Sound Blaster Live! vs Audigy 2 ZS

danbroman777 · May 7, 2007, 05:52 PM

First, much Kudos to the KX Driver Project for helping out us musicians that have to deal with a games-oriented sound card industry! I luckily found this project after dealing fruitlessly with Creative drivers that would not allow reverb and chorus effects to be applied to midi data. Of course, Creative support for this problem is non-existent.

I am currently using Guitar Pro 5 midi sequencer, which is a great tool for tabbing out songs. I don't believe it currently supports VST plugins, so basically it just gives options for reverb, chorus, phase, and tremelo control. (Which didn't work with my Sound Blaster Live! until using the KX drivers)

I am thinking about upgrading to an Audigy 2 ZS, running under Win XP 32 bit. Could anyone let me know if the Audigy card midi playback is superior to the Live! playback?
I know it has better Surround capabilities, but currently I'm only concerned about the
midi playback sound quality using the above mentioned sequencer. Also, are there
more capabilities using the KX drivers with the Audigy card? For my purposes, it is
worth the money to switch to an Audigy 2 ZS card?

Thanks!

Dan

Maddogg6 · May 7, 2007, 09:46 PM

For the most part - the A2 *sounds* better (better DAC) - but synth engines are about the same AFAIK - you want better SF playback - a VSTi is the best rout.

A known issue with HW synths - are the attack - as they tend to loose some punch - by offsetting / shifting (later in time) a samples playback (in the SF file) by a few (3-5) samples will improve 'sharp attack' sounds - But still a VSTi SF player sounds clearer/punchier.
For the price - use both - and gain some polyphony.

May 7, 2007, 05:52 PM	#1
danbroman777 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Sound Blaster Live! vs Audigy 2 ZS First, much Kudos to the KX Driver Project for helping out us musicians that have to deal with a games-oriented sound card industry! I luckily found this project after dealing fruitlessly with Creative drivers that would not allow reverb and chorus effects to be applied to midi data. Of course, Creative support for this problem is non-existent. I am currently using Guitar Pro 5 midi sequencer, which is a great tool for tabbing out songs. I don't believe it currently supports VST plugins, so basically it just gives options for reverb, chorus, phase, and tremelo control. (Which didn't work with my Sound Blaster Live! until using the KX drivers) I am thinking about upgrading to an Audigy 2 ZS, running under Win XP 32 bit. Could anyone let me know if the Audigy card midi playback is superior to the Live! playback? I know it has better Surround capabilities, but currently I'm only concerned about the midi playback sound quality using the above mentioned sequencer. Also, are there more capabilities using the KX drivers with the Audigy card? For my purposes, it is worth the money to switch to an Audigy 2 ZS card? Thanks! Dan

May 7, 2007, 09:46 PM	#2
Maddogg6 Tail Razer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bernyurass, AZ - USA Posts: 4,027 Rep Power: 50	For the most part - the A2 sounds better (better DAC) - but synth engines are about the same AFAIK - you want better SF playback - a VSTi is the best rout. A known issue with HW synths - are the attack - as they tend to loose some punch - by offsetting / shifting (later in time) a samples playback (in the SF file) by a few (3-5) samples will improve 'sharp attack' sounds - But still a VSTi SF player sounds clearer/punchier. For the price - use both - and gain some polyphony.