X-fi Platinum or Audigy 4 Pro?

mwiz79

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Aug 11, 2006
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Hi,

I am getting Creative Audigy 4 Pro and X-fi Platinum at around the same price ($150 approx). Which one is a better card and which one should I buy? :roll:
I won't be using it for gaming much but mostly for movies/music and occasionally for recording my keyboard or electric guitar!

Also, both cards support a line level input (what is that?) on the I/O drive and this input comes with a gain control. Can I connect my electric guitar directly to it (without going thru a preamp/mixer/effects pedal)?

Shall be grateful for any help in making a decision

Regards,
M
 

quantumsheep

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Dec 10, 2005
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Hi,

I am getting Creative Audigy 4 Pro and X-fi Platinum at around the same price ($150 approx). Which one is a better card and which one should I buy? :roll:
I won't be using it for gaming much but mostly for movies/music and occasionally for recording my keyboard or electric guitar!

Also, both cards support a line level input (what is that?) on the I/O drive and this input comes with a gain control. Can I connect my electric guitar directly to it (without going thru a preamp/mixer/effects pedal)?

Shall be grateful for any help in making a decision

Regards,
M

You can indeed plug your guitar into it.I did this with the intergrated sound on my computer. use a 3.5mm Jack cable, plug it into the microphone socket on your soundcard, then get an adapter for 3.5 ---> 5mm and plug it into your guitar.

I believe the x-fi plantinum is the better card, newer tech. and all.

I'm not sure what a line level input is, sorry i couldn't help you on that.
 

4Aces

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Jul 18, 2006
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Have both Audigy 4's and X-Fi cards in the house and you'll want an x-fi hands down. The difference in the sound quality is amazing to say the least.
 

TunaSoda

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Dec 2, 2005
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A line level input is another type of plug, same size as the microphone jack, but not pre-amped

Most sound cards have crappy pre's

I would go for the X-Fi myself over the Audigy, more recent tech chip-wise
 

prolfe

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Jan 9, 2005
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Hi,

I am getting Creative Audigy 4 Pro and X-fi Platinum at around the same price ($150 approx). Which one is a better card and which one should I buy? :roll:
I won't be using it for gaming much but mostly for movies/music and occasionally for recording my keyboard or electric guitar!

Also, both cards support a line level input (what is that?) on the I/O drive and this input comes with a gain control. Can I connect my electric guitar directly to it (without going thru a preamp/mixer/effects pedal)?

Shall be grateful for any help in making a decision

Regards,
M

Hi M,
As an ametuer audio mixer for my church, my experience with line level inputs is that they are most commonly used to receive inputs from instruments (piano pickups, electric guitars, digital pianos, etc). They are technically higher strenth inputs than microphone inputs, that is, they have higher Db values, so yes you would connect it directly from the instrument to the jack. Line level inputs (more specifically line level cables) are more susceptible to interference and ground hum, but are generally safe at distances less that 30 ft. To reduce the chance of interference and ground hum make sure that you do not run the cable along any power cables, especially the one going to the PC or monitor. The gain control will alter the sensitivity of the line level input, obviously that means more volume if you turn it up, but you will get distortion if you turn it up too far. If your computer has a meter that lets you check Db values, adjust the gain so that when you are PLAYING YOUR LOUDEST you just barely hit the red, with the computer recording volume set somewhere in the middle. Some will argue that it is better to never hit the red, but the reason you want to just tap it is that the higher signal you can acheive overall will allow you to pick up the quieter frequencies better. Also, the more signal you have, the more realistic your music will sound after it is passed through an EQ.

Hope this helps!