Audigy 2 6.1 for $99 AR at BB

[huesmann]

Is the GTXP the one with the breakout box?

 

[MontyBurns]

Here's a good review of the Audigy 2:

link

 

[dethman]

Originally posted by: wizz0bang
Creative sound cards = overpriced crap

i'd agree with the overpriced part, but i don't think they're crap

 

[MontyBurns]

I had a Phillips TV a couple years ago that was crap, so I guess it's only logical for me to assume that every product made by phillips is crap.

 

[c627627]

I heard some people say Audigy 2 is not true 24-bit. Is this right and how do you quickly tell if a card is "true" 24-bit or not again?

Check out what someone wrote over at the old Audigy OEM $54.95 w/ S&H thread:

Originally posted by: Mac

I suspect that there is a lot of "marketing" built into the pricing of soundcards

Without a doubt and Creative should be panicking as it tries to figure out how it is going to survive. Consider that "Sound Blaster" has been the de facto standard for years and is the goose that lays the golden eggs for Creative. With the increasing appearance of quality sound being integrated into the motherboards, the Creative Labs we know is being seriously threatened.

Thus, we see the Audigy2 being priced at $130 which I believe is an attempt at niche marketing and "perceived" value. Which basically means, there is a certain market niche that will pay the $ for specific features. Or it sells on the premise that if it costs significantly more than other products, then it must be better. Abit has played the same game with its "power user" boards which omitted sound but still were priced at the high-end. However, the newer boards now have sound, lan...you name it.

To put it into perspective, consider that you can buy a complete retail motherboard, loaded, with excellent 6 channel sound for less than what the Audigy2 costs. Systems integrators have already moved on because the mass market doesn't care. Once the cold economic reality sets in with the enthusiast crowd, Creative has to either drop its prices or it will be forced out of the mass sound card business because there isn't going to be one. I can see a very near future that unless you have unique specific sound requirements, a standalone sound card will become as irrelevant as the old I/O cards we used to put in our systems before parallel, serial and IDE ports were integrated into the motherboard.

Originally posted by: Mac

...you're ignoring high-end gaming market

The problem is the high-end gaming market is not large enough to offset the cost of deliverying and supporting (already being impacted) the product. If you consider what is the "extra" that even the Audigy offered over some of the latest on-board chipsets, it's not much. It may have a few aural tricks that it can do but how much is that really worth? And, if you read any of the performance analysis, the newer onboard chipsets do not significantly degrade performance anymore than a discrete card. Don't get me wrong, I am not slamming Audigy or Audigy2.

The real question in a situation like this is does the add-on product offer enough value to justify the additional expense (and trouble of customization) over the standard feature set? I believe Creative recognizes this and trys to build value by the SW that is included with the retail cards and features (firewire ports...now what does that have to do with sound). However, at $130 for the Audigy2, I think it will be a tough sell. Once the newness wears off, I think you will see some very large rebates being offered.

But even with lower prices, the whole sound card market is going to be squeezed hard. The one market segment that Creative may be able to hold onto for awhile are the users wanting separate break-out capabilities found in the Platinum series but, again, that is a small market. Even that is threatened because case manufacturers are starting to build some of these features into their designs. When mobo manufacturers start to include this as standard, and it is only a matter of time, there won't be any market left except for specific niche applications.

 

[MontyBurns]

I haven't seen anyone suggest that the Audigy 2 (THAT'S TWO) isn't true 24-bit. It clearly is.

And for all the people complaining about Audigy 1 not delivery 24 bit in all circumstances: You do realize that none of the competition delivered that either, right?

People love to hate Creative. I'm one of them. They have made a ton of incompatible crap and then refused to support it. But the Audigy card is simply the best card I've ever used, and I've aggressively tested the Turtle Beach (an awesome card for the money) and the Phillips. I don't really have any doubt that the Audigy 2 is the best consumer sound card you can buy today.

Whether or not it's worth $120 is another matter.

 

[BigDaddyD]

The audigy 2 just came out and can be had for $106. That might be a little expensive but it isn't $130. I just purchased the platinum version for $166. I know it isn't true 24 bit but I need a card for now because my Live is shot. I also wanted the capabilities of the Live Drive. It is truly not a perfect card, but should be fanatastic for what I need right now. I am a musician and will be recording as well. I know that the Audigy 2 isn't ideal for this, and I do plan on purchasing a dedicated Terratec, Echo or M-audio card in the future. I just feel that it should be great for audio and ok for recording. Certainly usable until I can get pro stuff.

 

[c627627]

BigDaddyD, how's about you enlighten us on why Audigy2 isn't true 24-bit?

 

[PnoT]

Well iv'e been using creative products for since the sb16 was out then upgraded to awe32 and finally wound up with 4 sb live oem's
that have been running in my machines and friends forever. Creative has been notorious for providing really bad drivers and have
some serious conflicts with via chipsets which 85% of us use with our amd systems. I've had my fare share of problems and then some
but one thing i can say for a sb live oem is that you can crank it up close to and past 200fsb and it'll still work flaweless, atleast for me.
I've NEVER considered upgrading to the Audigy or any of creatives cards from here on out but i do have a comment on the onboard sound
that some people are posting. On board sound totally sucks period. If you can show me some onboard sound that will compare or beat
a sb live then i'd be shocked. I have 2 boards with onboard 6.1 and on both machines, diff chipsets, they blow pretty hard. Mp3 playback
as well as direction sound and high tones are not to be had on onboard sound. One of my onboard is a realtek ac97 and the other one
i can't remember off the top of my head.

Long story short Audigy 2 = lots of headaches i'm sure and 100+ for a soundcard is crazy especially in these times but thanks for posting
the deal i just wanted to share my 2cents worth.

 

[jalaram]

Two words.

DVD Audio.

This is the first card to provide a way for someone with a PC to listen to DVD Audio. For that function, it can be considered inexpensive.

Unlike the original Audigy, it finally does have 24/96 recording and playback from what I've heard.

For the best CD playback, DVD SPDIF output, or 24/96 ASIO recording, there are plenty of cards that are better. If you've had problems with Creative products, then by all means, don't give them your hard earned cash.

It has its purpose and is priced accordingly.

 

[c627627]

Originally posted by: jalaram Two words. DVD Audio.

I know, that's what was discussed in the other thread too -- DVD audio isn't offered by other sound cards yet and it may or will replace CDs some day. But I thought about it more and then I thought well DVD audio is so far away in the future that it would be like buying a 4X (ooooooh, 4X!) CD burner if you could for your Pentium 90 MHz computer when they were the newest-latest. Meaning, by the time DVD audio arrives, there'll be other (and better) DVD audio sound cards.

Although this is a thread crap post, I would buy Audigy2 if there was a really hot deal for it, just so we understand I don't hate Creative.

You know what else, I own original SBLive! retail and anything played through Creative PlayCenter sounds noticeably better than if it was played through any other (professional) software I ever tried.

The most important reason why I would buy Creative again was my being convinced (perhaps wrongly) that Creative PlayCenter in combination with their cards sounds better than other sound cards which Creative says "would not work with PlayCenter".

 

[blahblah99]

While I havn'te taken a close look at the physical card itself, if you can point me to a picture that CLEARLY shows a 24-bit D/A converter chip on board, I'll believe it.

 

[p3numbra]

Originally posted by: blahblah99
well after being with sb over the last 8 years or so, I have to say unfortunately, that the overall quality of the company and the products they release have gone downhill. You can't download audigy drivers over their website, the hardware card has minor (and annoying) bugs and conflicts, their "24-bit" D/A isn't truly 24-bit, it has no optical output, etc etc, their software and driver is buggy, etc etc.

Time for me to move on to a real sound card.

it *does* have an optical output. even as far back as the 1st live drive if you got the european version.

i agree there are much better cards out there, but for the price it's ok. if you want performance get a digidesign or yamaha, if you can afford it.

 

[MontyBurns]

So, Pnot, you say "Audigy 2=lots of headaches," even though you haven't used it, or even an Audigy 1? Now that's what I call an informed opinion!

 

[c627627]

Your reasoning is flawed, MontyBurns, if you read 50 reviews and countless threads on a piece of hardware -- yes, you can have an informed opinion on a piece of hardware. I think the concensus is Audigy2 is a great card but it will probably go down in price significantly if you can wait.

 

[step-dawg]

Just to clarify:

The Audigy 2 does have a true 24 bit/96Khz D/A for playback and recording. Every review I have read has pointed this out.

The Audigy 1 does not have true 24 bit, only for playback, not recording.

Every other post seems to say that the Audigy 2 does not have true 24 bit. And as far as pricewise, although it is a bit more expensive than some other cards, that is only partly true. Newegg and googlegear both have the platinum versions of this card for about $150. I remember the Audigy Platinum Ex was selling for about $225 when it first came out last year. the non Ex version was still ~$180 I think so $150 for a Audigy 2 platinum is not too bad for what you are getting.

I do agree that the price will come down in a little while, but then this is true for any piece of hardware.

Oh and btw, I am running an Audigy Platinum eX in my machine and I love it. No problems whatsoever and everything sounds great.

 

[c627627]

Originally posted by: step-dawgJust to clarify:
The Audigy 2 does have a true 24 bit/96Khz D/A for playback and recording. Every review I have read has pointed this out.
The Audigy 1 does not have true 24 bit, only for playback, not recording.

What what, does not have true only this not that, "clarify"? I'm even more confused now.

 

[step-dawg]

What what, does not have true only this not that, "clarify"? I'm even more confused now.

Bascially, the original Audigy claimed to have a true 24bit/96Khz DAC (digital to analog converter). This was only half true because the DAC was only 24bit/96Khz for audio playback, not recording. Most other consumber sound cards right now only support 16bit/44.8Khz recording/playback.

the new Audigy 2 has a true 24bit/96Khz DAC so you can record and playback in true 24bit/96Khz which is quite a feat for a consumer level card. HOpe that help clears it up a bit.

 

[c627627]

It sho does, 24 bit:
Audigy 1: Playback: YES ; Recording: NO
Audigy 2: Playback: YES ; Recording: YES

Much obliged.

P.S. Does this mean Audigy2 has liitle competition as far as 24 bit recording is concerned at this price range, or is it still tad overpriced?

 

[step-dawg]

I think that for what it does, the audigy 2 is pretty competively priced.

 

[c627627]

Whoever said that thing about rebates was right. Best Buy this morning, $30 rebate for Audigy2 6.1 so it's $99 AR.
Looks like we may see good OEM deals on this after all but probably not before X-mas.

 

[Keltron]

I have a hard time paying $50 for a sound card; let alone a $100 sound card

 

[Trader05]

Best Buy has this card $100 after $30 rebate...sorta a better deal if you can wait for a rebate

 

[WHipLAsh13]

Updated the topic to reflect the Best Buy deal.

 

[Somecallmetim]

Im waiting for the new tube soundcards to come out. AOPEN has an onboard tube soundcard, so cards must not be that far off. As far as sound, wait until you can here the sound difference playing UT2003 with a soundblaster and the audigyII, there is a pretty substantial difference, but of course sound quality is always a preference.

"TUBE" Motherboard