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Hercules Game Theater XP vs Sound Blaster Audigy 2

J

Johnbear007

Diamond Member
I was looking at getting the game theater XP at newegg but it comes up to like 93$ shipped , and for 112$ shipped I can grab an audigy 2... How much better of a soundcard is the audigy 2, for gaming, music, and headphones? I know that I wont get the cool box thing.. with prices that close, would that be better?
 
Originally posted by: holdencommodore
The Herc GTXP's biggest issue is the drivers. If you are big on gaming, the Audigy2 is the way to go.

Cheers
Click to expand...

What is the problem with drivers?

I have also ben told that creative labs driver support is bad, but hercules is moving to a unified architecture... what is wrong with the herc drivers? (curious)

Also, what gaming advantage does the Audigy 2 have... actually what advantage in general does it have other than drivers?
 
The new 6.07 driver for GTXP has a lot of improvement.
Have you tried searching Bestbuy?
They might still have it in clearance for 75?
I saw a couple times in the FS/FT people sell for 65 shipped.
You can also get one in Ebay for about the same price.
 
Originally posted by: UncleWai
The new 6.07 driver for GTXP has a lot of improvement.
Have you tried searching Bestbuy?
They might still have it in clearance for 75?
I saw a couple times in the FS/FT people sell for 65 shipped.
You can also get one in Ebay for about the same price.
Click to expand...

When did they have it on clearance?

and are you talking about the game theater XP 6.1 or 7.1 and whats the difference anyway?

oh and BTW my best buy sux ... they only have like 2 sound cards... its a really terrible best buy... everything is always out of stock.
 
Creative killed Aureal, bought up what was left, and mothballed Aureal's superior A3D technology. I don't care for Creative at all.
 
The Sensaura 3D engine version that Hercules GTXP uses is old(er) then that used in the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and not as good, either in terms of positioning or reverb. The TBSC is a fantastic card for music, but the Audigy 2 is ahead when it comes to reverb quality in games.

If you don't want to go the Creative way (i'm not really a fan of Creative - I personally like the Philips Edge series), take a look at the Hercules Fortissimo III.... no card beats it in terms of price/performance. It uses a **similar** Crystal SoundFusion DSP, like that used in the Herc GTXP and the TBSC. Drivers for the Fort III are excellent too.


Cheers
 
Originally posted by: holdencommodore
The Sensaura 3D engine version that Hercules GTXP uses is old(er) then that used in the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and not as good, either in terms of positioning or reverb. The TBSC is a fantastic card for music, but the Audigy 2 is ahead when it comes to reverb quality in games.

If you don't want to go the Creative way (i'm not really a fan of Creative - I personally like the Philips Edge series), take a look at the Hercules Fortissimo III.... no card beats it in terms of price/performance. It uses a **similar** Crystal SoundFusion DSP, like that used in the Herc GTXP and the TBSC. Drivers for the Fort III are excellent too.


Cheers
Click to expand...


I think that was true of the older game theater... but I get the impression that the new 7.1 game theater XP uses the Fortissimo 3 as it's card... is that right?

if not what is the difference between teh old and the new game theater XP?
 
Basically, you just pay for the breakout box with the new GTXP 7.1...... that's why I consider the Fortissimo III to be much better value. The GTXP (not 7.1), and the TBSC used the Crystal CS4630.

Creative did a reasonable job with the Audigy 2, and is better then the Sensaura implimentation with gaming. Sensaura has excellent HRTF algorithims for headphones, but the Audigy 2's are also quite impressive. For Music, my choice would be the TBSC, but the Audigy 2 catches up there too.

Cheers
 
Originally posted by: holdencommodore
Basically, you just pay for the breakout box with the new GTXP 7.1...... that's why I consider the Fortissimo III to be much better value. The GTXP (not 7.1), and the TBSC used the Crystal CS4630.

Creative did a reasonable job with the Audigy 2, and is better then the Sensaura implimentation with gaming. Sensaura has excellent HRTF algorithims for headphones, but the Audigy 2's are also quite impressive. For Music, my choice would be the TBSC, but the Audigy 2 catches up there too.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Ok thanks... sorry for being dense, but I still dont understand the diff with the 7.1 and 6.1 both come with the breakout box, if you look at them on the hercules website
 
Hercules' implementation of 7.1 is adding stereo output to the rear surround channel... 6.1 would allow for a mono rear surround channel.

Of the 2 cards you're looking at, go Audigy2. Trust me on this. I've used both cards and the Audigy2 is the way to go... much better sound reproduction when gaming... music and DVD movie watching, you'll get good quality from both cards but the Audigy2 does give you the chance to listen to DVD-Audio.

Both Creative Labs and Hercules have less than stellar drivers for their respective sound cards--that's another toss up.

If you're not going to use all the features that the GTXP's breakout box provides, go Audigy2.
 
Originally posted by: MasterHoss
Hercules' implementation of 7.1 is adding stereo output to the rear surround channel... 6.1 would allow for a mono rear surround channel.

Of the 2 cards you're looking at, go Audigy2. Trust me on this. I've used both cards and the Audigy2 is the way to go... much better sound reproduction when gaming... music and DVD movie watching, you'll get good quality from both cards but the Audigy2 does give you the chance to listen to DVD-Audio.

Both Creative Labs and Hercules have less than stellar drivers for their respective sound cards--that's another toss up.

If you're not going to use all the features that the GTXP's breakout box provides, go Audigy2.
Click to expand...

I'll have to give it a bit of thought. It would be nice to have the audigy 2, but I do really like the breakout box features.
 
Here is the response I got from hercules



Dear Customer,

Both cards are very similar. Using the latest driver currently available on our WEB site, this is totally transparent to you. The main difference is the DSP on the card. The original uses the CS4630 while the new one use the CS4624.

Regards,
Philippe Delisle
Hercules Technical Support Specialist
 
Having been an owner of a Herc GTXP (and just about every other consumer level sound card out there), the breakout box is the ONLY reason to choose the GTXP over the Audigy2. The Audigy2 music and .mp3 reproduction is just as good as any of the CS4630/CS4624 based sound cards, if not better (a toss up towards personal preference, really). In regards to games, there is no question, the A2 walks over every other card out there today, including the original Audigy.

By the way, that bit about Creative driving Aureal out of business via the judicial system is nothing but crap. It is just perpetuated, messageboard propaganda from the Aureal zealots. Although it certainly didn't help, the lawsuit Creative had towards Aureal was not what eventually put the company out of business. The problem was that they just didn't sell enough cards, period. Not only was chipset sales to 3rd vendors not adequate enough for sustainable cash flow, the company also made the same mistake as 3dfx and over extended themselves when they dump all that money into investment capital so they could produce the SQ series themselves (of which they couldn't afford in the end).
 
GTXP 6.1 and couldn't be happier. It solved any PCI/IRQ sharring issues that Sound Blaster is notorious for and I love the break-out box.
 
Originally posted by: Gand1
GTXP 6.1 and couldn't be happier. It solved any PCI/IRQ sharring issues that Sound Blaster is notorious for and I love the break-out box.
Click to expand...

I'm beggining to thing that an audigy isn't really worth the money. It's easy to get caught up in performance parts.... 200$ for a soundcard, 400$ for a video card... yeah right. When most of the features on those cards arent even used yet. Plus I don't really like creative labs... 20$ for black face plate?

Some people have to have the best, and if you want to pay for it be my guest, but I personally doubt that I will be able to tell the difference between the audigy 2 and the game theater... I can barely tell the difference between teh audigy 2 and my MX300
 
Originally posted by: Gand1
400$ for a video card.
Click to expand...

Well, I did buy a 9700pro when it first came out, not $400 but $380. 😱
Click to expand...

Thats fine, i'm not knocking those who do it. I was just saying that it can be easy to get caught up in that " I must always have the best" mentality. I have too many other hobbies and very little money, so I can't shell out all my cash for the best components 🙂
 
i have the game theater xp. it's great. especially since i actually use most of the outputs and inputs. otherwise i'd get something else that doesn't have the box. i'd actually rather get the audigy 2 platinum because it'd be nice to have front firewire for my ipod. but the gtxp does wonders.
 
Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
i have the game theater xp. it's great. especially since i actually use most of the outputs and inputs. otherwise i'd get something else that doesn't have the box. i'd actually rather get the audigy 2 platinum because it'd be nice to have front firewire for my ipod. but the gtxp does wonders.
Click to expand...


the firewire was the only thing holding me back for awhile.. but then I remembered I dont own any firewire devices, so it doesnt really matter 🙂

Does the headphone jack on the breakout box offer anything over the jack that somes right out of the back of a soundcard?
 
Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
i have the game theater xp. it's great. especially since i actually use most of the outputs and inputs. otherwise i'd get something else that doesn't have the box. i'd actually rather get the audigy 2 platinum because it'd be nice to have front firewire for my ipod. but the gtxp does wonders.
Click to expand...


the firewire was the only thing holding me back for awhile.. but then I remembered I dont own any firewire devices, so it doesnt really matter 🙂

Does the headphone jack on the breakout box offer anything over the jack that somes right out of the back of a soundcard?
Click to expand...

not really. just easy access. i don't use headphones. i'd feel stupid using them considering the speakers i paid for.
 
Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
i have the game theater xp. it's great. especially since i actually use most of the outputs and inputs. otherwise i'd get something else that doesn't have the box. i'd actually rather get the audigy 2 platinum because it'd be nice to have front firewire for my ipod. but the gtxp does wonders.
Click to expand...


the firewire was the only thing holding me back for awhile.. but then I remembered I dont own any firewire devices, so it doesnt really matter 🙂

Does the headphone jack on the breakout box offer anything over the jack that somes right out of the back of a soundcard?
Click to expand...

not really. just easy access. i don't use headphones. i'd feel stupid using them considering the speakers i paid for.
Click to expand...

Oh well if it doesnt offer any advantage over normal outputs then that is pointless for me... I don't very often have to play with the outputs so I might as well plug them into the sound card.... I'm gettign nice headphones instead of speakers because I live in an apartment and that wayI can have my stuff up loud whenver I want...


that being said which sound card do you guys think is best if headphones alone are considered (headphones and mic) ?

 
Say you're playing a game, and you can't hear well because volume is too low... What do you have to do? Close the game, go open the sound control panel, turn up sound, load game again.

Then you start playing, and crap, it's too loud, my ears are bleeding!! Close game, go to CP, load game again, etc...


That's the advantage the GTXP and Audigy 2 Patinum have: a dedicated volume knob for the headphones jack, the most important feature a headphone user could want. 🙂


So get the 65$ out of your wallet and go buy the GTXP! 😛 (no I don't work for Hercules)
 
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