Good question

Sa3atsky · Nov 26, 2004, 09:15 PM

I have an Audigy card but this applies also to Sblive\Audigy2 users..
Now sound quality is the most important thing I'm looking for.. in order:
1) most importantly in music (aka audio playback)
2) then recording
3) then games
4) then DVDs

Nobody seems to be asking this question:
Which is the better driver.. Now we all know KXdriver is only for recording and if you want gaming and Dvds its better to stay away from it..

But there are two drivers.. either:
1) Use cracked Audigy 2 Zs Driver and Application suite - since it gives out better quality, and ofcourse rids you of the crappy old app suite
2) YouP-PAX - this driver claims to have best quality audio and all that.

I'm baffled.. I dont know which one I should use..

Which ones the best for music playback?
Do they all run best EAX4 in games?
Do they all provide good ASIO support?
etc.

Post your favourite driver, and why you picked that one

**dj_stick** · Nov 26, 2004, 11:40 PM

1) i doubt you can get much better quality using the A2ZS cracked drivers, as the Audigy 1 card can't support the higher quality resolution/samplerate that the A2 series can

only kX really has decent ASIO support imo
aswell as kX has a higher quality playback and recording, perhaps your needs are a dual boot system? also i think for DVD playback kX will sound better…

Sa3atsky · Nov 27, 2004, 03:51 AM

Ohh Kx wins for Dvd playback too? It seems Im gonna have to do a fair bit of research on this one..
Could somebody please give me more details on the cryptic YouP-PAX driver and its many different releases..?

**dj_stick** · Nov 27, 2004, 05:14 AM

i don't know much about those modded drivers
hopefully Classic Leon can shed some light on them for you

classic_leon · Nov 27, 2004, 06:21 AM

If "most importantly in music" for you, I suggest you use kX drivers which dig a lot of potential of Audigy series. And could ask dj_stick if you have any problem with this driver.

If you are a gamer more than a music fan or you want to use modded drivers, you'd better choose YouP PAX drivers, not Audigy2 ZS original drivers. Because Audigy2 ZS drivers has lots of bugs, and dosen't use to much potential of your card.

Sa3atsky · Nov 27, 2004, 11:43 AM

YouP PAX questions:

Whats the YouP PAX drivers got that the Audigy2 ZS doesnt have?
There are two YouP PAX, one for gaming and the other for music.. now does the one for gaming have lower quality in music? does the one for music have lower quality in gaming?? What kind of features are there?
What about the creative software suite in YouP PAX? You just use the Creative Audigy 2 Zs drivers?

Kx Project questions:

So Kx Project has best recording and playback + best ASIO support, but how does it run games and DVDs? Is the EAX and Direct3d sound completely emulated? Does it have Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS for Dvds and Divx's?

Since Im driven on both directions I might be installing the Kx driver for recording and music on one OS and one of the YouP PAXs' for gaming and DVDs but still dual booting is a lot of hassle.. please take time and answer my questions - they can be helpful to everybody in the forum

BozQ · Nov 27, 2004, 10:18 PM

but how does it run games and DVDs?
For games, it ran better for my SB Live! Hell, I could get 5.1 surround in games with kX and not Creative latest SBLive drivers.

Is the EAX and Direct3d sound completely emulated?
From the documentations I read, up to EAX 3.0
Funny thing is, I was able to activate EAX 3.0 with my SB Live! :P

Does it have Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS for Dvds and Divx's?
For DVDs, you'll have to stick to software decoding. I experienced loads of popping sounds when I tried to use hardware AC-3 decoding. It happened during loud scenes and there isnt seem to be a way to enable DRC (if this is possible, please correct me)

That's my experience with kX so far and it has been very good.
Now I'm using Audigy 2 ZS

**dj_stick** · Nov 27, 2004, 10:54 PM

kX's current AC-3 decoding is a little buggy, using AC-3 filter fixes this, however the overall sound quality is better.
as for EAX, the option is there, but it only serves to allow hardware accelerated 3D audio in games that don't distinguish the difference (eg Halo 1)

BozQ · Nov 28, 2004, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_stick

kX's current AC-3 decoding is a little buggy, using AC-3 filter fixes this, however the overall sound quality is better.

Use AC3filter to decode the audio or using AC3filter and route it to SPDIF?

**dj_stick** · Nov 28, 2004, 06:00 AM

AC-3 filter to decode
passthrough works fine on kX cards (ac-3 passthrough is where the AC-3 signal bypasses the card entirely and can be decoded by an external decoder)

Nov 26, 2004, 09:15 PM	#1
Sa3atsky DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 28 Rep Power: 0	Good question I have an Audigy card but this applies also to Sblive\Audigy2 users.. Now sound quality is the most important thing I'm looking for.. in order: 1) most importantly in music (aka audio playback) 2) then recording 3) then games 4) then DVDs Nobody seems to be asking this question: Which is the better driver.. Now we all know KXdriver is only for recording and if you want gaming and Dvds its better to stay away from it.. But there are two drivers.. either: 1) Use cracked Audigy 2 Zs Driver and Application suite - since it gives out better quality, and ofcourse rids you of the crappy old app suite 2) YouP-PAX - this driver claims to have best quality audio and all that. I'm baffled.. I dont know which one I should use.. Which ones the best for music playback? Do they all run best EAX4 in games? Do they all provide good ASIO support? etc. Post your favourite driver, and why you picked that one

Nov 27, 2004, 06:21 AM	#5
classic_leon HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Wu Han, Hu Bei, P.R.China Posts: 1,238 Rep Power: 0	If "most importantly in music" for you, I suggest you use kX drivers which dig a lot of potential of Audigy series. And could ask dj_stick if you have any problem with this driver. If you are a gamer more than a music fan or you want to use modded drivers, you'd better choose YouP PAX drivers, not Audigy2 ZS original drivers. Because Audigy2 ZS drivers has lots of bugs, and dosen't use to much potential of your card. __________________ Fashion keeps us alive. YouP-PAX Please visit http://www.A-PAX.co.uk to discuss the computer mods. The latest YouP PAX modded drivers are provided on the site.

Nov 27, 2004, 11:43 AM	Thread Starter #6
Sa3atsky DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 28 Rep Power: 0	YouP PAX questions: Whats the YouP PAX drivers got that the Audigy2 ZS doesnt have? There are two YouP PAX, one for gaming and the other for music.. now does the one for gaming have lower quality in music? does the one for music have lower quality in gaming?? What kind of features are there? What about the creative software suite in YouP PAX? You just use the Creative Audigy 2 Zs drivers? Kx Project questions: So Kx Project has best recording and playback + best ASIO support, but how does it run games and DVDs? Is the EAX and Direct3d sound completely emulated? Does it have Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS for Dvds and Divx's? Since Im driven on both directions I might be installing the Kx driver for recording and music on one OS and one of the YouP PAXs' for gaming and DVDs but still dual booting is a lot of hassle.. please take time and answer my questions - they can be helpful to everybody in the forum Last edited by Sa3atsky; Nov 27, 2004 at 11:57 AM.

Nov 27, 2004, 03:51 AM	Thread Starter #3
Sa3atsky DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 28 Rep Power: 0	Ohh Kx wins for Dvd playback too? It seems Im gonna have to do a fair bit of research on this one.. Could somebody please give me more details on the cryptic YouP-PAX driver and its many different releases..?

Nov 27, 2004, 10:18 PM	#7
BozQ DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 27 Rep Power: 0	but how does it run games and DVDs? For games, it ran better for my SB Live! Hell, I could get 5.1 surround in games with kX and not Creative latest SBLive drivers. Is the EAX and Direct3d sound completely emulated? From the documentations I read, up to EAX 3.0 Funny thing is, I was able to activate EAX 3.0 with my SB Live! :P Does it have Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS for Dvds and Divx's? For DVDs, you'll have to stick to software decoding. I experienced loads of popping sounds when I tried to use hardware AC-3 decoding. It happened during loud scenes and there isnt seem to be a way to enable DRC (if this is possible, please correct me) That's my experience with kX so far and it has been very good. Now I'm using Audigy 2 ZS