EAX question

i have an Audigy 2 ZS and when i turn on EAX or 3d audio, the sound quality is terrible. my ears start to hurt and i have a headache. i tried this on two speakers setups and the results were the same. first, i tried EAX on my 2.1 logitech x-230. then i tried it on two pairs (4.0 setup) of JBL stock speakers. do i need expensive speakers to use EAX or 3d Audio? if i do, then i might as well go back to onboard sound, because i really can't tell the difference (and i'm not deaf, my ears are normal like everyone else's).

EAX emulates Sound Occlusion, Re-verbs etc in hardware. I'm unsure what you mean by the sound being horrible unless you're unaware of exactly what EAX does.

It may make the sound hollow, tin like etc depending on the current environment of the game.

Still.. how do you mean terrible?

Maybe your just not used to it... some people like 3D audio, some don't... I hope you knew what you were getting before you bought the sound card...

That's too bad. I have the same card and had some problems with it conflicting with Norton Antivirus. Whenever I used EAX I would get a squealing noise and some other messed up crud coming out of the speakers. I figured it out that it was a conflict with Norton after a couple of reinstalls.
Just my experience. If you're running an antivirus, try uninstalling it and playing, may make a big difference if it's interfering with the drivers (which is what I assume NAV was doing with me).
Good news is that I can tell the difference between my onboard and the card and that I'm very very happy with it since I got it working. It's one of those things where you don't know what you've got until you try going back.

You connected two different pairs of speakers hoping to make it a 4.0 system? :?

the first time i tried it, windows installed the drivers for me, then i installed the drivers from the cd, afterwards, i uninstalled them and installed the newest drivers from their website

i can't hear the sound coming directly from the speakers. it sounds like it's coming from inside my head. i'm not sure how to exactly describe it but i know that they gave me a headache after 5 minutes.

i had no idea what EAX or 3d audio was before i bought the card. i never owned a sound card before in my life (i'm only 18). i have been using onboard sound this whole time, which recently stopped working for unknown reasons. when buying a new soundcard, i had to choose between the audigy SE and the audigy 2 ZS. i chose the the 2 ZS because the customer reviews at Newegg said the audigy SE was not meant for gaming. also, someone on this forum also told me that the sound quality in games are equally as important as the video quality and everything else. so it is a good investment to pay more for a sound card. but now i'm not so sure if it's true

both pairs were JBL speakers of the same exact model. my sound card has 3 speakers holes and when i connected the speakers to two of them they all had sound coming out. but i'm not sure if they're meant to do that. i just did it because it was cheaper than buying another 4.0 system when i already have two pairs lying around.

i only tried EAX and 3d audio for gaming.

i'm not connecting the speakers through any kind of amplifier or reciever. i just plug them into the first and second speaker holes in my sound card and they work.

the games i play are only a few years old. i play cs1.6, ut2003, and other games that are more recent.

before i used to set my computer volume at 100% so i would only have to adjust the speakers when i need to change the volume. but when i had the 4.0 speakers set up, i had both pairs at 100% and the computer volume at half so i could use the it to control both pairs at the same time, as both have seperate volume controls. i never knew that i shouldn't set them to 100%. would doing that damage my sound card or speakers?

Ahh that's 3D positional sound there my friend. That's normal. I figured it was more because you weren't used to it. EAX positions sound in a more realistic manner then traditional 3D sound. Instead of it sounding like it's coming out of your speakers in a direct manner.. it sounds like it's around your head... (around sound.. surrounding you). This is quite normal.

That's what EAX does.. Places you in the middle of the action. But if it's giving you a headache then turn it off..

Is honestly giving you headaches? This is completely serious: you might want to see a doctor if EVERYTHING is configured as the manual says. Speakers shouldn't give you a headache unless they are too loud, at least as far as I've seen.

Yes that was addressed to the OP, sorry for the confusion.

There's your problem. If you have the Creative Volume Control program installed (aka if you installed everything from the cd, whether or not you've updated drivers), look at the THX Console. I have the same card. Your problem is probably that you have one set plugged into the front middle/subwoofer plug. You should be using the second and third plugs, the front right/rear right and front left/rear left plugs.

Make sure everything looks right in speaker settings in control panel too.

the x-230 speakers only gives me a headache when i have EAX or 3D audio turned on regardless of the volume it's set at. the cheap JBL speakers give me a headache no matter what, as long as i am using the Audigy 2 ZS. it makes all the high pitched noises sound overly high pitched. it didn't do this when i was using onboard sound.

i'm thinking about returning the x230's and getting a z-2300 instead. do you think this is a waste of money if i don't ever turn on the EAX? should i just go back to JBL speakers and onboard sound? i only use my speakers for moderate gaming. i seldom listen to music on my pc anymore. having constant noise coming from a few feet in front of me also gives me a headache after a while. i just listen to the radio because of their preconfigured playlists that includes all of the newest songs.

but for my purposes, all i need is onboard sound and stock speakers. all there is to hear when playing games are gun sounds. since i'm not using EAX or 3d audio for games, i don't see how the Audigy 2 ZS can promise me a huge performance increase. i can't get a refund for my sound card, so i guess i'll be trying to sell it on Amazon or ebay at a discount