Own Barracuda HP-1 Headphones - Which Sound Card to I get

[xizorgetspeed]

Hi Guys,

Alright, I have been doing a lot of research and have spent many, many, and then some more hours researching between the Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Gamer Card and the Barracuda AC-1 Gaming Card.

My rig if it makes a difference is a Core 2 Quad 2.4, 4GB Ram, Asus P532n SLI-PLUS, eVGA 8800 GT x 2 SLI, XP Pro 64 bit and will dual boot later to Vista Home Premium x64

Currently the sound card I am running is the Creative ZS 2 Platinum.

I want to get the best possible sound out of the hp-1 headset. I have splitter cables that plug my headphones and old school Creative inspire 5.1 sound system into my computer.

I have read that to get the most out of my headsets I should combo it with the Razer sound card. However, if I do this, then I lose the 5.1 speakers as well (not too big of a problem) My major concern is that non-Creative cards don't have anything above EAX 2.0.

And that's the major question. Do you really need EAX? Do most games use it? Will you experience the same immersive if you don't go EAX.

Also, if I go x-fi, then will I get as good sound from my headphones?

I would really appreciate your reply and input. Hopefully you have either setup and can share your experiences.

Thanks!

 

[xizorgetspeed]

Oh and all I will ever do with this system is game.

 

[nmathew]

Check your speakers. Do you have an analogue center/subwoofer channel? I ask, because the X-Fi cards no longer support the Creative Digital Din plug, and their digital out is limited to 2.1 sound unless you're playing DVDs. Then they will pass the full 5.1 AC3 stream out.

 

[xizorgetspeed]

Speakers have 3 stereo outputs, rear, front, center. Analog sound is what I'm running right now.

 

[Spikke]

I use my Barracuda headset on a X-Fi Xtreme Gamer card and it sounds great.

 

[starwasp]

Having the same trouble I talked with Creative and they referred me to this external box which cost 179.99. So I checked the reviews and they all said it sucked. I like having my headset (barracuda's) and my speakers hooked up so I don't have to unhook and re- hook every time I take them off. So if ya find anything out, let me know.

Starwasp