Buy Audigy ZS or Value now or wait for X-Fi

[bozack]

Currently have an old Live X Gamer that I want to retire and looking for a replacement...

Considering the Audigy Value and the ZS but wondering if a wait for the X-Fi is worth it considering the battlefield 2 integration??

thoughts appreciated.

 

[chuckywang]

What is X-fi?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

What are your speakers?

 

[bozack]

either a 2.1 setup or a set of headphones.

 

[enwar3]

i wouldnt get an x-fi unless u had some nice 5.1 speakers, i dont htink better headphone quality is worht ~150$

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: bozack
Currently have an old Live X Gamer that I want to retire and looking for a replacement...

Considering the Audigy Value and the ZS but wondering if a wait for the X-Fi is worth it considering the battlefield 2 integration??

thoughts appreciated.

x-fi is going to cost $399, get the Audigy ZS and boycott the X-fi untill the price drops below $200.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: bozack
Currently have an old Live X Gamer that I want to retire and looking for a replacement...

Considering the Audigy Value and the ZS but wondering if a wait for the X-Fi is worth it considering the battlefield 2 integration??

thoughts appreciated.

x-fi is going to cost $399, get the Audigy ZS and boycott the X-fi untill the price drops below $200.

Looks like the low end one is going to be $130 though.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Get one of the competitors with Dolby Live encoding for games (if you have a spare 5.1 receiver).

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: bozack
Currently have an old Live X Gamer that I want to retire and looking for a replacement...

Considering the Audigy Value and the ZS but wondering if a wait for the X-Fi is worth it considering the battlefield 2 integration??

thoughts appreciated.

x-fi is going to cost $399, get the Audigy ZS and boycott the X-fi untill the price drops below $200.

Looks like the low end one is going to be $130 though.

We Still need to boycott creative and hurt them untill they cut their prices in half.

$200($210 max) for the high end (They could charge more if they threw in some handy accesories)

$140-175 Mid Range

$75-109 For the General Market X-FI

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
What is X-fi?

Wait 2 weeks and you will soon find out.

 

[entropy1982]

From what i understand there is only a 2 unit (from 106 to 108) improvement in signal to noise ratio from the zs to the value... why wouldn't you get the value? (quite a bit cheaper)

 

[JME Fidelity]

Actually if your using headphones, sound quality would matter even moreso then on speakers.

Headphones can reproduce detail and be much more clear then a set of equally priced speakers.

As for the x-fi vs audigy. Its your call, but id get a zs, since a 2.1 system cannot take advantage of the new x-fi technologies anyway.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: JME Fidelity
Actually if your using headphones, sound quality would matter even moreso then on speakers.

Headphones can reproduce detail and be much more clear then a set of equally priced speakers.

As for the x-fi vs audigy. Its your call, but id get a zs, since a 2.1 system cannot take advantage of the new x-fi technologies anyway.

I would not be an early adopter on these, the value is intended and optimiezed for MP3 encoding. From what I hear it is not intended to process 3D Posisional Audio. Wait for these to drop in price. My advice here is to find a used audigy 1 on ebay for $26 and upgrade it in 18 months to what ever comes out then. For the time being the X-FI is untested and could be riddled with problems. Lets just wait and see.

 

[Pariah]

X-Fi is reportedly going to hit shelves in only 2 weeks. With that short a wait, there is no reason not to wait and see how the new hardware performs. With the slow movements in the audio industry, prices don't drop very rapidly, nor is hardware quickly outdated, so a new generation $150 soundcard will last you far longer than a new generation $500 video card will.

 

[Valkerie]

Originally posted by: Pariah
X-Fi is reportedly going to hit shelves in only 2 weeks. With that short a wait, there is no reason not to wait and see how the new hardware performs. With the slow movements in the audio industry, prices don't drop very rapidly, nor is hardware quickly outdated, so a new generation $150 soundcard will last you far longer than a new generation $500 video card will.

If you get an Audigy 2 ZS right now, you won't be dissapointed. However, I'd wait for X-fi to hit shelves and see what Creative is spillin' their water on, because it sure seems pretty popular in the enthusiast computing.

 

[chuckywang]

Here's a question: Will the CD-ROM front-end from an Audigy2 work with the X-fi card?

 

[entropy1982]

can someone tell me the advantage of the ZS over just audigy 2 value?

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
Here's a question: Will the CD-ROM front-end from an Audigy2 work with the X-fi card?

Not a chance in Hell.

 

[DanDaMan315]

Originally posted by: entropy1982
can someone tell me the advantage of the ZS over just audigy 2 value?

You can find a ZS for like $55 now, no point in getting the value.

 

[entropy1982]

hmm i can only find em for like 75 shipped

 

[chrisrod01]

No the X-Fi is going to cost 280 but If you go to Quakecon on the 11-14 AUG they are going to sell it for 200 but not there they will send it i Think i dont know if they have them there just BTW

 

[ShazK]

Originally posted by: entropy1982
hmm i can only find em for like 75 shipped

Yeah. Me too. I bought a Value. Whatever. No one told me the difference.

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: entropy1982
can someone tell me the advantage of the ZS over just audigy 2 value?

the only things I have been able to come up with as of yet are a 2 unit (from 106 to 108) improvement in signal to noise ratio from the zs to the value as mentioned by entropy, internal connectors for the 5 1/4 bay port, a firewire port external and internal, and gold plated connections....along with more driver updates for the ZS than the value...

personally I would go with the ZS just so I could use my front firewire port even though I don't use firewire, just like having things connected.