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BEST 5.1 SOUND CARD

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MERRY CHRISTMAS DN!!! lol...i have tried to keep my own opinions troughout this whole thing and have narrowed it down to either the audigy or the gtxp...but thanks for all of the help!!!
 
sheesh, i was afraid it would come down to this - using sarcasm to defend your opinions, rather than fard facts. I provided my side of the story, explained why, and provided evidence supporting my opinions, while all you said were they sounded "great". That sure is convincing. The reason why I only refered to 1 website is because I couldn't find any other that provided such low leve measurements. Most soundcard review methodologies on the web are fundamentally flawed and inconsistent, relying on subjective testing/opinions rather than objective measurements. These opinions can vary with the review system they're using, the reviewer's mood, and the phase of the moon. Why is it hard to accept measurements and values of soundcards when everyone is so ready to rely on framerates and benchmarks to judge other hardware?
I never meant to hurt your ego, but I guess I did. If you can't accept my opinions, sure, go ahead and enjoy your audigy, its not a sin.
 
Go read your post about "insensitive ears" -- like as if that wasn't the REAL start of taking pokes at people..

I use sarcasm when people start getting "silly".. It wasn't used to defend a single thing I said.. I'll kindly repeat myself one.. more.. time.. in a most abbreviated and easily understood way:

I live in the real world.. When it comes to judging audio quality, I can, like any normal logical human being, do it with my EARS.. I don't do it by reading some web site that has posted some values.. If you can base an opinion on that alone, well.. I just find that IMPRESSIVE, but you and I know that it's worth bunk in the REAL world..

Do your own self a favour.. Go to the store.. Listen to an Audigy demo on a good set of speakers.. Once you've done THAT, tell me what you think, even if it's still "negative", THAT would make a lot more sense.. I could accept an opinion based on THAT type of information/knowledge/test..
 
I posted the inexperienced/insensitive ears thing purely in a matter of fact way. It was in no way meant to "poke fun" or demean anyone. In fact, it wasn't even directed at you specifically. People just have different abilities/tastes/sensitivities. If you were to take me to an art exhibition, I wouldn't be able to tell a Picasso from a Van Gogh - the same thing with some people and sound. Some people are just not that particular with sound, which is why they may not be experienced enough to tell the difference. I *suspect*, not assume, that this is the case with your situation.

With that said, I'll come to the other side of the story. I'll admit that measurements aren't everything. I don't base anything on measurements ALONE. In the end, you have to like what you hear. However, there are certain things about measurements that can reveal the sound quality of a component, and will directly be reflected in what you hear. Its not just worth "BUNK". I'm sure you'll agree to that. If not, everyone would be driving 5hp cars and using 1MHz CPUs. The website and the values aren't just "some" website and "some" values. They aren't fabricated. They were measured, and can be repeated, provided the hardware/software isn't the same(that is to say, Creative didn't release some sort of driver/firmware update that fixes this problem) While a subtle difference will likely never be noticable to even experienced ears, a difference of this magnitude(60+dB compared to 80+dB) is significant enough for me to conclude that there would be a noticable difference even when I hear it. That is why I simply cannot recommend the Audigy to anyone who cares about the sound quality. To a lot of other people who use it for gaming and general usage, I'll heartily recommend it for its features and compatibility.

With that, I think I'll end our debate/argument. It has gotten quite out of hand, and hasn't been helpful to the original poster and question either.
 
I've use almost all of the consumer level gaming/MP3, with the exception of the Audigy cards. I have used the first Live! card, the Live! 5.1 Platnium, GTXP, Muse XL, and the Philips Acoustic Edge. In my experience, and my preference, the AE is the best of the lot hands down for one main reason...QMSS. The AE is the only card I know of to date, including the Audigy cards, that can output any stereo source into 6 distinct, discrete channels using Philips QMSS algorithyms. All the other cards can use multiple speakers, but for any stereo source, they just replicate the front channels to the surround speakers and mix in a little bass to the sub. I currently have the GTXP and the AE in my systems, and the GTXP is very nice, and has extensive connectivity options, but the AE is just the best in my experience. 🙂
 
call me low standards but i LOVE the sound on my sblive xgamer (not 5.1) and cambridge fps1000 speakers

now that my klipsch 5.1s are on the way i feel like the not 5.1 xgamer wont cut it

thx so much guys! 🙂 this is way more feedback than i was expecting! 😎

just one question:

can anyone say a little more about the cpu usage? is it lower than the original live! cards? i guess ive always looked up to creative sound and am skeptical about changin companies... one thing is a fact, though, the audy is DEFINITELY not a huge breakthrough like the sb16 and sblive were... (contrary to what creative is claiming)

and am i right to interpret that they included some cheap, half-speed firewire port? damn... :|
 


<< The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, Hercules GTXP and Philips AcousticEdge all make very good entry/mid level 5.1 soundcards. I wouldn't recommend any Creative soundcards though, the Live! is notoriously bad with its digital I/O and even the Audigy is having some problems with its front speaker output. >>



Maybe you are just saying that because you have CMSS enabled by accident. Cretive told me they're fixing that bug, I pointed it out to them. There is no problem with the center speaker working though, none at all.
 
I happen to not write confusing articles, in anything mine is a very real-life experience with the card, and you'll notice I don't suck up to Creative.

They are put down were due, and applauded were neccessary.
 


<< better sound quality than the sb live 5.1 series. >>



but what about audigys?

also, the game theatre has been out for a bit now, audy just released...

doesnt this lead one to believe that the audy will be more advanced?
 
"The Audigy is the most advanced out there, more powerful than anything else."

Care to back this up? Can the Audigy output any stereo source to 5.1 discrete channels. I don't mean just output to 5.1 channels like the live did, it would just copy the front two channels to the surrounds. Does it actually send a diferent distinct stream to each seperate speaker?
 
Creative doesn't state that and with your thoery that would mean 10 channels, 5x2.

I was reffering the the performance of the Audigy chipset, compared to the Live! it uses a lot less CPU utilization.
 
hmmm ill wait for the review but if the audy does indeed

<< use less cpu utlization >>

then its the card for me!
 
you're in the same boat I am, so your thread is very useful to me also.

Something to watch for is compatability. Currently I am using a Vortex card that has excellent sound but some of the current games don't really work well with it (Independence War 2, Baldur's Gate). The Audigy looks good but are the drivers compatible across a wide spectrum??? Has anyone had a problem in this area when using this card???
 
There is little to count against the Audigy's compatability. I mention this in the article in a boarder context. All systems should be go. What motherboard do you have?
 
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