to sound card or not to sound card, that is the question...

[nox_uk]

I've recently purchased a new motherboard, and am using the onboard sound, its a p5w64, its ok, no more than ok. I was after something with a little more oomph, I don't mind shelling out for a decent sound card if it comes down to it, but I currently have in my possession:

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - superb sound card, but getting a bit dated.
SB Audigy 2 Paltiunum Ex - erm, very disappointing, so ended up using the onboard sound on my ic-7, then the karajan onboard on the dfi sli-d as I felt they were nicer.

I don't think the sound from the onboard option on the asus is much good though, and the audigy 2 sounded awful until a driver update a while ago, and the santa cruz I still think is probably the nicer sounding.

Would a x-fi be worth bunging in my PC? or one of the other options out there, liked the look of the razer barracuda ac1 or something else using that chip but the reviews and comments about it are somewhat mixed. I play a fair amount of mmorpgs, almost zero fps games & listen to flac ripped audio files, mostly using headphones these days, but when the wife is out of the house it tends to get cranked up a bit :) I'm also a little concious of this OpenAL/Vista/Linux and EAX3+ and tho initially I won't upgrade to Vista - it may happen in a year, or two.

I'm also running Windows x64... so I have to be fairly aware of drivers... just to put yet another spanner in the works, and means I can't put my santa cruz back in, which would of normally been my option at this point.

Kind of hoping i've missed an option or am I being overly paranoid and creative have reduced their massive software installation I used to get with my audigy 2? Puts me off somewhat...

Nox

[Omastar]

Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 DTS.

[nn_step]

Via Envy Chipset
You can hook yourself with a good card with it for under $30.

[Omastar]

Via Envy Chipset
You can hook yourself with a good card with it for under $30.

It sucks ass for games, correct? Seems like the only cards good for music and gaming (eg- non-cluster fuc*ed EAX support) run on the expensive side. I still don't trust the Chaintech for $22. Just seems like quality control on those is gonna be low.

[SlicerSV]

you buy the chaintech with the purpose of modding it... quality control IS low, that's why you take it apart and replace some of the parts...

as for auzentech, they use a crappy chipset that isn't compatible with 3.3v Legacy PCI (or PCI-X or PCI-E, for that matter)

envy24 is compatible with 5v, 3.3v Legacy PCI, and PCI-X, but not PCI-E.

auzentech is compatible with ONLY 5v Legacy PCI.

auzentech greatly limits the types of computers you can use their cards in, you can be almost guaranteed they won't be usable in high-end multi-processor workstations.

[nox_uk]

That X-Meridian looks pretty good from what i've read, am concerned about OpenAL though so may have to hold on a bit and wait, see what happens - Auzentech have posted they are working on it support, but i'd rather have something concrete first!

i'm not really too worried about backward compatibility, just as long as it works in my current mobo... :)

Nox

[Omastar]

Ugh, now I can't decide on a sound card again. I was never sure to begin with.

[nox_uk]

Ugh, now I can't decide on a sound card again. I was never sure to begin with.

Tell me about it...

Nox

[Omastar]

I want a card that's proficient at music and gaming, but I can't seem to find one other than Creative. =/

[Kobalt]

What kind of speakers/headphones are you using? Without knowing, the question you ask is impossible to answer.

[quicksilverXP]

I'm in the same boat as you... I haven't purchased a sound card ever and I have been only using onboard since I've been building my computers. But now I'm gonna invest in some good PC speakers.

[JH_man]

I got a couple comments on the matter:
- as a default you can safely say that onboard sound WILL sound worse then a dedicated card

- realtek for one, both has (at least had) BAD sound quality and also has a faulty EAX (2.0 i think it is) simulation

- I have used onboard nforce sound for a while now (think it is nforce2 dont remember), and the quality is not bad at all, far better then realtek

- but for new expansive boards some have actually good onboard sound chips, but I have not done serious testing to compare them simply due to I havent the parts

For my new Quad core comp I will get a dedicated sound card IF I dont end up with a good motherboard that has Xfi or ADA onboard (or similar quality) sound chips.

JH_man

[nox_uk]

What kind of speakers/headphones are you using? Without knowing, the question you ask is impossible to answer.

I'm going through my yamaha hi-fi amp and speakers when wife is out, (its fairly good but not pro, but it is nice and loud :D ) I am thinking about some Logitech Z5500's though - heard some a few months ago and thought they were pretty good, only reason for switching is dedicated speakers would be 5.1 and thinking of moving the hi-fi down to lounge.

Headphones - i have loads now and not 100% happy with any of em... latest being those zalman 5.1s, but also have some altec lansing and microsoft ones along with about 3 pairs of 'generic' unknown brands lol not even 80% happy with any really...

Nox

[Kobalt]

Ew zalman 5.1's...such a gimmick :(.

Generally the problem with onboard sound is that its not too powerful. If you're going to get Z5500's, you need a better source. Chaintech AV710 if you're on a budget or an X-Fi card if you can spend the money.

[nox_uk]

yup, not overly impressed by the zalmans :(

Hate creatives bloatware too :/ and hate that I bought a creative top of the range card that sounded worse than my onboard for the first year I owned it :( It is looking more and more like they may be the only option though...

I think i'm going to have to wait until vista is released and then a month or two - see how the competition reacts.

Nox

[Miwo]

nox_uk: As far as headphones, you should look into dumping/selling your old cans and getting a good pair of high end ones. The Grado SR60 will give you very very good sound for your money, they are $69 at Headphone.com . The bottom end Sennheiser HD201 still sound half decent, and those can usually be found for less than $20 on Amazon. Any of these are going to sound much better then your generic headsets from Logitech, Microsoft, Plantronics, etc...

But yeah, I am stuck debating about sound card choices as well... I purchased my X-Fi about a year ago, but have been thinking about switching to an Auzentech X-Plosion or X-Meridian because of their digital out features. I have read great things about having a DD/DTS encoding card, especially with users using real receivers / audio systems (as opposed to Logitech junk).

It really sucks with Creative that you can't do more than 2.0 out of Coax/Optical unless you are watching a DVD or something that is already encoded in Dolby. I am not a big fan of their drivers either....but Creative does literally have a monopoly for games support. You can be sure that they will be on top of the whole OpenAL / Vista issue, since Creative support is in every game.

Even though OpenAL is an open standard, I kinda doubt that Auzentech will be fast to implement it. If you look at their drivers, they have a really bad history of releasing products, then abandoning driver support. I noticed that X-Mystique or X-Plosion users are still using the beta drivers that came with the release of the card. In fact, C-Media is writing drivers for the vendors using their chipset...

I am curious to see if going all digital will be an improvement in my HiFi setup with movies/games/music. Currently I am using the audio setup in my sig, with Coax for music, and Analog for Multichannel. When listening to music, if I want 5.1, I use my receivers DSP features like ProLogic II / Neo:6. The big difference with Auzentech/similar cards would be that the sound card would be doing the upmixing work for Music, and not my receiver, as well having the advantages of using digital coaxial for everything (cleaner + shielded signal, less cable jungle, better DACs on HiFi receivers)

[Kobalt]

Grados can be quite harsh and uncomfortable from what I hear so see if you can try them before buying.

[nox_uk]

i think i've decided to put my audigy 2 back in, and pick up a pair of grados from somewhere, can't find anywhere local that sells em but everywhere raves about them so think i'll have to risk it :/

Nox

[Terru]

Try out the sennheiser HD280 pro's first. really comfy with great sound and built way stronger than grados. Closed style headset, so you don't hear anything outisde as well. I got mine for 80$ from B&H, and have not looked back.

[Losphoron]

damn you guys.. I used my AUreon 7.1 space for games for more than 2 years and i had very little problems..
For example in UT2004 the problem is if you switch to eax+hardware acceleration the sound level is prety low.In the default mode the sound is powerfull and ok..
In many games i don't bother with sound options too much because is working ok and the position is also ok.I can say i spend many ours playing games instead watching movies or audio editing.
The card is ok for games..Even if Audigy have more eax stuff not all time the diference is noticable.
If i had money and i hadn't a good sound card i would buy the X meridian even if it's not so popular.I support the alternative brands to creative and Oxygen chipset is very promising.
In any combination don't expect 100% free problems even if it's creative product.

[rvd]

get a sound card.