Sound card question

[nanllyn]

Okay, I read through posts for over an hour trying to figure out what would be the best card for my uses. I have a Gigabyte K8N-SLI board and have been using the onboard sound. Which seems to be decent. I have the Creative SBS560 5.1 speakers. So not top of the line by no means but seems to be decent speakers.
I have been looking through newegg and they seem to have some great pricing on sound cards. I am considering the Audigy2 zs Platinum, which is on sale for $72.99 after rebates. But I also saw that I can get the X-Fi ExtremeMusic 7.1 sound card for $111.99 after rebate or the X-Fi Platinum for $169. I just am not sure which is best for my needs. I'm thinking the X-fi ExtremeMusic would be the best choice. I mainly listen to mp3's, cd's and some videos. I rarely play any games and if I do they are mainly the Sims. So I don't think I need the gaming sound card. The other thing is I don't have the latest and greatest speakers. I was considering buying the Logitech THX Z-5300e to go with it but would really like to save up the money and go for the Logitech Z-5500.
So which card do I go with? Will my current speakers do a decent job until I can get the Z-5500 or would the Z-5300e be a good choice? I would love to hear from those of you that actually have these as to what you think of them.
Thanks for your time and help. I really appreciate it.

 

[nilepez]

Don't know what's best, but ZipZoomFly has the Fata1ty version on sale for 119.00 after rebate (must purchase before 8/1).

But if you're not playing games, then I'd suggest looking at an m-audio card.

If you get the 5300, I'd one of the revolution cards (5.1 or 7.1).

If you get the 5500, then I'd get the Audiophile 2496. It can't decode DTS/AC3, but the 5500 can and the 2496 can pass either to your decoder.

 

[fredgiblet]

I would suggest the X-fi extrememusic, I'm going to get one in a paycheck or two. Creative Labs has a long, well-documented history with sound cards and are a generally well-trusted name.

As for speakers I just bought the 5300e, and I have to say it sucks, they are so good that I can barely listen to some of my mp3's now. But my high-quality mp3's and DVD's sound awesome. I would suggest dropping by a compUSA or Best Buy and seeing if they have the speakers on display, only you can decide if an upgrade is needed.

 

[nilepez]

I would suggest the X-fi extrememusic, I'm going to get one in a paycheck or two. Creative Labs has a long, well-documented history with sound cards and are a generally well-trusted name.

As for speakers I just bought the 5300e, and I have to say it sucks, they are so good that I can barely listen to some of my mp3's now. But my high-quality mp3's and DVD's sound awesome. I would suggest dropping by a compUSA or Best Buy and seeing if they have the speakers on display, only you can decide if an upgrade is needed.

If he's not gaming, X-Fi isn't a good choice. As for Mp3s, if you look at ever a 320kbs MP3, it's still chopping pretty much everything over 16khz. M4A (I assume) or ogg vorbis are better choices. I suppose WMA might be better too, but I've never looked at a WMA freq response.

 

[dimwhited]

you should get the chaintech AV710

its the card I have (and got after WAY too much research)

I have a three page thread about it (soundcard to av reciever) in this forum. and there is about a 32 page (last i checked) thread over at AVS forum.

the AVS forum one is called "envy24-s the definitive source:

oh, wait, nvm. Forgot about something.

If your using a reciever with digital input, then DEFFINATELY get this card. Its only fifteen bucks, and gives bit-perfect sound. Better sound (NOT FOR GAMING) then any creative card. (it doesnt upsample, all/most creative cards do)

if you want to use analouge inputs for your speakers, then get the Audiotrakk Prodigy 7.1

Its the same as the Chaintech AV710, but with better DACs (digital to analouge converters)


ALSO, if your only going to be using two speakers, the AV710 would be the best card for you because it has two channels with the supperior DACs found in Prodigy cards


btw... A DAC is what converts digital computer sound into analouge speaker sound. It has a big impact on sound quality

UPSAMPLING is when a card or program switches music to a different sample rate. Its kinda like using 128 bitrate mp3 compression, then using 320 bitrate ACC compression... it switches formats, so even if the sample rate is higher on the second one, it will still sound worse because it is in a different form/codec

 

[halcyon]

Okay, I read through posts for over an hour trying to figure out what would be the best card for my uses. I have a Gigabyte K8N-SLI board and have been using the onboard sound. Which seems to be decent. I have the Creative SBS560 5.1 speakers. So not top of the line by no means but seems to be decent speakers.
I have been looking through newegg and they seem to have some great pricing on sound cards. I am considering the Audigy2 zs Platinum, which is on sale for $72.99 after rebates. But I also saw that I can get the X-Fi ExtremeMusic 7.1 sound card for $111.99 after rebate or the X-Fi Platinum for $169. I just am not sure which is best for my needs. I'm thinking the X-fi ExtremeMusic would be the best choice. I mainly listen to mp3's, cd's and some videos. I rarely play any games and if I do they are mainly the Sims. So I don't think I need the gaming sound card. The other thing is I don't have the latest and greatest speakers. I was considering buying the Logitech THX Z-5300e to go with it but would really like to save up the money and go for the Logitech Z-5500.
So which card do I go with? Will my current speakers do a decent job until I can get the Z-5500 or would the Z-5300e be a good choice? I would love to hear from those of you that actually have these as to what you think of them.
Thanks for your time and help. I really appreciate it.

Take a look at the M-Audio Revolution 5.1 ( http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Revolution51-main.html ) or M-Audio 2496 ( http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496-main.html ). By no means are the Creative SoundBlaster cards the only or best choices for you, since like me, you're not really into gaming, though they are quite qualified. If you ever think you may want to connect your PC to your stereo you may appreciate the M-Audio's digital I/O connection options at their price points. The Creative X-Fi is a nice card, but the XM version shouldn't cost over $100, IMO, and the higher-end versions are WAAAYYY overpriced. Is that PLASTIC breakout box worth $50+ when Creative's own digitial I/O ( http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=16&product=1780 ) costs $15? While the Creative cards are nice and generally sound good, the X-Fi series is a bit overpriced, especially if you're not into gaming. Gamers spend all kinds of $$ on gear and Creative is exploiting that, IMHO. The Audigy 2ZS seems a card more worthy of its price for your stated use.

Speakers? Get the absolute best you can afford, even if you have to stretch a little, so you can truly enjoy the benefit of your sound card. Klipsch Ultra 5.1 won't likely dissapoint.

Cheers!

 

[4Aces]

If you can afford one get the X-Fi xtreme music, Maudio is mostly for input or creation like EMU parts are. Also you have no idea which chip you'll be getting, could be a VIA ENvy, could be cirrus logic could be cmedia. Maudio isn't real obvious about tellin you what they use on specific cards. Most of their cards are 2 ch or 5.1 via spdif only.

 

[nilepez]

If you can afford one get the X-Fi xtreme music, Maudio is mostly for input or creation like EMU parts are. Also you have no idea which chip you'll be getting, could be a VIA ENvy, could be cirrus logic could be cmedia. Maudio isn't real obvious about tellin you what they use on specific cards. Most of their cards are 2 ch or 5.1 via spdif only.

Even if they're geared towards musicians, they're still better for listening and recording music than creative, unless the quality has just gone to shit. I must admit that my Audiophile 2496 doesn't have the Midi interface (instead it has both coax and opitical inputs), but regardless, I cna't imagine they'd use lower quality DACs on some 2496 cards. If he's going digital out to the 5500, the stream is passed out unaltered in anyway. Why buy a game card if you're not playing games?

But even if he does go with a Creative solution, why buy an extreme music card, if the Fata1ty version can be had for about the same price?

 

[nanllyn]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate it. I don't mind paying for the X-Fi but I heard that it can be buggy and as I said I don't play games. My husband does play games once in awhile but they are not the latest greatest. To name a few, Command & Conquer, Viet Cong and Call of Duty2 is about the latest and I'm building him another computer so I don't think he will be using mine. I think I will either go with the ExtremeMusic version or possibly(because of the $72.99 price and features) the Audigy2 zs Platinum. I know Creative is one of the best sound cards around and I know they have a great reputation so I don't think I want to go with another brand. I also wanted to mention I don't have the Logitech Z-5500 speakers yet just some Creative SBS560 70w 5.1 speakers. I guess the only question is I know the X-Fi is better for games than the Audigy2 zs but is it better (especially for $100 more) in sound quality for music listening and/or videos.
Thanks for your opinions. I really appreciate your time.
Nancy

 

[halcyon]

Sound quality-wise the X-Fi and the Audigy 2ZS are pretty evenly matched. The Audigy is $75 (OEM, Newegg) and the X-Fi is $112. I don't really think there's a $30+ difference but you may be happier later knowing you went with a current-generation card. ...otherwise, save your money with the 2ZS. Given NewEgg's rebate on the 2ZS Plat., you'll do well and have the fp breakout box.

 

[twolfe18]

i agree:

the only improvements from the audigy2 zs to the x-fi xmusic are:

1. the 24 bit crystalizer.... i have mixed feelings about it, it makes the music sound broader (better highs and lows), but you can still tell that the audio is at a low bit rate. i keep it on, but it just seems to me that you could simulate it just as well with an equilizer setting.

2. the ability for 128 voices rather than 64 in games. basically, unless prey is your favorite game and you have to have perfect audio in it, this makes no difference. prey is the only game that uses more than 64 voices in a game currently, if you want to be ahead of the curve for the future, thats another story...

other than those two features, they are almost the same, in audio quality, cpu uitilization, etc...

soooooo, if you have a couple extra bucks to spend, i might spring for the xtrememusic (as i did), but otherwise, the zs is a perfectly fine card. i certainly wouldnt recomend getting anything higher than and xtrememusic though, it s just really expensive junk based on the same technology.