audigy zs gamer or platinum

[Mr. Manka]

hello

im looking into buying a sound card for my system as the onboard audio just aint cutting it.

i was looking into the zs platinum ed. but the front panel wont clear my case i think. cuz i have an nzxt nemesis 1337 and theres like a mm or 2 of clearance and i dont feel like moddin it.

now my question, is the zs gamer edition worse than then platinum if so will i notice the difference.

note: ill be using this card for gaming for the most part with a pair of sennhesier pc 150's.

[Mr. Manka]

bump

[Jupiler]

The ZS gamer should be fine, i'm using the same one for over 1 year now.
Best sound card there is.

[Frisch]

These 3 cards owns whatever creative have made in sound quality, and the drivers are so much better and smaller.
This is 3 products which will (the first is a winner) blow a set of bad speakers away. these cards will demand something from your speakers.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3503/xm71goldboxcontents4505va.jpg
Specifications (http://epowerhousepc.com/product_info.php?products_id=603)

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5259/productprodigy1924my.jpg
Specifications (http://www.audiotrak.net/prodigy192.htm)

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/4021/pro71ltimg71iu.gif
Specifications (http://www.audiotrak.co.uk/home_theatre/prodigy71lt/prodigy71lt.htm)

[Mr. Manka]

how much will they cost

i can get a zs gamer for 72.00$

[Frisch]

BlueGears HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 GOLD Sound Card - Dolby Digital Live Certified! (http://www.frozencpu.com/snd-12.html?id=WEbW9NPF)

I most point out, that you get a lot for the money. It's a highend card.

Audiotrak Prodigy 192 (http://floridamusicco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=prodigy192)

This card i have in my machine, and all i can say is awwwwwwwwwwwwww.
But if i should get a new one, i would buy the HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1, without blinking.

Prodigy 7.1 LT (http://www.tracertek.com/prodigy71lt.htm)

This one is almost the same as the prodigy 192.

[KILLorBE]

BlueGears HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 GOLD Sound Card - Dolby Digital Live Certified! (http://www.frozencpu.com/snd-12.html?id=WEbW9NPF)

I most point out, that you get a lot for the money. It's a highend card.

I have to get me one of those and a couple of Burr-Brown OPAMPs :D

[en4cer]

BlueGears HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 GOLD Sound Card - Dolby Digital Live Certified! (http://www.frozencpu.com/snd-12.html?id=WEbW9NPF)

I most point out, that you get a lot for the money. It's a highend card


How will this compare to the new X-Fi chip?

[Donnie27]

hello

im looking into buying a sound card for my system as the onboard audio just aint cutting it.

i was looking into the zs platinum ed. but the front panel wont clear my case i think. cuz i have an nzxt nemesis 1337 and theres like a mm or 2 of clearance and i dont feel like moddin it.

now my question, is the zs gamer edition worse than then platinum if so will i notice the difference.

note: ill be using this card for gaming for the most part with a pair of sennhesier pc 150's.

The Audigy 2 ZS is the same card as the Audigy 2 ZS Gamer except it software package. The Platinum only adds a I/O Drive and is the same card as well. Audigy 2 ZS is all you need, unless you just listen to music and don't play games Don't worry about the Audigy 2 or etc... If Music playback that's very slightly better on these other cards that's hardly highend, then buy a cheap set top unit. The Audigy Crushes the others for games. I know of NO serious Gamers using anything but an Audigy 2 or better.

The problem is not DACs or DDL, it what's done prior to the data getting to the DACs or DDL. That problem is CMedia (HDA-M) and Envy (Prodigy) are conduets for CPU processing and hardly high end at all. Overpriced but notthing else. You're lucky if they can do complete DS3D or Sensura that's barely supported. Anyone who's compared will tell you EAX3 or 4 + DS3D (Direct Sound 3D part of DirectX) is a whole lot better than DS3D alone. It has little to do with Frame Per Second.

When I say Games, I mean First Person Shooters and other games like them.

Donnie27

[Frisch]

The Audigy 2 ZS is the same card as the Audigy 2 ZS Gamer except it software package. The Platinum only adds a I/O Drive and is the same card as well. Audigy 2 ZS is all you need, unless you just listen to music and don't play games Don't worry about the Audigy 2 or etc... If Music playback that's very slightly better on these other cards that's hardly highend, then buy a cheap set top unit. The Audigy Crushes the others for games. I know of NO serious Gamers using anything but an Audigy 2 or better.

The problem is not DACs or DDL, it what's done prior to the data getting to the DACs or DDL. That problem is CMedia (HDA-M) and Envy (Prodigy) are conduets for CPU processing and hardly high end at all. Overpriced but notthing else. You're lucky if they can do complete DS3D or Sensura that's barely supported. Anyone who's compared will tell you EAX3 or 4 + DS3D (Direct Sound 3D part of DirectX) is a whole lot better than DS3D alone. It has little to do with Frame Per Second.

When I say Games, I mean First Person Shooters and other games like them.

Donnie27


You are right about games when it comes to prodigy.
An example i could give is from dugeon siege II.
When you are down in a cellar there is no reverb (or echo) on the prodigy, but with eax there is, it sounds wrong with the prodigy.
But the prodigy is meant first for the music, and there is a big difference in quality between creative and prodigy here.
You are also right about the bad support for sensura, in fact it's not there, just go to the forums.
I have both an Audigy and a prodigy 192, and when i have the audigy in and i listen to music or watch a film, my small altec lanzing speakers have no problem whit it, infact it sounds as the speakers are to big for it.
When i have the prodigy in, my speakers cryes for help, it's like they are gonna explode.
When i turn up for the sound with Audigy ( still talking listning to music) the sound gets distorted, but it's the other way round with prodigy, the speakers gets distorted, course they cant take the heat, and there is so much more to give from the prodigy.

So in short.
If you want a card that's a alrounder , but no way gets you the full experience ( except for games ) get a Creative.
But if music is what you are into, get a prodigy , or the juli, or another of the semipro - pro cards. And dont forget to get some good speakers, not some creative or whatever pc speakers there's around. Plug it into your stereo , and you'll never buy a pc speaker again.

And final , they are cheap , if you compared the components on the cards. When i look at the Audigy i got, the components and pcb are so cheap to look at. The prodigy, juli or hda or what ever, is a hole other class.

I use my audigy in the daily, but when i want some quality music listening, i use my prodigy.

Auditrak- ESI are pro card makers , they supply the pro people in the music buisness.

Creative, you get a card that works wether you game , hear music or watch tv, but it's at a price, the price of quality in music listening.

Audoitrak-ESI, you get bad support, you must understand that they are use to deal with pro people that dont ask that kind of quistions as we do, Like my tunercard dont work, or when is the new driver to come. I had trouble with my prodigy but i wont give it up, course of the music and film quality. I have given up on games with this card, but there is no absolute card out there, and it seems as there wont be for a while.

[Donnie27]

Going from SBLive to Audigy 1 wasn't that big of a Deal. Audigy 2 was and even a nice small updated go to 2 ZS. Go to X-Fi from Audigy 2 ZS is like going from SBLive to Audigy 2ZS if not to Audigy 4. I say thins eventhough I know Audigy 4 has slightly better DACs.

The X-Fi starts at $129 because it's 51 million transistor 400MHz Processor is not cheap. It also has good DACs (though not BurrBrown or etc..). There's no longer a need to have two sound cards in your rig. Some guys use Creative for Gaming and something (EMU for example) for most other things.

It's NOT that Audigy 2 ZS is getting blown out the water, it still hold up well when Gaming against the X-Fi. It's clearly out done with Music Playback and recording though, but X-Fi out does ALL of the other cards in its price range.

Creative has reportedly said they'll sell X-Fi to 3rd parties, including other sound card makers. Hell yes I'd pay $200 for a TB sound card with X-Fi, Wolffy DACs and Dolby Digital Live. The card doesn't need to be made by Creative.

Donnie27

[nn_step]

it's all about the chips not who's card they are on..