Audigy 2ZS or Audigy 4????

[openchut82]

I have a MSI K8tNeo2 motherboard. AMD 64 3200, 1GB Patriot 3200, NVIDIA Geforce 6800, now using onboard AC97 sound.
Playing BF2, which card would be the better or any difference between Audigy 2 ZS and Audigy 4???

Seems to me like they are about the same.
Thanks

 

[jammydodger]

As far as Im aware the two cards are actually technically the same. Creative released the audigy4 as a special edition card and it came with lots of bells and whistles. The audigy4 has a SNR ratio that is 6db higher than the Audigy2 ZS but that is it. Too be honest unless you have a very very good set of speakers you are not going to notice the difference. My speakers cost me £230 ($400?) and I doubt I would be able to notice that.

 

[Clob]

6db is a nice jump!

 

[earnhardt2]

I personally don't think that 6 db would not be enough of a difference to care. Unless you have very high quality speakers you will not notice a difference.

 

[Human1]

All I can tell you is that either would be a tremendous jump over onboard. I always thought that sound cards were a bit of a joke, but then I ended up needing one for some video editing I was doing. Newegg had the Audigy2 zs for ~$70, so I picked it up. The difference is amazing. Music sounds better, and games are just so much more immersive now. Good times!

 

[halcyon]

I have a MSI K8tNeo2 motherboard. AMD 64 3200, 1GB Patriot 3200, NVIDIA Geforce 6800, now using onboard AC97 sound.
Playing BF2, which card would be the better or any difference between Audigy 2 ZS and Audigy 4???

Seems to me like they are about the same.
Thanks

Sonically, they're close, but the 2 ZS appears to be slightly better in terms of S/N ratio (108db for the 2ZS vs 106db for the 4...prolly not audible, but there be the specs.), the 2ZS also has a firewire port (and header for an internal firewire port). The Audigy 4 comes with a remote control (cough*prettymuchuseless*cough).

The 2ZS comes with gold mini-jack connectors while the 4 comes with plastic colored versions. The 2ZS seems closer to the better X-Fi than the 4 appears.

I'd go with the 2ZS since I can't see any compeling reason to suggest the 4. Intererstingly, Creative's website does not permit one to compare the 2 cards to each other directly yet permits comparisons to any of their over products w/in the past 8-10 years to be done directly. Hmmm.... 8O :roll:

 

[HideOut]

yep, the A4 was a lower budget redo for mainstream market. Save soem more cash and get an X-Fi. The improvement is PHENOMINAL.

There are often listings for like $90 if you do a rebate, check around.

hide

 

[chuckshissle]

I have the X-Fi and Klipsch 2.1 Pro Media speakers and the audio is just amazing in gaming, musics and movies. In BF2 most of the time I used my Bose headphone and the X-Fi 3D settings to high, the sorround sound is just amazing and make you feel more into the game. I can hear where the sounds are coming from and bullets whizzing above my head and bouncing off the ground and walls. I can even clearly hear a grenade lands close by and can tell from which direction without looking.

Tell you what the X-Fi is a very impressive and have plenty of features and works great for gaming, entertainment and audio creation.

 

[halcyon]

yep, the A4 was a lower budget redo for mainstream market. Save soem more cash and get an X-Fi. The improvement is PHENOMINAL.

There are often listings for like $90 if you do a rebate, check around.

hide

An X-Fi can be had for $82 @ NewEgg ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102188 ). If they're not sold out yet.

 

[openchut82]

Okay thanks guys. I originally bought the Audizy 4. Then the X-Fi came on sale at newegg. I gave my Audigy 4 to my son and picked up the X-Fi for about the same price. Sounds great but now i need better speakers. Now using Cyber Acoustics 5.1, (had them for a few years) which distorts quite a bit in games. Thanks for all the replies. Any suggestions on a descent set of speakers?? Probably would like to stick with 5.1. Would like to spend around 150 or so if possible.

 

[Weirdo]

I own a X-Fi XtremeMusic and I was running some $20 compusa, generic 2.1 speakers. Needless to say, the X-Fi was definitly being held back. I went on the hunt for the best speakers for the money, preferably a 5.1 or even a 7.1 setup. After searching high and low, reading tons of reviews, I bought a Logitech X-530 off of newegg for about $65 (at the time, now they are $60).

These may not have the huge butt kicking bass that other speakers have but since I do live in an apartment, I would rather not BOOM out my neighbors when I blow up a tank in BF2. The speakers do have a good range of sound and the subwoofer is fairly powerful. The bass is there, just not overwhelmingly powerful. I have never heard them crack, whistle or whine, and I have ran some pretty high range stuff through it, at high volumn.

I have heard that other speakers have far better bass, for instance, the Logitech THX Z-5300e system. It costs just over double the X-530's but they have been known to have some SERIOUS bass and range of sound, with wonderful quality. Creative, Altec Lansing and Logitech speakers are usually the best mid to high end quality of speakers, atleast imo. If you want so spend some serious cash, Klipsch has a 5.1 speaker set that supposedly gives theater quality sound.

 

[cheetsy]

I have the Logitech z-5500's. Bought them in Taiwan for about 12000NT which is approximately 200 GBP or 375USD. But they are awesome. However as 'Wierdo' said, the z5300's and the z5400's are good 5.1 speakers too with great bass. the 5300's come with a kinda remote stuck on a cable thing, the 5400's come with a basic control box, not sure if they also come with a wireless remote. but the 5500's come with an awesome control center and a wireless remote which does everything.