Audigy 2 ZS sounds like crap

Compgeke · Jul 13, 2011, 07:07 AM

Well, sorry if this is a family friendly thread for the title but it's true.

So, the story is that I've had an Audigy 2 ZS for a while now that I got in a server (why it was in a rackmount server is beyond my knowledge) and I just got done building my new system and used this card (it's better than the Audigy SE and...integrated audio) but there is one problem, the sound is crap. I originally installed the Creative drivers and the sound had an echo to it and now I have the kX drivers installed and the sound doesn't have an echo to it but it is really breaking up.

So, would it be safe to say hardware issue or is there something I'm missing here. Oh, and I'm about to try it in my laptop's docking station (Dell D/Dock which has a PCI slot in it).

Edit: It's working fine in the laptop dock using the kX driver. No artifacts at all. Guess I have to stretch the IDE cable from the PCI IDE controller and swap their slots.

Edit 2:
Got it working. Switched PCI slots and no change but then I went and changed the default audio output to WAV out 2/3, connected the stereo to port 2 (the very bottom port) and now listening to The Wall CD perfectly, only defects I hear are in the song recordings.

The Creative drivers didn't have the option of changing to this so if it weren't for these I would be stuck with a stupid Audigy 2 SE.

Russ · Jul 13, 2011, 09:56 PM

You didn't say what OS you are using, but from your description, it sounds like you are using Windows Vista/7.
There is a known issue with noise (with Windows Vista/7) when using Master Mixer (that might improve if you play around with the buffer settings). Results vary with different people, so it may be related to the system configuration (thus why it may have worked OK with you laptop docking station, etc). The most common workaround is to use SPDIF/AC3 as the default device, as it allows upmixing with the default DSP config. If you only have 2 speakers then wave 2/3 is good too (with default DSP config).

Compgeke · Jul 14, 2011, 12:19 AM

Sorry, yeah, I'm using Windows 7 Home Premium. This sounds so much better than integrated audio because it's dead silent (no background static).

Jul 13, 2011, 07:07 AM	#1
Compgeke Lame Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hell Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Audigy 2 ZS sounds like crap Well, sorry if this is a family friendly thread for the title but it's true. So, the story is that I've had an Audigy 2 ZS for a while now that I got in a server (why it was in a rackmount server is beyond my knowledge) and I just got done building my new system and used this card (it's better than the Audigy SE and...integrated audio) but there is one problem, the sound is crap. I originally installed the Creative drivers and the sound had an echo to it and now I have the kX drivers installed and the sound doesn't have an echo to it but it is really breaking up. So, would it be safe to say hardware issue or is there something I'm missing here. Oh, and I'm about to try it in my laptop's docking station (Dell D/Dock which has a PCI slot in it). Edit: It's working fine in the laptop dock using the kX driver. No artifacts at all. Guess I have to stretch the IDE cable from the PCI IDE controller and swap their slots. Edit 2: Got it working. Switched PCI slots and no change but then I went and changed the default audio output to WAV out 2/3, connected the stereo to port 2 (the very bottom port) and now listening to The Wall CD perfectly, only defects I hear are in the song recordings. The Creative drivers didn't have the option of changing to this so if it weren't for these I would be stuck with a stupid Audigy 2 SE. Last edited by Compgeke; Jul 13, 2011 at 08:08 AM.

Jul 13, 2011, 09:56 PM	#2
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	Re: Audigy 2 ZS sounds like crap You didn't say what OS you are using, but from your description, it sounds like you are using Windows Vista/7. There is a known issue with noise (with Windows Vista/7) when using Master Mixer (that might improve if you play around with the buffer settings). Results vary with different people, so it may be related to the system configuration (thus why it may have worked OK with you laptop docking station, etc). The most common workaround is to use SPDIF/AC3 as the default device, as it allows upmixing with the default DSP config. If you only have 2 speakers then wave 2/3 is good too (with default DSP config).

Jul 14, 2011, 12:19 AM	Thread Starter #3
Compgeke Lame Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hell Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Audigy 2 ZS sounds like crap Sorry, yeah, I'm using Windows 7 Home Premium. This sounds so much better than integrated audio because it's dead silent (no background static).