Best 5.1 sound card?

[DisinfectedDuck]

I'm planning on buying the Klipsch Pro-Media 5.1 speakers when they will be released (Anyone knows when? I think this month) and I wonder what sound card, regardless of price will produce the best sound quality and take advantage of the Klipsch speakers, not only in DVD, but also in games.

 

[neuralfx]

I have the soundblaster 5.1 xgamer.. WITH a via 686B.. and absolutely no problems, the sound is awesome either with music or games.. especially when the game is optimized for DD5.1.. as far as which Soundblaster card, all the 5.1's are the same except for a software package, and the live drive thing.. dont know bout other manuf's though..
-neural

 

[Nucleophyle]

From the Klipsch website:

"UPDATE: The release date for the ProMedia? 5.1 has changed. We now anticipate this system being available for purchase from Klipsch.com, Alienware, Compaq and Tweeter/Outpost.com in late July."

Throw a dart at your calendar for the release date.

 

[wfbberzerker]

the soundblaster is a very good card (if you get it i recommend the 5.1 platinum) but ive been hearing from a lot of people that for sound quality you should go with the hercules (i think its called the game theatre XP or something like that)

 

[DisinfectedDuck]

Thanks Nucleophyle, that's great. any1 knows the estimated price?

Also, does the hercules GTXP supports 5.1 only in dvd or also games and music?

 

[nortexoid]

the Turtle beach santa cruz or hercules game theatre are good cards...

however...

i've recently run across what looks to be a gem of a soundcard for a mere $20...it's an audioexcel (aka chaintech) AV512 (zoltrix makes one as well) that supports 5.1 analog and 5.1 digital simultaneously, AC-3 pass thru, A3D, EAX, and basically anything else u could want...

ncix sells them for 21.72

 

[Champion1]

if you get the sound blaster live 5.1 be ready to update your bios and all your chipsets on your board

i just built a amd 1200mhz with the asus a7m266 board.. and it was a bitchh to get it installed and play sound right.. but if you update all the chipsets and sit.. the soundblaster live is a awsome card

 

[neuralfx]

i dunno, your mileage may vary... like i didnt have to update anything, at all.. a7v133.. but that happens though..
-neural

 

[DisinfectedDuck]

what problems does the SB Live! and VIA causes?
Is the sound quality damaged?

 

[Courtland]

SBLive on an Epox 8k7a, via 686b sbridge, no problems.

 

[MasterHoss]

No, you DO NOT get 5.1 support for anything other than DVD playback. (sucks!!) I'm still waiting for some nice drivers for the GTXP to behave like the SB Live! cards do--support 5.1 sound (or at least let all of my speakers do something) all the time.

 

[papadoum]

Whilst I'm impressed with the Hercules XP, it does have full 5.1, with a full six channels, so you don't need to run digital cable to the speakers. It doesn't seem, in comparison to my old MX300 to have a great a dynamic range. (Though Cambridge SoundWorks speakers may be more of the problem here than the card!) The EQ works, but needs a little more oomph. 5.1 needs to actually put into the program/music your running, because it involves special phasing and panning in the mixdown, so if you think your card is running 5.1 in a game which hasn't had it programmed into it, you actually only running 4.1. The XP also has things like a external game port, 4 extra USB's. It also keeps one of your internal bays free, unlike the platinum. Though on the other hand, if your tight for space, the xp sits on your desk as a breakout box and may prove to clutter your workspace...