Has N 1 Owned a Santa and an Audigy?

[Dark]

I am pretty confused after reading all those reviews and posts. If the OS is Windows XP, what would be the best card for gaming? Another thing is that u can plug your headphones in the versajack of the santa at the same time as your 4 speakers, I don't think that audigy offers the same feature...am I mistaken?
Thx for sharing your thoughts

 

[Risc91]

I have the Santa Cruz, my friend has an Audigy. The Santa offers more customizing through its control panel. The options you have to optimize sound quality through this utility are awesome. Reviews claim that the sound during gaming isn't as good with the Santa, honestly i haven't noticed a difference. The versa jack is very nice, like you said the option of have headphones the same time as speakers is nice. The DVD sound playback from the santa tops that of the audigy in my opinion. Also the santa can do hardware mp3 decoding, taking stress off the cpu. (only noticeable on slower systems). All in all I like the Santa better because of the Control panel it comes with and the versa jack.

 

[Brian48]

I've had both the Audigy and Santa Cruz. The Audigy is a bit better for gaming. The sound separation is more distinct and the reverb is better in the games I've run. Also, there are a few games that seem to be buggy with Santa Cruz that I've never found a work-around for. In regards to music/.mp3 and DVD playback, I'd have to agree with Risc91 in that the Santa Cruz is just a touch better. For four speaker support, I've never had a problem with either card. That WAS an issue for me when I had the Herc GTXP which uses the same sound chip as the SC, but I don't think the problem was related to the chipset though.

 

[Brian48]

By the way, I just recently picked up a Herc Fortissimo II OEM for one of my older boxes. If you're looking a cheap, but good sound card that has both optical in/out and 4.1 speaker support, this is not a bad choice. It is very similiar in sound quality to the Santa Cruz and Herc GTXP and uses a slightly "stepped down" version of the same chip. The only thing it lacks is .mp3 acceleration in hardware and to be honest, that's not really big deal as far as I can tell.

 

[Dark]

Hello guys. I thank you for your help. The reason I am asking is because it's not easy to get the santa here in canada. I can get the audigy OEM for 55 dollars US and the Santa cruz for 66 US. Sometimes I need to plug my headphones in order to not disturb my wife, so I don't wanna go and unplug the speakers each time (That's what I would have to do with the audigy each time if I understood you well). Anymore thoughts on this. I thank you very much

 

[Dark]

^ I really need more insights

 

[billyjak]

Why don't you just get some wireless headphones, I use Advent wireless, theyr'e cheap and come in handy when my wife dosen't want to hear my computer.

 

[Brian48]

Dark,

That's completely unnecessary. All you need is a cheap $4 line splitter and your headphones and speakers can share the front speaker jack on the Audigy. When ever you feel like using the headphones, just toggle to the option via the AudioHQ control panel. This is what I'm doing and it works great.

 

[BD2003]

If you can get the audigy for cheaper, than get the audigy for sure. I've had them both, and I'm sticking with the audigy.

It just sounds better, simple as that.

 

[igowerf]

<< Dark,

That's completely unnecessary. All you need is a cheap $4 line splitter and your headphones and speakers can share the front speaker jack on the Audigy. When ever you feel like using the headphones, just toggle to the option via the AudioHQ control panel. This is what I'm doing and it works great. >>



Yeah. If you have computer shows in your area, I'd to one and look for cheap cables and splitters. Radioshack rips you off on these things.

 

[Dark]

Brian: Thank you. So your advice is to go with the audigy and get the splitter to replace the "Versajack" feature.

BigDee: I guess you second that motion . You prefer the audigy to the santa...

Billijak: I already have a decent pair of headphones.

 

[Brian48]

If you were paying retail, I'd tell you to consider both carefully, but at $55, the Audigy is a real deal. I'd get it for that much. You can get the splitter wire anywhere that sells headphones, Circuit City, BestBuys, KMart, etc.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

Well... I never have problems with my Phillips Acoustic Edge. Sounds beautiful.

 

[WyteWatt]

Santa Cruz i think has the best drivers for windows 2000/windows xp and has a lot more drive updates than other sounds cards i know. At least every 3 months the drivers are updated. If not sooner. Drivers can be a important chose when choosing a sound card because you want them to fix the problems as fast as possible and support there product as it gets older.

 

[Dark]

Intime: I hear you bro. That is an issue with creative. They sat on their arses for looong before releasing new drivers for the live. That's what is bothering me. I also wanted to give its chance to another company. But still, considering the hassle to get a santa cruz here in canada, I think I will buy the audigy. Anyways, I truly thank you all for your insights.

 

[WyteWatt]

You are very welcome

 

[BD2003]

As far as the headphone jack goes, you can spend the extra money that you would have spent on the SC on one of those drive bay port extenders.

Also, I havent had a single problem withh my audigy and windows xp. Although I've heard many others have.

 

[rockhard]

I bought the SC because of CL's bad driver support.
Drivers seem to be key for happy rig, so didnt fancy going the CL route again after the way they treated us Live owners.
Poor support = they not get any more my money
The SC had been flawless in XP. I never had this no worries attitude to my Live FWIW. Have they learnt theyre lesson with the Audigy?

 

[Sunner]

I have a SC for the same reason as rockhard, and I've never regretted replacing my old Live! with it, working fine in Win2K, WinXP, and Linux.

 

[WyteWatt]

I own a Santa Cruz sound card too and love it! Drivers are updated all the time! Drivers are updated so much its hard to keep up with them hehe.