Are you happy with your Audigy?

[Ronin13]

I'm about to build a new rig mainly for gaming. (On an ASUS P4T-E motherboard (chipset i850), running WinXP and the 4.1 BA4800 speakers)

I was planning on getting an 'Audigy Player ('Gamer' in the US), but I've noticed how some users are less than satisfied with Creatives soundcards/drivers.

As the Audigy has been out for some time now, I guess a lot of you have tried it out and some with a setup similar to what I'm getting.

So, would you recommend it? (Remember, this is for gaming and maybe the occasional DVD...)

Other cards available to me in the same price range: VideoLogic SonicFury (Turtle Beach Santa Cruz in the US) and Terratec SiXPack 5.1+.

~R

 

[bacillus]

I'm very happy with mine.
suggest you go for an OEM card instead of the player model to keep costs down!

 

[Ronin13]

What I'm getting is the 'Bulk' version of the Audigy Player, which is without the software bundle (games, etc.)

I think this is the same as OEM (only it's not called that here...)

~R

 

[pillage2001]

For those of you guys who are not happy with it. I'm more than happy to take it off your hands.

 

[bacillus]

afaik both are the same!

 

[Mem]

I`m a hardcore gamer and have been using my Audigy with XP since last November,no problems with drivers or games and it`s an excellent card for gaming,probably the best you can get at the moment for gaming.

 

[mchammer187]

yes, big improvement over the live

check rig for specs

 

[IndyJaws]

Quite pleased with mine. I went with retail box (rare for me) since retail has better quality (theoretically) connectors. Plus I had lost my copy of DeusEx and figured it was a good way to get it back.

 

[Woodchuck2000]

It's a great card, although it really gets on my nerves sometimes.
It starts three or four services on boot, plus various taskbars that pop up from the top and sides of the screen. If you're willing to spend a few hours taming the drivers, it's definitely worth the effort. The sound quality is definitely better than the original Live.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I've been really impressed with the EAX on it. Much improved since the last time I used it. In CS I can tell exactly where someone is on the map. It's really impressive, I'm always stoked.

 

[aka1nas]

AFAIK the OEM and retail cards only differ in that the retail has the software bundle and gold-plated connectors, while the OEM has plastic ones like the Live! did.

 

[Ronin13]

I'm not concerned about the difference between the OEM and retail versions.

My current rig has a SB Live! Value and with that I can get rid of the app's I don't need, so I expect to do the same with the Audigy.

I'm mostly looking for input from people with an Audigy on Win XP and a 4.1 setup, whether they would recommend it or not...

~R


edit for spelling

 

[Brian48]

I'm fairly happy with my Audigy. The only thing I don't like about it is that I feel it could do better at .mp3's and music. In that regards, my Santa Cruz is a much better sound card. As far as gaming is concerned, the Audigy is best sound card I've ever used, especially if you have a multi-speaker setup. I could never go back a SBLive.

Box #1:
WinXP Professional
Antec pp352x 350w
Athlon XP 2000+/Epox 8K3A
Cooler Master HHC-001 Heatpipe Copper
512mb Samsung Original PC2700
Visiontek GeForce4 Ti4600
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz/CL Inspire 5.1 5300
Intel Pro/100 S Desktop NIC
WD 7200rpm ATA100 40g (P.Master)
WD 7200rpm ATA100 40g (P.Slave)
Toshiba DVD-ROM M1212
Philips PCRW1208 12x8x36x
USB devices:
UMAX 2100u scanner
MSIntellimouse Optical
MS Sidewinder game pad
Sony 19" 420GS

Box #2:
WinXP Professional
Powerman FSP300-60BT 300w
1ghz Duron/ECS K7S5A (w/on-board LAN)
Vantec CCK-6035 (w/Evercool 50x50x25)
512mb PC2100 Crucial
Visiontek GeForce3
SB Audigy X-Gamer/Altec Lansing ACS56
WD 7200rpm ATA100 30g
WD 5400rpm ATA100 10g
Acer 52x CDROM
Sony CDRW Spressa 8x4x32x
USB devices:
MS Sidewinder game pad
MSIntellimouse Optical
Epson 480SXU printer
NEC 15" E500

 

[Workin']

I have an OEM Audigy under WinXP with Altec 641 4.1 speakers.

Everything works fine, sounds great, etc. No complaints at all.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Forgot to mention. The only issue I've had is I can't get the voice thing to work in CS and HL (or any HL mod). It just skips when I transmit. I receive fine. This is apparently a problem with HL as many users have it, so I don't think it's the Audigy's fault.

 

[Johnnie]

i have both the audidy and extigy.....
but i'll stick with my TB Santa Cruz

 

[goog]

Since you're into gaming go with the Audigy, the Santa Cruz is better for music though.
I have the Audigy OEM and it's easily better than the MP3+ I had in my old box.
Never heard that Terratec card.

Edit: I should add I have a 5.1ch setup.

 

[lung]

I've got an Audigy running on XP with a 4.1 setup. I love it. Definite EAX improvements over the Live card. I would totally recommend it.

 

[Beau]

Audigy with DTT3500's. I love it. I seriously doubt that I will be upgrading my sound card in the foreseeable future.

 

[xXgambitXx]

my roommate has an audigy in his rig w/ a 5.1 system and it's awesome....the only problem is that none but the newest games (like morrowind) have center channel support. i personally have a santa cruz on my comp. the best thing to remember is that santa cruz and audigy are both EXCELLENT cards but the audigy is geared towards gaming and the cruz is more towards music. since you're building a gaming rig then go with the audigy.....and get the oem version. that gamer-x and mp3+ trash is for suckers.

 

[dexvx]

The Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96 is an awesome card for listening to music, much better than the Audigy class cards, the only woe is that they comparatively suck for gaming and are really really hard to find. It is a true 24bit / 96 Khz card, unlike the Audigy.

 

[Brian48]

Your friend can get "psuedo" centerspeaker support by enabling CMSS under Playcenter3.0 for games that don't normally come with surround support. Better than nothing and sounds almost as good.

 

[vicks]

Can you hook up a home theater with an Audigy? If so, which one? I have a home theater stereo system and I dont want to invest in PC speakers, so would I be able to do use them?

 

[Jgtdragon]

I'm mostly looking for input from people with an Audigy on Win XP and a 4.1 setup, whether they would recommend it or not...

I got that combo. All I can say is I am very happy with it. MP3 sounds better than my live card. I can hear foot steeps in MOHAA...hehe

 

[CedarTeeth135]

I love my Audigy Gamer.