$100 or under soundcard for HT/Music/Gaming

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dead2k1

Honorable
Dec 5, 2012
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Hello folks!

Been looking around for a new sound card (currently running on Realtek 892 board sound), budget around 100$. I mostly watch movies, listen to music, and play games. Currently I'm running a pair of Creative T40 S2's but as I MIGHT go for a surround system later, I'm not going to go for the Xonar Essence cards.

My research has yielded that ASUS makes great cards, specifically the DX, and D2/PM.

My question is, the DX came out in 2008, is it being replaced with something new? It seems to be out of stock at all my retailers here. I can only seem to find the lower end DGX and DSX, the Essence STX, U7, and D2/PM.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks guys!
 
Solution
ironsheik
I owned the sound blaster Z and would recommend it.

There won't be a big difference in overall sound quality between these choices.

I can tell you the Sound Blaster Z is considerably newer, and that creative has really improved the Sound Blaster products in the past year. The control software is pretty good and offers some nice audio enhancements.

I just ordered the usb sound card, Creative Sound Blaster Omni, haven't received it yet. Seems to be the newest soundblaster product.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Surround-External-SB1560/dp/B00EZT7RE4

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gamerk316

gamerk316

Glorious
Jul 8, 2008
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At that price, the main options are the ASUS Xonar DX, and Creative Soundblaster Z.

As I haven't heard any of the usual Creative driver horror stories, I'd recommend the Z over the DX at this point. The DX is old and reliable, but the Z is a lot newer, and having the amp built in is a nice feature if you ever move up to headphones.

And yes, the DX is getting hard to find. To my knowledge, ASUS hasn't released a new part yet on a new chipset aside from the Phoebus, but that's out of your price range. [ASUS would do REALLY well with a refresh; no idea what the holdup is...]
 
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dead2k1

Honorable
Dec 5, 2012
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10,530
Thanks for the reply Gamerk, the sound blaster Z runs at just about 100$ for me, same as the D2/PM.

Given a choice between these two would you still choose Creative?

With a primary emphasis on the quality of sound, possible 5.1/7.1 (analog/dts/dolby/anything).

Planning on upgrading my audio setup at some point to monitors + receiver so I doubt i'll need a powered headphone jack.
 
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ironsheik

ironsheik

Honorable
Jan 28, 2014
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I owned the sound blaster Z and would recommend it.

There won't be a big difference in overall sound quality between these choices.

I can tell you the Sound Blaster Z is considerably newer, and that creative has really improved the Sound Blaster products in the past year. The control software is pretty good and offers some nice audio enhancements.

I just ordered the usb sound card, Creative Sound Blaster Omni, haven't received it yet. Seems to be the newest soundblaster product.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Surround-External-SB1560/dp/B00EZT7RE4

 
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Solution
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dead2k1

Honorable
Dec 5, 2012
31
0
10,530
Bought a Sound Blaster Z for ~100USD, just a tad more than the D2/PM, but I think the fact the Z is pci-e and the D2/PM is only PCI was a good reason to get the Z. But God those red LED's drove me crazy until I taped over them
 
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