Should I upgrade to SB Live 5.1?

[nyteskyy]

I have the SB Live Value card, but wondered if there is a noticible difference between the 2? If Tom would do a review on sound cards it would be GREAT! Anyone have the 5.1 card (any of them)

 

[Guest]

I'm using a Soundblaster Live Value! as well. I've been wondering for awhile if a upgrade to the new 5.1 cards is worthwhile. Maybe some sort of comparison testing would be in order.

Of course there is some soundcard type sites out there that do these type of reviews, but I'd like to see Tom's take on these things as well.

K6-2+ 550

 

[nyteskyy]

I agree. I hope Tom does do a review as I believe he gives some of the best advice for products on the net. Since I am going to be getting the Midiland S4 8200 speakers, I can't have anything less than 5.1 technology.

Too many things to buy, not enough money...

 

[Bomber]

Have got a SB Live!Player 5.1

Only way to go on my duron 700/a7v setup- Having tried everything and I mean everything to get an aureal based card to work with the VIA chipset, I eventually gave up and spent hard earned cash on a new card. Having heard of problems with the videologic sonic fury and the via chipset (SB emulation problem -sound familiar?), decided to play safe and go with creative...no problems so far, sound ok but haven't got the cash (yet!) to splash out and get a 5.1 speaker system (any suggestions?) so can't comment on the full potential...

 

[Guest]

It really depends on your speakers. If you have normal surround sound 4.1 speakers then stick with your SBLive Value. If you upgrade your speakers to 5.1 digital then it makes sense to drive them with the 5.1 SBLive digital card.

 

[Guest]

Check out the Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Theater 5.1 DTT3500. I heard some good things about it. Plus you get everything in one box. I would consider them seriously if I didn't already have my SB Live Gamer sound card that is not 5.1 and my Klipsh Pro Media setup.

 

[nyteskyy]

My speakers right now don't justify buying a new card, but I am just about ready to buy the Midiland S4 8200 speaker system. If you need speakers definately check them out.

 

[Guest]

Hi, NyteSkyy !
If you don't want to watch any DVD movies with Dolby Digital sound on your computer, then you don't have to upgrade to SBLive 5.1. As a matter of fact I don't see any reason to buy this expensive card. If you do watch DVD movies on your computer, get some nice Dolby Digital receiver.

 

[Guest]

except...it's not exactly expensive at £49 is it....

 

[Guest]

I'd like to get 5.1 or DTS sound for my home theater now that I think about it. THX Ultra certified receivers are way $$$..

 

[TheAntipop]

what exactly are the 5 channels again? is it front left, front right, rear left, rear right, and subwoofer? sounds right, but i could be wrong

TBird 800 - Asus A7V 1004d
256 PC133 - WD 10BG ATA66
Voodoo3 2000 - SB PCI 128

 

[banesong]

you forgot the center channel

 

[Grizely1]

No sense in getting the newer version since all it has is different packaged software.

 

[lrmv]

I just upgraded my SB64 value to a SB Live Player 5.1 and immediately noticed a HUGE difference in sound quality! I'm not using the PC kind of speakers, I use REAL speakers with a good amplifier instead. I'm only listening in plain stereo though...

 

[Guest]

Hey,

I have an x gamer 5.1. What equipment do I need to get to have 5.1 surround? I already have 4 speakers. Do I need to get another one and then a digital receiver, or do I need to get special speakers. (The speakers that I have are not computer speakers they are the ones that just have a thing of wire at the end. I have 2 of them plugged into a subwoofer, and the sub is plugged into one of the regular speaker outlets in my SBLive! The other 2 are just sitting around)

Thanks

 

[Guest]

I believe you do need a special speaker setup for 5.1 to work properly. You need some hardware component to which you can connect the 5.1 signal coming from your sound card to. This component then needs to decode and distribute the signal to all 5 speakers (left/right front, center, left/right rear) and to your sub (that's the .1 part). You can do this with a receiver that is 5.1 compatible or with special speakers like the Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500's because they come with a the 5.1 hardware decoder portion.


- Every private citizen has a public responsibility

 

[Guest]

Welcome to a new year.
I recently installed the DE 5.1 sound card. Very impressed. 3 days ago I added an analogue 5.1 speaker system, and have now realised that a 4.1 setup would have been okay. The sound card is basically a 6 channel sound card. One port for front satellites, one port for rear satellites and one port for centre speaker and subwoofer(with it's own bass control knob on the DTT2200). The first thing I noticed is that the centre channel does all sound, no matter what channel should be voicing the sound(tested this in Deus Ex, maybe other programs will take into account the 5.1 setup and shut centre up) this means that sounds coming from behind also come through the front speaker. Bad for Thief gamers.
The digital DTTD3500 speaker system plugs into only 1 port on the card(same port as the Centre/Subwoofer). The decoder then sends to each individual channel. I think it comes with 18" tripods for the rear speakers too. The DTT2200 doco says you can order these through creative.com, but I just wasted an hour or 2 on that site and found nowhere to buy them. Gunna get the Kiosk stand anyway.
Conclusion: 5.1 is great for movies, but unecessary for surround sound gaming. Oh, and beer is good!

The only stupid questions are the unasked questions.

 

[rcf84]

well just get the xgamer 5.1 or mp3+ 5.1 . the exact same card just different software packages and no Live Drive.

ATI RADEON 32MB DDR RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JoeHead]

So how about Phillips's new Acoustic Edge!!! Sounds great.

Anything else in the works?

<b> Fragg at will!!! </b>