Good sound card/ speaker combo?

[dragmagpuff]

I like to play games, and listen to music (mainly rock). I am interested in 5.1 surround sound.

I am thinking about the Xonar DX with Logitech X-540s.

I tried looking at a bunch of reviews but they were all pretty old.

Thanks for your help.

 

[davcon]

Don't know where you live but cards are cheap in Canada.
This card is alot better the a DX1 and alot cheaper then most ASUS.
Considering it has the C-Media CMI8788 Oxygen HD PCI Audio Processor found on ASUS XONAR DX2.
AuzenTech X-MERIDIAN 7.1 2G
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=57405&vpn=AZT%2DXMERIDIAN7%2E12G&manufacture=AuzenTech&promoid=1320
http://www.ncixus.com/products/index.php?sku=57405&vpn=AZT%2DXMERIDIAN7%2E12G&manufacture=AuzenTech&promoid=1320
I have X-540's which are quite good for the price but would have many flaws revealed by really good soundcards.
I think the DX1 and Meridian 2 are too good for those speakers though.
I think the Asus DG is a better match.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=56330&vpn=XONAR%20DG&manufacture=ASUS
http://www.ncixus.com/products/56330/XONAR%20DG/ASUS/
I currently have an Audigy 2 ZS hooked up to the X-540's.
Have an older pc with Audigy 1 SE and X-530'S = garage system.
Auzentech Forte and old discontinued Yamaha 2.1's still haven't heard better pc speakers 40w sats/80w sub.
Auzentech X-Plosion C-Media CMI8770( same chip as OMEGA HT Striker) paid $35 for card and Logitech Z-5300.
If your're new to this the ASUS DG(has a headphone amp) and X-540's is a good place to start.

 

[geofelt]

I like to play games, and listen to music (mainly rock). I am interested in 5.1 surround sound.

I am thinking about the Xonar DX with Logitech X-540s.

I tried looking at a bunch of reviews but they were all pretty old.

Thanks for your help.

I don't know how much a good discrete sound card will cost you. But onboard 5.1 HD sound is good.
I suggest you take the sound card budget and use it to get the best speakers you can afford.

 

[dragmagpuff]

I guess I should have made a few clarifications as too my needs.

The sound card can't be a PCI slot card. My PCI slot is covered by one of my Graphics cards. It can be a PCI-e X1 though.

My only real speaker criteria is that I would like 5.1 sound. I am open to any speaker suggestions. It seems that 5.1 PC speaker choices are somewhat limited, but if I start to drift into the home theater speaker set up the choices get daunting.

I was looking at the Logitech z-5500s, but that is starting to get a little on the expensive side. Are they worth spending the extra money on them?

I also have a set of Sennheiser HD 280s that I got a good deal on a few years back that I use every now and then. So, a sound card that could deal with both headphones and speakers would be awesome.

If some one could suggest a good combination of speakers/sound card that meets this criteria I am open to suggestions.

 

[davcon]

Auzentech Forte or Bravura both have headphone amps,pcie-x1,Win7.
Forte hardware based processing.
Bravura software based.
Auzen X-Fi Bravura 7.1 review
http://www.guru3d.com/article/auzen-bravura-review/1
Auzentech X-fi Forte 7.1 Soundcard review | test
http://www.guru3d.com/article/auzentech-xfi-forte-71-soundcard-review-test/
I prefer 2.1 speakers so we'll leave it at that.

 

[dragmagpuff]

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[dragmagpuff]

Best answer selected by dragmagpuff.