Best Sound Card..and the winner is

[jacktesterson]

Hey All

Got a set of Logitech Z-340 speakers and a sub for a present, university student, using onboard AC97 sound. Wondering if moving to a sound card will improve the sound quality and if so by how much?

since im in school, not a lot of money floating around....whats the best value (cheap) sound card I can get to notice a good improvment listening to music (#1) and games (#2).....is the Aopen A W850 6.1 a good choice?

Help!

 

[mchammer187]

From what I've read the Philips Seismic Edge 5.1 should suit your needs nicely

very cheap and very high quality sound

other choices I would consider are the TB Santa Cruz and SB Audigy

Audigy is more for games and Cruz is for music

Philips is probably sounds better than either tho

 

[Wingznut]

The Aopen isn't a bad choice... But I'd recommend the Philips Seismic Edge 5.1 (PSC705) over that one. You can get them off ebay for like $27 shipped.

Link

And yes... You'll notice a huge improvement over AC97, especially in gaming (positional audio).

 

[Insane3D]

Another Vote for the Philips line of cards. The 4.1 Rythmic Edge (PSC703), the 5.1 Seismic Edge (PSC705), and the top of the line Acoustic Edge (PSC706) are all excellent cards with a extremely powerful DSP. It's technically more advanced than the even the Audigy's DSP.

 

[LukFilm]

Hercules Game Theater XP is still the top dog in my eyes

 

[jacktesterson]

Thanks...since Im in canada does anybody know where to order a Philips Seismic Edge 5.1 in Canadian dollars off the internet?

Also I hear about a Hercules Sound card thats fairly cheap, anybody know of that?

The Aopen Aw850 Retails for Like $25 Canadian

 

[Biggs]

Another vote for the SEARCH function.

 

[jacktesterson]

thanks biggs. appreciate that

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: LukFilm
Hercules Game Theater XP is still the top dog in my eyes

While that is a very valid opinion, it hardly applies to AMDHardcoreFan.

"since im in school, not a lot of money floating around....whats the best value (cheap) sound card I can get to notice a good improvment"

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

If you have problems finding the Philips card I'd look into the Hercules Fortissimo II. Sound quality is every bit as good as the TBSC, but it's cheaper, and even has a nice built in headphone amp. Also, there was a large thread in the hot deals forums on one of the Aopen cards recently with a lot of (from I remember positive) opinions, so you might want to search for that as well.

 

[godspeedx]

Definitely go with Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. It's only $59 and professional sound. No popping or crackling at all as with sound blasters. See it here at newegg.com

 

[fkloster]

Best Sound Card..and the winner is...

One more vote for the GTXP

 

[vash]

Bump for the AC97 sound! Greatest that ever lived! Who needs positional 3D? Who needs clarity with their sounds? Who would ever want to show off their THX certified speakers? WHOOPS! Guess you do. If you do want to show off your speakers, get the Philips Acoustic Edge. Great card, good drivers (even if they don't update them as often). Haven't tried that card again in my SMP rig, but it worked just fine in my other system.

vash

 

[Brian48]

I have the Audigy, Acoustic Edge, and Santa Cruz all actively running in my various boxes. Here's my take on it.

1. The Audigy is still the best sound card for games. For all it's other short comings with music playback (ie. the occasional skipping sounds) and questionable drivers, it's still got the best game engine out of the bunch. The Acoustic Edge is very close, but still has a few very minor bugs with some titles (specifically NHL2002) and a heavier CPU overhead with some of the newer games (specifically SOF2). The Santa Cruz is good also, but not as good as either of the other two.

2. The Santa Cruz is still my favorite for music and .mp3 playback, with or without .mp3 hardware acceleration. Music reproduction is warm, crystal clear, and is especially good with a 4.1 setup. With a 5.1 setup, the Acoustic Edge does sound a wee bit better though, but I guess that's really attributed to the fact that the Santa Cruz only has emulated 5.1 support.

3. DVD playback with the Acoustic Edge absolutely destroys both the Santa Cruz and Audigy/SBLive. It is the absolute best I've ever heard.

http://users.rcn.com/chinmonster/my_specs.txt

 

[ronein]

TBSC because of the versajack option...considering youre in school, and its a hassle to plug/unplug jacks of youre headset

 

[MSantiago]

Another bump here for the Philips Acoustic/Seismic Edge cards. Can't recommend them enough. The Seismic Edge is one of the best semi-budget cards out there, and if you can still find an Acoustic Edge for sale, don't hesitate to pick it up.

 

[ravedave]

this is an AWSOME report...
If i ever decide i need a sound card this is what I will go by

http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2002q2/soundcards/index.x?pg=1

 

[LeStEr]

The cheap hercules your thinking of is the Fortissimo 2. It is a great card and I highly recommend it.

 

[jacktesterson]

Thanks for all the information!

Im going to try to find these cards and do some reading and compare. I had the Aopen Aw850 5.1 picked out before I asked but I thought I may as well ask before I just the first thing I see.

Thanks!

 

[QwErTyBk]

I have the z340's and the Seismic Edge sound card.

I got the seismic edge from Pc Microstore about a month ago for $15 shipped!

The combo is great for the dorm and the quality is nice. My only problem is that the speakers occasionally pop when playing music and when turning off a light on the same power strip. Kinda annoying but for the money you cant go wrong with this combo.

-Q

 

[bulldawg]

I have a Guillemot Hercules Game Surround Muse LT - OEM in my son's box and really like it. Especially for $15.

 

[Woody419]

Originally posted by: ravedave
this is an AWSOME report...
If i ever decide i need a sound card this is what I will go by

http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2002q2/soundcards/index.x?pg=1

That is definitely an awesome report, I have never read so many good things about Creative's sound.
For a alternate point of view read some Santa Cruz reviews. The first review is well written and comes to a different conclusion. Personally I don't know which card is better.

 

[spanky]

i just wanted to peep in and say i like my sblive.

flame on.

 

[DeschutesCore]

Diamond MonsterSound MX300, Vortex-2 all the way! Seriously though, aside from professional audio gear like Pegasus, I'd say Turtle Beach Santa Cruz.

DC

 

[Goi]

Seems to me that if you want a value/budget card, you shouldn't be looking at the Hercules GTXP or the Philips AcousticEdge. The TBSC might pass off as value/budget based on its price, and is probably the card to buy if you have the budget. Else, get one of the cheaper cards like the Hercules Muse/Fortissimo or the Philips Seismic/RhythmicEdge, whichever fits your budget.