Should I upgrade my SB Live to the Audigy?

[Guest]

I'm thinking of upgrading my SB Live! card to the Audigy. Are there major differences between the two cards and is it worth spending the extra $$?

 

[williamc]

most people say no, i say yes, i'm an audio nut though. I also say its more worth it to upgrade to the Turble Beach Santa Cruz but that makes me a glutton for punishment.

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the empires state building, along came goblin, wiped the spider out

 

[FatBurger]

I agree with williamc. It would be a good upgrade, but going to a Santa Cruz would be an even better upgrade for around the same price.

<font color=blue>Hi mom!</font color=blue>

 

[Guest]

Why the Santa Cruz? What additional edge does it offer?

 

[williamc]

Better 3d sound positioning, better overall sound quality, warmer sound instead of audigy's harsh sound which makes it better for headphones. It has less reverb than audigy which i and many others prefer, i honestly think it makes for more realistic sound than the audigy. Only thing it lacks that the audigy has is EAX Ad. HD, which depending on who you talk to is either a good or a bad thing. I honestly don't care for advanced eax...too much degradation of performance with unrealistic reverb used to cover up bad positioning is my opinion.

So, in the end, the reason to go with TBSC over Audigy is for pure sound quality that hasn't had funky things done to it with reverb etc and for smoother and less harsh sound than the audigy which makes it more usable with headphones. And finally, for the best positioning available at this time.

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the empires state building, along came goblin, wiped the spider out

 

[ritesh_laud]

Better 3d sound positioning.

Perhaps with headphones or a 2.1 system, but with a 4.1 or 5.1 system it's impossible for the Audigy to have worse positioning than any other card, because DirectSound 3D directly controls which speaker the sound goes to and no algorithms are used. When the game tells DirectSound to position the sound in the front left speaker, it goes there. There's no "bad positioning" with the Audigy as long as you're using a 4.1 or 5.1 system.

better overall sound quality, warmer sound instead of audigy's harsh sound

These are opinions based on your experience with headphones and probably don't hold for a speaker system! I find the Audigy's output on a good 5.1 speaker system to be plenty warm and precise. I have no issues with the sound quality and find it noticeably superior to the Live!.

The OP has not stated whether he intends to use headphones or speakers. In my opinion, if you have a good 4.1 or 5.1 speaker system, it's hard to go wrong with the Audigy.

Ritesh

 

[williamc]

wtf? Your telling me what my experiences are? I DID SAY SOME PEOPLE THINK OTHERWISE AND THAT WAS MY OPINION! goddamnit, give your own opinion and stop freaking trying to tear mine apart every time i give one. I made my opinions very clear and i stick to them 100%.

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the empires state building, along came goblin, wiped the spider out<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by williamc on 06/05/02 11:22 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[ritesh_laud]

I made my opinions very clear and i stick to them 100%.

Yup, so clear that you make them sound like facts instead of opinions. Does this sound like an opinion to you:

So, in the end, the reason to go with TBSC over Audigy is for pure sound quality that hasn't had funky things done to it with reverb etc and for smoother and less harsh sound than the audigy which makes it more usable with headphones. And finally, for the best positioning available at this time.

That's why I'm here, to make sure newbies get an impartial treatment of the subject. You've said yourself that you pretty much only use headphones for gaming, so how can your opinion hold any water for speaker systems anyway?

Ritesh

 

[williamc]

Ritesh....i got one thing to say, write your damned opinions and stop flaming mine. You have a one track mind that says "flame williamc" right now.

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the empires state building, along came goblin, wiped the spider out

 

[FatBurger]

with a 4.1 or 5.1 system it's impossible for the Audigy to have worse positioning than any other card

That's a rather brave statement.

There's no "bad positioning" with the Audigy as long as you're using a 4.1 or 5.1 system.

Ouch, maybe I should forget about (temporarily) trading sound cards with a friend who has an Audigy then.

These are opinions based on your experience with headphones and probably don't hold for a speaker system!

Why wouldn't it?

and find it noticeably superior to the Live!.

But is it superior to the Santa Cruz? That's the question.


Just so I know where you're coming from, what other sound cards have you had experience with?
(I ask everyone that, don't worry :tongue: )



And both of you calm down, neither of you have done anything wrong in this thread, I don't see any flaming going on. Don't get your panties in a bunch

<font color=blue>Hi mom!</font color=blue>