X-fi I/O 5.25" Bay

[tyr86]

If I can get an X-fi Xtreme Music (the cheapest X-fi) for free or at an extremely reduced price, would it be a good idea to buy the I/O 5.25" bay for $70 or $80 bucks with remote?

I think I would use the head phone jack and the remote the most, maybe hook up my TV's audio to it, too.

 

[Clob]

Depends... Do you really need that? If so then It may be worth it... Its a very personal thing...

 

[tyr86]

I think I'd rather put the 80 bucks toward another monitor... case closed.

 

[halcyon]

If I can get an X-fi Xtreme Music (the cheapest X-fi) for free or at an extremely reduced price, would it be a good idea to buy the I/O 5.25" bay for $70 or $80 bucks with remote?

I think I would use the head phone jack and the remote the most, maybe hook up my TV's audio to it, too.

The 5.25" drive bay is all about convenience. The remote only works with the Creative Media software (AFAIK) so don't count on that convenience too much. Now, if you don't want to un-plug your speakers everytime you want to use headphones, then that's another convenience the bay adds. As far as digital I/O, you can get that for $15 (+ shipping) from creative in their digital I/O module ( http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=16&product=1780 ), so you don't need the bay for that. So...if convenience is really important or you need the MIC/MIDI inputs up front...well, I guess that's just convenience as well. ...it's not worth $80 guy, sorry.

What kind of card do you have now?

 

[tyr86]

I currently have a 2 ZS, but I am giving that up to my dad and so in my next rig, I am going to get an X-fi for cheap or free from a friend.

 

[halcyon]

Cool. You'll not notice any real audio quality difference between the two cards. The drive bay is nice and all, its just overpriced, it should be $40 ($50 tops). It's not like the front panel is made out of aluminum or steal with aluminum controls...then...an $80 asking price would be better received, IMO.