's and maybe's

Nov 29, 2006, 07:07 PM	#1
Cube623 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: England Posts: 322 Rep Power: 0	What Is The Best Soundcard? O.k i will be honest, i've never payed much attention for sound cards, the best s'card i've ever got has been a Soundblaster 7.1 24bit . since then it's been AC97 audio all the way, until now! I went round a friends house and he had either an Audigy 1 or 2 can't remember and the sound quality and difference was mind blowing (and ear blowing with his 5.1s). So now for crimbo i want a new sound card to finally replace my realtek ac97 audio But because i've never payed too much attention to sound cards i have no idea what is the best. I've heard the x-fi is the best but this was a while ago and i've also heard the opposite and that there are issues with certain configs\parts\computers so i really don't know. ATM it is money no object so knock yourselfs out Cheers Cube623 p.s. also whats a good 5.1/7.1 speaker system, again money no object but i've seen some expensive speaker sets so don't go too overboard __________________

Nov 29, 2006, 08:08 PM	#4
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 4,835 Rep Power: 174	Judas, if you honestly think that then your speakers are broken, your X-Fi was or you need your ears cleaned.

Nov 30, 2006, 12:20 AM	#9
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	Zelig, id agree. Im not even responding to Judas, he talks shit constantly. I age a year with every post I read.

Nov 30, 2006, 01:41 AM	#11
ROBSCIX DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,732 Rep Power: 0	I would reccomend the X-Meridian to you. The sound is just amazing, truly amazing. You also get alot of nice audio standards and full digital compatibility. 24/192 in 7.1 over digital connection. You will probably need a HT setup to use 24/192 in digital as no digital computer speaker to date can handle 24/192, not that I have seen. YOU can also upgrade the Opamps if your using anlog which make the card sound even better. Your asking what is the best soundcard but that is not a easy quetion becasue it depends on what you are into and what you would like to do with your card. Some cards are better for this some are better for that. Hope that helps.

Dec 3, 2006, 01:52 AM	#17
ROBSCIX DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,732 Rep Power: 0	Well, I wowuld sugegst for a cheap soundcard that still has what you need is a AUdigy 2 Value or OEM....NOT a AUDIGY Value... YOu can also get a X-Fi Xtreme Music really cheap these days, not to be confused with a Extreme audio -which doesn't contain hardware acceleration. so you don't really want it.

Dec 3, 2006, 06:23 AM	#18
Nightowl225 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 139 Rep Power: 0	Naw I would suggest which can be had cheap off Newegg, eith the Diamond Xstreme Sound 7.1 with Dolby Digital Live or the Turtlebeach Montego DDL. Either card can be had for around $60.00 or under off Newegg. If you prefer Creative than get the an Audigy series card, such as the Audigy 2 or the Audigy 4.

Dec 3, 2006, 05:09 PM	#20
ROBSCIX DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,732 Rep Power: 0	Price, there is nothing wrong with the A2, if he's trying to save some cash. IF he has the money then by all means grab a X-fi. I was only saying the bottom of the list is the A2 Value-no lower.

Dec 3, 2006, 05:47 PM	#21
Nightowl225 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 139 Rep Power: 0	You have a point there. I'm saying if he decides against Creative, there are decent non Creative cards like I've mentioned out, for $60.00 or under.

Dec 3, 2006, 07:22 PM	#23
tEiS HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 40 Rep Power: 0	i come from the amiga platform. i had my first pc back in 2000, with it i bought me an Terratec EWS64XL, isa-slot card, also i got myself a Soundblaster Awe64 Gold. one i used for audio stuff, the other for fastracker2 (hihi) .. then i got stuck to soundblaster as terratec hasn't continued the good work of the ews64xl. in between i also used an onboard soundchip, realtek ofcourse. but it hasn't made me happy at all. my next card was a soundblaster audigy2zs, which was actually very nice with kxproject and then youp-pax drivers. and now since a month i got a X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS, mind you i am also a gamer. and the sound of the X-Fi is just awesome, despite the fact that the 24bit-Crystalizer is sometimes a pain in the ass if your audio material is already mastered to the fullest. but when gaming, it's just the bomb. and nevertheless, i like it. i am not speakers user, i've been using headphones since ages as i've been a DJ for some couple of years and am producing my own music. maybe thats why my opinion differs to alot of others here

Dec 3, 2006, 07:23 PM	#24
tEiS HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 40 Rep Power: 0	i come from the amiga platform. i had my first pc back in 2000, with it i bought me an Terratec EWS64XL, isa-slot card, also i got myself a Soundblaster Awe64 Gold. one i used for audio stuff, the other for fastracker2 (hihi) .. then i got stuck to soundblaster as terratec hasn't continued the good work of the ews64xl. in between i also used an onboard soundchip, realtek ofcourse. but it hasn't made me happy at all. my next card was a soundblaster audigy2zs, which was actually very nice with kxproject and then youp-pax drivers. and now since a month i got a X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS, mind you i am also a gamer. i also always wanted to check out one of these M-Audio cards, but wasn't in need of all those plug-in's it had. and the sound of the X-Fi is just awesome, despite the fact that the 24bit-Crystalizer is sometimes a pain in the ass if your audio material is already mastered to the fullest. but when gaming, it's just the bomb. and nevertheless, i like it. i am not speakers user, i've been using headphones since ages as i've been a DJ for some couple of years and am producing my own music. maybe thats why my opinion differs to alot of others here

Dec 3, 2006, 07:25 PM	#25
tEiS HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 40 Rep Power: 0	sorry for double-post!!

Dec 3, 2006, 08:15 PM	#27
ROBSCIX DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,732 Rep Power: 0	You have your opinions and other people have theirs...simple. I upgraded form a A2 few months ago and couldn't be happier... Last edited by ROBSCIX; Dec 3, 2006 at 08:26 PM.

Dec 13, 2006, 10:25 PM	#28
instantiated DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	well I've been lurking around these forums for quite some time and now I've read enough of this and today I feel like finally adding my own .02....first of all, my lurking has put me of the opinion that anything Zardon says about sound you can take to the bank (that means his opinions are generally well supported by a nice dose of fact and experience) ... also whoever it was that said they started on the amiga...immediate respect for that one Never had an amiga but a couple of my BBSer buddies did so needless to say I got an earful. So let's get on with my first post here at driverheaven. I have experienced all cards in question. I will try to keep this very short and you audiophile types please take note that I'm basing this on his gaming needs and the assumption that he doesn't care quite as much about getting to bit-perfect-Nirvana (you want Ghost Recon in bit perfect sound? Join the Army) bhaha anyway... CL Audigy 2ZS - best bang for the buck, EAX is NOT a feature that you just turn off after a while, whoever said that doesn't know shit about it or games (if whoever said it was someone I like, sorry But EAX is very important for gaming and is a technology that is so widely supported that you will continually be angered when you see it greyed out in the options CLX-Fi - Elite Pro is the only one worth getting, it's a fair card....so here's what you do, get the elite pro and then take that piece of junk ugly monster they give you with it (the external controller) and sell that on eBay cause someone out there probably broke theirs and will in turn pay you back a portion of the lame price of the Elite Pro...there, you now have a buffed up Audigy 2ZS....I won't even get into only other good XFi with the drive bay ports, here's something I didn't think of when I tried that one....there's a door on my computer case.....damn...sell that thing on eBay, those drive bay extensions are a hot item...or buy a ZS and hack that thing for the ZS RealTek ALC882 - I switched to this because I have no PCI slots left and this is built into my mobo....so I hate it already and I have had so many compatibility issues with it and frickin problems with sound cutting out, hardware mixing problems, you name it...so that one went into the garbage except it was just a daughter card so I hate it even more that I can't throw the whole thing out haha....well i will say though, I've researched some on RealTek and they appear to be quite intelligent about the future and for everything I've read, it would seem my ALC882 really should be a lot better than it is.... So out of those three, get the elite pro...don't listen to the fool talk about too much high end, the x-fi has a feature, crystallization, which I think sounds fairly ok but nothing to write home about...I can see how a commoner might think the timbre was a bit too shiny...unless he just thought it was something else and cranked the crystalization all the way up..heh..well...anyway, here's my current setup and by far blows the crap out of all of those previously mentioned cards. My happy setup #1: Get a high end sound card, not one of these junkers, passthru to a TASCAM DSM7.1 and personally I've been a big fan of Denon for pushing my sound out with excellent pure results. I now have a Denon AVR4806CI and I must say that coupled with a high end set of speakers will blow your house right off the computer room and you'll be left with nothing but the smoldering cores of all those creative and realtek fans, fried in their own boots as they tried to run from the almighty power of Denon I can't stress enough how important a good speaker system is though.....your system will sound only as good as your speakers so research speakers first and then buy something that will push the speakers you like and have all the features you want. That TASCAM DSM7.1 is awesome for 3d sound but it's more aimed for studio work and the Denon I mentioned above really doesn't like it much either (you should note that for the AVR4308CI and say 3000 for speakers, you'd end up spending somewhere in the 6 to 8 thousand dollar range but you said price was no object, right?) Did anyone actually ask what your friend had that you want to blow away? I can't remember now....that'd be good info to base suggestions on heh

Dec 14, 2006, 01:47 AM	#29
>GSXR<mrbusa im a FREAK Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,107 Rep Power: 55 System Specs	Hey instantiated, The only part I disagree with is the fact of not being able to game without EAX. It is not the EAX standard that is at fault, I believe it is game developers not optimizing game play for EAX that is the problem. There is just to much degradation of performance and smoothness of play to use it, at least on my system. The rest of your post I agree with in full and you made a very opinionated and detailed post, I like. Welcome to DH. EDIT: For some of the people posting in a thread that is asking for an opinion of a product, why make it personal? Saying that someones personal ,good or bad, experience is irrelavant or don't mean shit is just uncool. Especially when this type of product is based on personal preference. Calling names on the Internet is crap and uncalled for. Last edited by >GSXR<mrbusa; Dec 14, 2006 at 01:59 AM.

Dec 14, 2006, 07:05 AM	#30
instantiated DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Yea busa, that's a good point, I should have used a bit more tact and thought on the EAX thing. Really in this world of information we're in, anything like that (especially something that has become a 'standard' although I don't know if I'd go quite that far with EAX but very close) ..it's a shame that something that widely supported has to be proprietary like it is...it really limits evolution and I think of it as modern day oppression. That is something that 90 percent of the population it seems really get caught up in, like the iPod (you just mention the iPod around me and I actually start to gag and foam at the mouth and fire spews from my eyes as I attempt to strangle the one who said that four letter word) Now there's a 300 dollar set of shackles for you. I always like to say: Beware of any who would deny you information, for in their hearts they see themselves as your master. So anyway, sorry I feel like this post is a bit of a hijack so uh, back to the request for soundcards please.. Just one thing that might help make a decision that I'd like to add...I did have a better experience with EAX and Creative's 3D spatialization or whatever you call it ...basically the "placement" of a sound in your 3d area. It felt much more convincing to me in games, I think mainly because for some reason my ALC882 wasn't even close to as smooth in a big round speaker to speaker pass, I never could get the hand-offs calibrated to my satisfaction...and that's another very good reason to go with an X-Fi over the ALC882. the software packaged with the X-Fi's is really quite enjoyable to operate, especially the THX optimizer thingy and the utility that sets your delay and finds you automatically by having you align offset clicking patterns...i did like that although I couldn't help myself and had to go replace Creative's white noise sample with a pink noise sample of my own for it's noise calibrator.....you know you're picky when you run pink noise tests several times in a row and each time it takes a while because that analog decibal meter sitting in front of me likes to take a moment to average a benchmark as well....need I say more (no, I've said too much already) thanks for listening though, I'll keep it short from here on out (you got a 'busa eh? drive safe, don't die! those things are SCARY fast!! I tool around in an M3 myself, '95, modded injectors/HFM/CAI/ShortShift/and some other stuff...my best friend's got a 'busa, I am trying to convince him to sell it....anyway, ya, soundcards....)