"Old" Audigy 2 or Audigy 2 Value - which one is better??

mjak · Dec 24, 2005, 02:15 AM

Hi,
As my onboard codec broke down, I'm considering buying a "real" audio card, in a price range of Audigy 2 Value. I have an opportunity to buy an older Audigy 2 card (series 0240, the one with CA0102-IAT chip, as opposed to "new" Audigy 2 ZS with CA0102-ICT) for around 2/3 of the Value's price.
I know the basic differences between A2 and A2V - the older supports only 6.1 speakers and does not have that fancy CMSS functions, whatever it is. But as I will play it only through 5.1 set, it's not a real drawback for me.
What I'm more interested is the ASIO compability and general sound quality of input/output signals, as I plug my guitar to pc and use NI Guitar Rig. So, please correct me if I'm wrong - I expect the "true" A2 card to be slighlty better in quality, but as it's older it may be a bit worse in latency/sample rate issues... I also read different statements about ASIO 2.0 compability - once that only Audigy 2 Platinium EX fully supports ASIO 2.0, once that every card from Audigy 2 family is ASIO 2.0 compatible...

Also does anybody has some comparison between "old" Audigy 2 and the newer Audigy 2 ZS in those matters? Actually if it would be wise to pay two times higher for the ZS?

And the last thing, more general about Audigy cards - I often use stereo headphones, my onboad codec really sucked as this point, as the sound was very quiet as opposed to my old SB PCI 128 which has a amplified output for headphones - does Audigy 2 provide satisfactory level of ouput for headphones?

I will be very grateful for any opinions
Thanks
mjak

Necrosis · Dec 25, 2005, 07:18 AM

Honestly there isn't that much difference. However, I would go for the A2ZS for the added functions. Head phone wise, it's alright. However you still might want to look in to a headphone amp for the best possible sound. It's up to you though.

**dj_stick** · Dec 25, 2005, 07:38 AM

if you want ASIO, try kX on your audigy card, plus you'll get slightly better audio quality

Necrosis · Dec 25, 2005, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_stick

if you want ASIO, try kX on your audigy card, plus you'll get slightly better audio quality

Yes, unless you want to use a third party piece of software to even mess with this.

Dec 24, 2005, 02:15 AM	#1
mjak DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	"Old" Audigy 2 or Audigy 2 Value - which one is better?? Hi, As my onboard codec broke down, I'm considering buying a "real" audio card, in a price range of Audigy 2 Value. I have an opportunity to buy an older Audigy 2 card (series 0240, the one with CA0102-IAT chip, as opposed to "new" Audigy 2 ZS with CA0102-ICT) for around 2/3 of the Value's price. I know the basic differences between A2 and A2V - the older supports only 6.1 speakers and does not have that fancy CMSS functions, whatever it is. But as I will play it only through 5.1 set, it's not a real drawback for me. What I'm more interested is the ASIO compability and general sound quality of input/output signals, as I plug my guitar to pc and use NI Guitar Rig. So, please correct me if I'm wrong - I expect the "true" A2 card to be slighlty better in quality, but as it's older it may be a bit worse in latency/sample rate issues... I also read different statements about ASIO 2.0 compability - once that only Audigy 2 Platinium EX fully supports ASIO 2.0, once that every card from Audigy 2 family is ASIO 2.0 compatible... Also does anybody has some comparison between "old" Audigy 2 and the newer Audigy 2 ZS in those matters? Actually if it would be wise to pay two times higher for the ZS? And the last thing, more general about Audigy cards - I often use stereo headphones, my onboad codec really sucked as this point, as the sound was very quiet as opposed to my old SB PCI 128 which has a amplified output for headphones - does Audigy 2 provide satisfactory level of ouput for headphones? I will be very grateful for any opinions Thanks mjak

Dec 25, 2005, 07:18 AM	#2
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 129 System Specs	Honestly there isn't that much difference. However, I would go for the A2ZS for the added functions. Head phone wise, it's alright. However you still might want to look in to a headphone amp for the best possible sound. It's up to you though. Last edited by Necrosis; Dec 25, 2005 at 08:12 AM.