Audigy 2 or Game Theater XP?

[chiggachu]

I have my hands on both of these...I haven't installed either yet. Which one should I use?! I kind of don't want to break the audigy out of it's retail package if I am not gonna end up using it. I use headphones a lot, so maybe the GTXP would be useful for the accessibility? Which sounds better??

 

[Atlantean]

I have a game theater xp and it sounds great. Never heard the audigy 2 but if the gtxp is already out of the packaging then just load that and see what you think...

 

[PliotronX]

The two largest things to consider are EAX support and 24/96 support. Otherwise, it sounds like you would appreciate the breakout box with the GTXP so you might be happier with it. As for which would sound better, it might not be a noticeable difference, but the A2 may be a bit cleaner, but I haven't directly compared them. Good luck.

 

[chiggachu]

yeah the GTXP seems like it's more up my alley, but is it logical to use a 3 year old card instead of a brand new one? ...anyone else?

 

[Cerb]

Gaming: Audigy2
Music: same
Breakout box: GTXP.

...you do not want to be gaming with the GTXP. If games don't matter to you, it's great.

 

[GreatDaleness]

The Audigy 2 supports EAX 3 and the GTXP doesn't. That is a huge difference in the games that support it. The new Audigy 2 soundcards support EAX 4, so it is likely that a driver update will give the Audigy 2 EAX 3 & 4 support. Also the Audigy 2 is faster than the GTXP.

 

[chiggachu]

 

[chiggachu]

Do you think it makes sense to install both? I could use the GTXP whenever I need the breakout box (headphones and such) and the Audigy 2 when I play games...is this overkill?

 

[43st]

The GTXP works great in games. I've had mine for over two years and, with the latest drivers, I've never had a problem (WinXP). I'd also consider myself a pretty hardcore gaming.

I had a little BSOD issue in Win2000 but that has since been fixed.

 

[Maverick]

Originally posted by: Cerb


...you do not want to be gaming with the GTXP. If games don't matter to you, it's great.

why would they call it the Game Theater XP if you don't want to be gaming with it?

I've used my GTXP for 3 years and I love it...best sound card I've ever owned. And I went through 2 or three after my old SBLive! before I found one I liked. Might not have the best features like EAX 3 but its not a bad card at all.

BTW I wouldn't buy a new GTXP if I were you...you could easily find someone in FS/FT that would gladly trade up for an audigy 2.

 

[chiggachu]

Sweet...you guys rock

Brad

 

[Brian48]

One other thing to consider before buying the GTXP. If you can do without the breakout box, of which I found unreliable with the USB, consider the Fortisimmo II/III. The GTXP uses the same CS4624 DSP as the Fortisimmo series now. Essentially, the Fortissimo III is the same card, only minus the breakout box.

 

[Bad Dude]

I had the Santa Cruz and now I have the Audigy2. The Santa Cruz is better in music for sure, I guess b/c of the equalizer. I had the ZS model with the Equalizer but not much if at all an improvement over the A2. So now I have the A2. If I knew it was going to be no improvement, I would have stay with the Santa Cruz and not bother with the changes that wasted my time. As far as games, I got the P4C@3Ghz and since it's so fast, the sound usage is not at all noticeable. Sell the A2. SBlaster products are just overrated and it just look nicer in the box but no big deal. EAX is not a major issues in games. EAX 4 is lesser of an issue in games. The games community barely put out any good games for EAX 3 much less if any for EAX 4.

 

[chiggachu]

funny you mentioned the fortissimo series...i currently run a fortissimo 2...I feel like the sound is not coming out cleanly. Do you think the GTXP would sound better than the fortissimo 2? I'll install the gtxp tomorrow and see how it goes.