If all I want to listen to is a stereo or 2.1 setup, should I still invest in a better sound card?

[kman79]

I'm more of a "stereo" listener than a surround sound listener. Obviously for movies I would prefer DTS-ES over stereo, but for audio I lean more towards stereo, with a few exceptions in forms of DVD-Audio.

The Asus board I have has Realtek ALC850 on board sound. I recently ordered a klipsch Pro Media 2.1. Would there be a a distinct difference in stereo imaging and sound by using an Audigy 2 card over the onboard audio I have now, or will I just be throwing money away.

Any input on this guys would be great

 

[svi]

Sure. There's nothing lo-fi about stereo at all, it's how most music is recorded. I've never heard that particular speaker set, so I have no idea if you will hear the difference between an A2ZS and average integrated audio with it, but one definitely exists.

If you don't plan on doing much gaming with it, then there are cheaper cards that are excellent for stereo. You have a 7800, though, so I'm thinking gaming is something you plan on doing pretty often.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

For a 2.1 speaker set a Chaintech AV710 would be a good choice for music.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=364771

 

[Dantzig]

Look into the Chaintech AV-710. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1440808&enterthread=y

Newegg has it for $26 shipped. Awesome card for music/stereo sound and much cheaper than the Audigy 2.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: Dantzig
Look into the Chaintech AV-710. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1440808&enterthread=y

Newegg has it for $26 shipped. Awesome card for music/stereo sound and much cheaper than the Audigy 2.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Dantzig
Look into the Chaintech AV-710. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1440808&enterthread=y

Newegg has it for $26 shipped. Awesome card for music/stereo sound and much cheaper than the Audigy 2.

Not always

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1670284&enterthread=y

 

[kman79]

Thanks for the quick input guys.

I read up on the chaintech you guys recomended. It does seem like a great stereo card. Some of the reviews or posts regarding it says it isn't too good for gaming. As most of you would probably know by looking at my sig, I tend to play a good amount of games on this machine. So good gaming performance would be something I would high on the list. Most of my game time is taken up by Battlefield 2, and I would love to utilize the EAX-HD Feature. I should have mentioned in my first post that I wanted a card that was good for gaming also, sorry.

I was looking at getting this card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102178

I had set a limit of 100.00 for this purchase and this falls within under that limit. I'm thinking that it performs better than the chaintech card for games, and maybe as good for music? Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Who knows, if I can seriously tell a good difference between the onboard card and a seperate card, I might fork out the money for the X-Fi XtremeMusic edition if reviews say it's a good bit better.

Thanks for the replies, anymore help on this would be appreciated

 

[Vernor]

Originally posted by: kman79

The Asus board I have has Realtek ALC850 on board sound. I recently ordered a klipsch Pro Media 2.1. Would there be a a distinct difference in stereo imaging and sound by using an Audigy 2 card over the onboard audio I have now, or will I just be throwing money away.

Depends entirely on your ears.

 

[T9D]

Well I only use stereo. I prefer it. I just dont like surround sound. And I just bought the X-fi. I used to have an audigy and I can tell you that the x-fi is MUCH better. However it was the Audigy 1. But I dont think the Audigy 2 is all that much better from what I heard around that internet. Onboard sound is "ok" and sounds decent, Audigy 1 sounds very good but still lacked something, X-fi = awesome. That's my experience anyway. And I'm heavily into sound and music. (and I play games).

 

[kman79]

I saw the X-Fi card at best buy just an hour ago. Well I saw the tag for it, they were sold out. I also so the Audigy 2 Value. I can't decide, I wish I could sample them. Gonna research this alot tonight

 

[kman79]

Alright, looked it up some.

I'm now considering the X-Fi Fatal1ty. Still just an avid stereo listener for music, but I like the idea of having better audio for gaming with a headphone. Also please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand, with this card, it'll handle all audio requirements so tha totals out to better gaming performance in terms of FPS and quality? Is that correct? If so then I wouldn't mind investing more to get this card.

That's another issue, i can't find this card anywhere, except from Creative Labs website.

Let me know what you guys think