Auzentech X-Fi Forte Available Now

[safan80]

True. I use them on w7, but i still hear pops and clicks. Moreover, in vista x64 now the secret rabbit code in foobar stopped working properly. Creative has huge issues with sample rate output.

As somebody said above, my last creative card. Auzen, maybe. Also check my thread in general hardware/sound about comparison between the forte and the Essence stx.

my first gen x-fi has no pops with these drivers in vista x64 or windows 7 x64.

http://forums.creative.com/creativel...read.id=135215

[Zorlac]

When will we get XAudio2 sound cards? XAudio2 is the successor to DirectSound as far as I know and is now included in recent distros of DirectX.

[safan80]

When will we get XAudio2 sound cards? XAudio2 is the successor to DirectSound as far as I know and is now included in recent distros of DirectX.

Xaudio2 is just an api.

[Zorlac]

What is OpenAL and OpenAL+EAX then?

[safan80]

What is OpenAL and OpenAL+EAX then?

same thing as Xaudio2

[Donnie27]

You understand that when you use dolby/cmss you're supposed to set ingame to multichannel?

It downmixes 4.1/5.1/7.1 to headphones... on the fly.

I own an audigy 4, so how could i biased?

I have EAX 4.0, which I admit is very good, though the rear soundstage is fubar, and very imbalanced vs the L/R surround. It downmixes from 64 channels vs 5/7 of 5.1/7.1, so EAX kills games that otherwise have to downmix 7.1

I know what CMSS 3D is, how it works, how it's setup and was one of the first ones to talk about it here.

Dolby Headphone depends on already processed sounds or canned/Prerendered sounds. This can be heard with DVD and etc...but it doesn't work as well with Games. The best Dolby can do then is simulate 5.1 and causes more harm than good with games.

CMSS 3D is interactive and is performed On-The-Fly. A3D and Sensura at work here. No, CMSS 3D works great with or without EAX. All CMSS 3D needs is any game with ANY 5.1 at all. EAX is just icing on the cake. A prime example is Half Life 2. It can do perfect 360 horizontal and vertical The first HL2 used its own sound engine. WITHOUT EAX OR OPENAL X-Fi still kicked they other card's @$$es Only the Prelude can beat them.

One reason your rear channel might be fubar is because when playing games in 5.1 mode, you MUST turn CMSS 3D OFF. This is a very common mistake I've seen even Enthusiasts make. Example. Like some Ding Bat at [H] thinking CMSS 3D would make 5.1 sound 10.2 In simple terms, you don't need 5.1 ears to hear a 5.1 sound sources. Yet, your two ears can easily pinpoint direction. CMSS 3D recreates this, Dolby HP can for movies but not for games. Now, add EAX to these already directional sounds and bang, nothing else touches it. The amount of EAX can be adjusted.

For 5.1 in Game Mode.
X-Fi CMSS 3D disabled (no check mark in the box)
X-Fi Crystalizer Optional mine stays off for games. Helps old games.
EQ To taste, mine has a little mid increased (better in game voices).
Mixer Everything off/disabled if you're not using a MIC. EAX enabled but set to 0DB, MIC if used set to 70% FX, Smart Volume off for most games.
Speakers Set to 5.1,
Bass Bass Redirection enabled and Frq Crossover set to 80Hz. Sub woofer Gain enabled.

Go back to Speakers and run the Noise test. Make sure the Multi Media speakers or Receiver is NOT set to any kind of Matrix, 3D, Expander or any other simulated surround. This messes up the cards discrete output. Another common mistake. DTS connect is sweet and this will just get better with uncompressed HDMI

Last thing needed would be in game Audio set to whatever surround sound setting enabled. Then sit back and enjoy! Hope I didn't waste anyone's time.

[Bo_Fox]

Interesting discussion, Donnie!

I guess I'll be getting a Prelude for my CRT rig hooked up to 5.1 receiver/active subwoofer and an Essence STX for my other rig that is mainly used with either 2 speakers or headphones. It seems that Foxconn's Bloodrage Sonar X-Fi card might not be good enough.

[Donnie27]

Interesting discussion, Donnie!

I guess I'll be getting a Prelude for my CRT rig hooked up to 5.1 receiver/active subwoofer and an Essence STX for my other rig that is mainly used with either 2 speakers or headphones. It seems that Foxconn's Bloodrage Sonar X-Fi card might not be good enough.

Absolutely for strictly Music and occasional gaming, the $89 Xonar was good enough, if the new Essence STX is even better that RAWCs! Price will play a part but I'd love one of them for my HTPC.

I think Asus and Auzentech is making a very big mistake trying to sell High-End cards in this current economic climate.

[Zaskar]

Im just looking for a Native PCI-E Soundcard that has a digital/optical out and has DTS or DDL, does this do that?

Remember reading about some new Auzentech card that was PCI-E, but ended up being low profile and didn't have DTS or DDL, which really just kind of made it worthless, dunno if this is it or if its a new one.

[Helmore]

Absolutely for strictly Music and occasional gaming, the $89 Xonar was good enough, if the new Essence STX is even better that RAWCs! Price will play a part but I'd love one of them for my HTPC.

I think Asus and Auzentech is making a very big mistake trying to sell High-End cards in this current economic climate.

I think Auzentech would have trouble trying to compete in the low end, that market would be much easier served by Creative itself. Asus on the other hand, they could easily do so.

[Rise]

http://www.guru3d.com/news/auzentech...available-now/

click the link at the bottom for pics!

This post is awesome, purely because of the first line in your sig

[Donnie27]

Im just looking for a Native PCI-E Soundcard that has a digital/optical out and has DTS or DDL, does this do that?

Remember reading about some new Auzentech card that was PCI-E, but ended up being low profile and didn't have DTS or DDL, which really just kind of made it worthless, dunno if this is it or if its a new one.

Creative's new cards does DDL and they sell an Add-on for $4.72 for older cards. The Prelude does DDL and DTS.

The Forte ships with two brackets so it can be installed in Low or Normal profiles.

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_forte.php

[dexman]

Im just looking for a Native PCI-E Soundcard that has a digital/optical out and has DTS or DDL, does this do that?

Remember reading about some new Auzentech card that was PCI-E, but ended up being low profile and didn't have DTS or DDL, which really just kind of made it worthless, dunno if this is it or if its a new one.

yeah, Forte does all of that. check auzentech's website, there is everything you need to know. ///Donnie was quicker

[Zaskar]

cool, thanks guys.

Is this card longer then the other PCI-E cards to make up for the low profile height? is so that may be another concern as many boards top PCI-E slot doesn't have the full depth available to it, which made the very short PCI-E soundcards a perfect fit.

[safan80]

Creative's new cards does DDL and they sell an Add-on for $4.72 for older cards. The Prelude does DDL and DTS.

The Forte ships with two brackets so it can be installed in Low or Normal profiles.

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_forte.php

that link is in the very first post.... This is why I stopped embedding links in my posts because people ignore them.

[Donnie27]

that link is in the very first post.... This is why I stopped embedding links in my posts because people ignore them.

Yup but hey!

cool, thanks guys.

Is this card longer then the other PCI-E cards to make up for the low profile height? is so that may be another concern as many boards top PCI-E slot doesn't have the full depth available to it, which made the very short PCI-E soundcards a perfect fit.

My understanding is that it is slightly longer but about the same size as the X-Fi Xrreme Gamer. The new PCI-E X-Fi Ti is smaller as well but still full height.

X-Fi Xreme Gamer

[safan80]

This post is awesome, purely because of the first line in your sig

well CL doesn't make the card, so what's so funny?

[Donnie27]

I think Auzentech would have trouble trying to compete in the low end, that market would be much easier served by Creative itself. Asus on the other hand, they could easily do so.

There's room for Auzentech in the Mainstream discrete SC market. Those that range fro $89 to $139.

[Helmore]

There's room for Auzentech in the Mainstream discrete SC market. Those that range fro $89 to $139.

What I meant to say is that Auzentech may not be able to compete there, because they would be competing with Creative and they are buying the chips from Creative itself. I presume that would make it hard for them to compete with Creative, or they would have to offer something in that price range that does not directly compete with Creative's offerings.

[Donnie27]

What I meant to say is that Auzentech may not be able to compete there, because they would be competing with Creative and they are buying the chips from Creative itself. I presume that would make it hard for them to compete with Creative, or they would have to offer something in that price range that does not directly compete with Creative's offerings.

I believe it might be more of a matter of costs and Volume. They're lower volume so each unit costs more. They can't mass produce like Creative Can.
I'd think if they could get more volume, the costs would come down, then they could charge less. Right now they seem more like a niche supplier and that's too bad. I could easily be wrong.

I think very little of it has anything to do with competing with Creative. It's a win win for Creative. They could also try to sell more DSP's to others as well. They'd become just like ATI or nVidia in their Hey-Day. Creative had said they're not stopping anyone from using their DSP!

[Xoulz]

The windows driver model is permanently changed as of Vista, anything in W7 is going to be simple refinement and not major redesign.

There are major benefits to these changes, namely that driver crashes no longer bring down the kernel, but they're outweighed in practice by the reduction in functionality to the end user (hardware accelerated sound basically sucks ass under vista).

Take from that what you will - the driver model change was necessary to bring windows closer to the modern era though this doesn't mean that any of us really like the result much.

But EAX 4.0 and other surround sound standards no longer work. This is a major downfall of Windows Vista and Windows 7 and a HUGE reason many gamers will not switch over.

Gamers rely on EAX...! I'm a semi-professional gamer (have won $$ over many years) and there is no way I would give up EAX for positional sound, unless a new standard usurped it's performance and quality. It has not!



This ^^ is what I am talking about. How can Microsoft move forward with their new OS's and not even bat an eye at incorporating some form of a robust 3 dimensional sound system ..?

Windows 7 needs to address this problem, or it will be another debacle like Vista.





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[Helmore]

I believe it might be more of a matter of costs and Volume. They're lower volume so each unit costs more. They can't mass produce like Creative Can.
I'd think if they could get more volume, the costs would come down, then they could charge less. Right now they seem more like a niche supplier and that's too bad. I could easily be wrong.

I think very little of it has anything to do with competing with Creative. It's a win win for Creative. They could also try to sell more DSP's to others as well. They'd become just like ATI or nVidia in their Hey-Day. Creative had said they're not stopping anyone from using their DSP!

What I was also alluding to was the fact that Auzentech buys the DSPs from Creative, so the DSP will be more expensive for Auzentech than it is for Creative. I mean, Creative will want to make a profit on each DSP they sell to some other company, which makes their DSP more expensive for Auzentech than for Creative.
Higher volume for Auzentech will make a difference, but won't be able to make up for the fact that their DSP is more expensive than what Creative pays for it.

[Xoulz]

I can hardly be excited about "gaming" sound cards due to how utterly ridiculous sound effects in games themselves are. No spec improvement will change the fact that there's no realism whatsoever in any and all in-game audio. Take for example your high-end FPS; as you shoot, the first thing you (might) notice that guns give a simple "Bang!", no matter if you're the behind weapon or in front when someone shoots at you. Or in the next room / 20m away. If someone's launching a rocket/missile in front of you, you hear a "SWOosh!", instead of the extremely loud low explosive "B O O O M !" rocket engines give in reality. That is, when you're behind the exhaust. If you are (in front of) the shooter, you will not hear the same loud sound, only a "SWOoosh!". Though, with a weapon such as M72 LAW you will be distracted by the sound of the "hammer" hitting the igniter right by your ear.

What we need is a sound card that is actually an audio-physics card which would actually simulate how sounds behave in a given environment. We need hardware (and an API) that actually simulates the behaviour of sound waves, in air and solids, through obstacles, echoes, distorsions, etc.
Not useless SNR improvements.

Bro, that^^ is so wrong. In Battlefield 2142, not only can you tell exactly where a sniper (200 yards away) is trying to hit your from, you can here the doppler effect of the bullet as it passes your head and continues on..!

That game has been out 3 years..! As I said earlier, many of my friends were amazed at the difference, because it makes a huge difference in game play.

5.1 surround, with Creative X-Fi..! (EAX 5.0 HD enabled)

I won't give it up.





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[Donnie27]

What I was also alluding to was the fact that Auzentech buys the DSPs from Creative, so the DSP will be more expensive for Auzentech than it is for Creative. I mean, Creative will want to make a profit on each DSP they sell to some other company, which makes their DSP more expensive for Auzentech than for Creative.
Higher volume for Auzentech will make a difference, but won't be able to make up for the fact that their DSP is more expensive than what Creative pays for it.

True but I'm thinking Creative isn't selling them for a premium if they want and NEED others to buy them. Keep in mind they're also competing with On-Board chips (except the ones bought out by Asus).

[safan80]

In with the new out with the old. the drivers on the CD with work fine with vista x64. the third party drivers don't work with this card yet. I had to buy new cables for my Gigaworks S750 speakers bestbuy had the cables for half the price of radioshack