Audiophiles... need your input

[socketman]

Im gonna be getting a new sound card soon. I have the old SB LIVE. A few important points:
1. i mostly game, but also listen to MP3s
1A. I dont rip or encode, but still appreciate quality sound.
2. Is there a real diff between the SB: Gamer, Platimum, MP3+gamer models?
3. How good are Turtle beach or other non-SB sound cards? Are they worth it?
4. Is there something coming out soon I should wait on?
5. What is a good sub-woofer.. cuz mine is starting to die a slow death.

Thanks guys, i really appreciate your input since i am sound retarded.

 

[pennylane]

i'm not an audiophile, but i'll give it a shot.

2) i think the only difference is software bundle. from what i hear the software isn't even that good, so it might be best to get the cheapest one.
3) i have a turtle beach santa cruz, and i find it much better than the sb live! platinum i had before. it sounds better, and according to many, it's the best sounding consumer level card. basically, if you like both music and gaming a lot, santa cruz would prolly be your best bet. if you're mainly into games, audigy would prolly be better. the hercules game theater xp is nice as well, but i don't know much about it. i thnk it's more expensive than an audigy or santa cruz.
4) someone on the board mentioned something new that sounded better than a santa cruz, but i haven't heard much about it. (i think it was a maya or something?)
5) i can't really help you here. not with subwoofers alone anyway. what kind of speakers do you have? if your sub is dying and your speakers aren't among the best, maybe you should upgrade those as well (to some z560s or something)

hope this helps

 

[socketman]

I have Monsoon flatpanel speakers. But the old $15 dollar sub I had was actually better than the one that came with the monsoons. I think the speakers are OK.. so im not looking to upgrade those.

 

[RanDum72]

IMO, the best sound card for MP3 playback for the price is the Santa Cruz.

 

[Kermy]

Another vote for the Santa Cruz. Even though I don't have one but from what I hear at the audiophile messageboards, that's the best bang / buck card. A lot better than the Live.

 

[MWink]

I love my Santa Cruz. Too bad they don't make one for laptops.

 

[ripthesystem]

If you will use it mostly for music- Santa Cruz
mostly gaming- Audigy

the only difference between all the retail Audigy's = software bundled
OEM vs retail Audigy=
OEM(no software, color coded plastic capped plugs)
Retail(software, gold plated plugs)

For speakers... My Klipsh Promedias are nice. The z560's are super powerful but not as clean and more problematic... i dunno.

hth
ripthesystem

 

[Workin']

I just replaced my OEM Audigy with an OEM TB Santa Cruz. The Turtle Beach card sounds MUCH better.

 

[Biggs]

Dude, something will always "come out soon" so it's in your best interest now to reap the excellent hardware and matured drivers of Santa Cruz.

Cheers,
Biggs

 

[Goi]

If you're using any kind of consumer computer/multimedia speaker, you're not gonna notice much difference among the different SB soundcards and the TB Santa Cruz. However, the Santa Cruz is indeed better sound quality wise. The SB Live! and Audigy does have more gaming features(EAX and other "cool" 3D effects), but I think this is mostly gimmicky features. As for the CPU utilization argument, with any of today's CPUs(anything more than 1GHz that is) you're not gonna notice much of a difference if any.
So, in conclusion, if you're the average Joe, you're not gonna notice much of a difference, go with whatever's easier with your wallet and satisfies you more brand-wise. If you appreciate quality sound and have good enough equipment to discern it, go with the Santa Cruz. Other more expensive, but not neccessary better cards are the Hercules GTXP and the Philips AcousticEdge. They are widely agreed to be better sounding than the SB cards though.
If you crave that extra 1-2FPS in your games or need to have those "cool" 3D effects/EAX, go with the Audigy.
AFAIK, there's nothing much in the near future worth waiting, except maybe if VIA/midiman's collaboration will bring the next step in sound quality to the consumer PC market.
There aren't many good subwoofers in the PC market, since most of them use 6.5" woofers or smaller. I wouldn't recommend any of those, but maybe others will. The cheapest decent subs go for more than $100.

 

[mrzed]

I'm in agreement with the last post. With the sound quality of the average MP3 and almost any computer speakers, you sound card is not going to be your weak link.

I would spend your $ on improving your speakers first. You'll get a lot more benefit.

 

[bigboxes]

I am currently using a SBLive! sound card and a monster cable out to connect to my Denon receiver. MP3's sound great with this receiver. However, would the Santa Cruz provide a noticeable inprovement or not or is the advice just for normal computer speakers? Thanks for any input!

 

[nortexoid]

lovin my santa cruz here...the drivers are excellent

sound quality tests i've viewed put the cruz in the top for consumer level cards (note that the audigy wasn't part of this chart tho the live! was)...no idea where that link went tho.

i like how it supports A3D too for half-life, something the crummy audigy does not.

 

[Biggs]

PCAVTECH

 

[MasterHoss]

Most of your questions have been answered already. I just wanted to address your question about the "other cards." Out of the popular consumer-level sound cards out there (Philips Acoustic Edge, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, Hercules Game Theater XP, and SoundBlaster Audigy family) there are hits and misses. You say you like to game and listen to mp3 music. My question to you would be, do you plan on going to a 5.1 speaker set up soon? If so, do you insist on having "5.1" playback under all sound sources? If so, IMHO, the best 5.1 expansion done by a consumer-level sound card would be the Acoustic Edge closely followed by the Santa Cruz then the GTXP. The Live! 5.1 family and the Audigy family cards do a horrible job of 5.1 audio expansion. However, if you use Intervideo's new WinDVD softDVD player or Cyberlink's PowerDVD XP 4.0 Deluxe, you'll be able to use the softDVD player to expand to 5.1

As for gaming, I firmly believe that EAX 3.0 (EAX Advnaced HD) is truly unbeatable. The only sound card taking advantage of EAX 3.0 would be the Audigy family of cards, so if you like to game and you know you'll be purchasing games featuring EAX Advanced HD support, there is no question that you should get an Audigy card.

 

[flood]

3. How good are Turtle beach or other non-SB sound cards? Are they worth it?

as mentioned, the Santa Cruz is very nice, much better than the CL cards imo.
Which monsoons do you have?

 

[Rhombuss]

Originally posted by: socketman
I have Monsoon flatpanel speakers. But the old $15 dollar sub I had was actually better than the one that came with the monsoons. I think the speakers are OK.. so im not looking to upgrade those.

What model of the Monsoons did you have? If you have either the MM-1000's or MM-700's, I'd find it hard to believe a $15 sub could replace the one that comes with the system .

 

[Goi]

bigboxes, with a Denon receiver and presumably decent speakers(you didn't mention what speakers you were using) the Santa Cruz upgrade would probably yield a noticable improvement in sound. In fact, you could use the digital output from the Santa Cruz to your receiver and it would probably sound even better.

 

[socketman]

So.. it appears the concensus is Audigy for gaming ( but only marginally) cuz its supports EAX.. And TB Santa Cruz for mp3 and other sound applications.

Someone mentioned the card probably isnt the weakest link anyway. But its time to upgrade from that A$$-OLD card.
2. I forget the model of Monsoons I have, they are the low end model however.
3. I cant explain why the monsoon sub sucks so bad for me, but that crappy $15 sub shakes the windows, but I can barely tell the monsoon sub is on (and yes I checked the volume)
4. I know PC speakers kinda suck. I have seen people with "receivers", but what are those and what are they good (and bad) for? Ergo, If I got one would it improve sound quality thru my pc speakers?

MasterHoss: You asked about a 5.1 system. I have no clue what your refering to. Do ya mean a 4 speaker system with a sub, or 5.1 as in dolby digital 5.1 ? Like I said, im sound retarded...

I have heard good things about Santa Cruz elsewhere, so im leaning that direction. Short of getting a home system hooked to my PC.. whats the best speakers money can buy for a PC?

** many thanks for all your input guys ***

 

[MasterHoss]

5.1 is 5 satellite speakers with a subwoofer (1 left, 1 right, 1 center, 1 surround left, 1 surround right, 1 subwoofer). Best PC speakers for the money? Many say Logitech Z560s which is a 4.1 solution ... the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 which is a 2.1 solution, Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 which is a 5.1 solution. Of course, there are others but those seem to be the popular answers.

I saw someone mention that the Santa Cruz would help a lot if you had an actual receiver (specifically the Denon brand). This statement is only half true because you do not necessarily need a Santa Cruz sound card for a set up such as that.

Anyhow, the Santa Cruz is a solid buy. If you're not getting an Audigy-based card, I'd definately look at the Santa Cruz before anything else.

 

[SHoddyCOmp]

I dunno what the deal is with the EAX and the Santa Cruz but it supposedly supports EAX 1.0 and 2.0 according to teh review on www.3dss.com

 

[MasterHoss]

True, but no card other than an Audigy-based card supports EAX Advanced HD (aka EAX 3.0)... and EAX Advanced HD is simply awesome. Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast using the EAX 3.0 patch with the Audigy is truly an experience.

 

[Goi]

socketman, receivers are like an amplifier and a preamp and a tuner put into one. Basically its a hifi device that takes a line level audio signal from a source(CD player, DVD player, TV, VCR, turntable or even a soundcard) either in digital or analog form, decodes it if neccessary, amplifies it, applies various filters and effects as well as control its volume, and output the amplified/decoded signal to your speakers. Computer/multimedia speakers are normally powered already, so have no use for a receiver. However, hifi loudspeakers are often not powered, and hence rely on a receiver or power amplifier to feed an amplified signal to them. That's where receivers and amps come in...

 

[LarryJoe]

Another vote for the Santa Cruz. I had a Live and got tired of Creative's poor releases of XP drivers. Great card, pure sound, good price.

 

[Nefrodite]

i dumped my xgamer for a santa cruz. santa cruz is better hate those creative software installs.. and yes the xgamer and mp3+ were the game.

just get a klipsch 5.1, you won't miss your monsoons.

right now 3d sound in gaming is overrated. with the death of aureal 3d sound went down the tubes ah well. big subwoofer = big boom so good enough

i really hope you don't listen to 128kbs mp3s.. so not audiophile quality.