Auzentech X-Fi Prelude Review

[gs274]

Got mine yesterday, installed the drivers from the downloads page, patch and alchemy. Nice static and pops in it and the mic doesn't work. Sweeeeet. For a $200 card you'd think that at least the freaking mic would work.

[ROBSCIX]

It seems ASUS mobo's have been the source of much difficulty for people with PCI soundcards. They seem to have compatibility issues with many different types of soundcards especially so with the SLI chipset boards. I thought they had BIOS updates to fix the issue with soundcards. Try normal troubleshooting techniques. Changes slots, Mute recording inputs your not using. etc. You bought the Prelude to replace your Fatality CE? Good Luck.

[gs274]

actually, the word from the hardforum is that the mic doesn't work period...as for the scb, seems the best way to cure that is to reinstall the os with the card installed. I'm going back to the fatality card...if they have a "audiophile" soundcard that's been out for this long and can't get the mic to work?! get real.

[Miwo]

actually, the word from the hardforum is that the mic doesn't work period...as for the scb, seems the best way to cure that is to reinstall the os with the card installed. I'm going back to the fatality card...if they have a "audiophile" soundcard that's been out for this long and can't get the mic to work?! get real.

The Mic works, though the output is very low. With the right settings/setup, it can be worked around. I use my mic on a daily basis in Source Games, Teamspeak, and Ventrilo, and people can hear me just fine. I am using the mic from my Sen. PC160 headset and speaking fairly close to the mic (a few milimeters). This is at 100% mic recording volume and +20db boost option.

[eToh]

How does this card compare to the x-fi elite in terms of sound quality?

[YukonTrooper]

How does this card compare to the x-fi elite in terms of sound quality?

Better DAC's, better op amps, better capacitors all add to better quality and a lower noise floor. With your studio monitors you would be able to notice the difference. If you have an Elite already though and you feel safe soldering or know someone who can do it, you can pick up some LM4562 op amp samples for free from National Semiconductor and mod the card. You can also go a step further and replace the power filter capacitor but the modded op amps will show the most increase in sound quality. These are the same op amps that the Prelude use.