noob question sblive! vs audigy 2 ZS

Son_of_Thunder · Dec 28, 2004, 06:26 AM

so i splurged and bought an audigy 2 ZS last night...it was 99USD w/ a 30 dollar mail in rebate (which i don't trust) but i'm not sure i want to keep this baby.

i posted in another thread about this as well, but i figure this will be viewed by more people.

anyways, i upgraded from my 6yo ess solo-1 and can't tell much of a differance. i have plantronics audio 90's and audio 70's i believe. the only positive difference is in music and movies, but in gaming the sound is just different...and in cs:s much worse. also, my main concern was my mic. many people have been saying that the new sound card makes my mic sound exactly the same (which wasn't very good to begin w/) or slightly worse than my old one.

this has been confirmed on a cs:s server using speex at the highest quality available, on a TS server, and on a vent server.

so i just bought a 100 dollar card and don't think it's worth it. but for the boost in music audio a 30 dollar card would be worth it.

should i return it and buy a sblive 24bit 7.1 card and then mod it w/ custom drivers, or stick w/ the audigy 2 ZS?

ps, my rebate has to be postmarked before the 1st.

**dj_stick** · Dec 28, 2004, 07:10 AM

you cannot mod thesb live 24 bit, it does not use the same chip as the original live series.

as for the mic, turn off mic boost, and speak louder/re-position your mic (for better quality)

as for the sound being different? what do you mean? and how is it worse on CS:S?

Son_of_Thunder · Dec 28, 2004, 07:21 AM

by different, things are like, louder...and they come more out of the left channel than the right. also, if i have my head turned so that something is almost directly to the left of me, i won't hear it at all in my right ear...which isn't realistic.

also going underwater now makes everything sound like it's underwater, when someone talks on the mic it sounds like they're talking underwater.

as far as worse in cs:S...it pops and crackles a lot. and one of the guns (i believe it was the fiveseven) doesn't have a shoot sound anymore.

also, when i turn off mic boost, my mic is muted for some reason. no sound is picked up whatsoever.

**dj_stick** · Dec 28, 2004, 01:18 PM

try updating to the latest drivers

Son_of_Thunder · Dec 28, 2004, 06:04 PM

tried that. i uninstalled my current ones and ran drivercleaner in safe mode, then installed the newest ones.

so if the 7.1 sblive can't be modded, can the 5.1 sblive?

**dj_stick** · Dec 28, 2004, 11:49 PM

yes, but you will have a lower quality of audio… try if you can to find an audigy es

Dec 28, 2004, 06:26 AM	#1
Son_of_Thunder HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 1,441 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	noob question sblive! vs audigy 2 ZS so i splurged and bought an audigy 2 ZS last night...it was 99USD w/ a 30 dollar mail in rebate (which i don't trust) but i'm not sure i want to keep this baby. i posted in another thread about this as well, but i figure this will be viewed by more people. anyways, i upgraded from my 6yo ess solo-1 and can't tell much of a differance. i have plantronics audio 90's and audio 70's i believe. the only positive difference is in music and movies, but in gaming the sound is just different...and in cs:s much worse. also, my main concern was my mic. many people have been saying that the new sound card makes my mic sound exactly the same (which wasn't very good to begin w/) or slightly worse than my old one. this has been confirmed on a cs:s server using speex at the highest quality available, on a TS server, and on a vent server. so i just bought a 100 dollar card and don't think it's worth it. but for the boost in music audio a 30 dollar card would be worth it. should i return it and buy a sblive 24bit 7.1 card and then mod it w/ custom drivers, or stick w/ the audigy 2 ZS? ps, my rebate has to be postmarked before the 1st. __________________

Dec 28, 2004, 07:21 AM	Thread Starter #3
Son_of_Thunder HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 1,441 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	by different, things are like, louder...and they come more out of the left channel than the right. also, if i have my head turned so that something is almost directly to the left of me, i won't hear it at all in my right ear...which isn't realistic. also going underwater now makes everything sound like it's underwater, when someone talks on the mic it sounds like they're talking underwater. as far as worse in cs:S...it pops and crackles a lot. and one of the guns (i believe it was the fiveseven) doesn't have a shoot sound anymore. also, when i turn off mic boost, my mic is muted for some reason. no sound is picked up whatsoever. __________________

Dec 28, 2004, 06:04 PM	Thread Starter #5
Son_of_Thunder HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 1,441 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	tried that. i uninstalled my current ones and ran drivercleaner in safe mode, then installed the newest ones. so if the 7.1 sblive can't be modded, can the 5.1 sblive? __________________