Is the Audigy 2 worth it

[WHipLAsh13]

I currently have a SB Live Xgamer and have the itch to get a new sound card. What I am looking for is some input from my fellow AT'ers on whether it would be worth it,$169 shipped from New Egg, to get the new Audigy 2 Platinum. Does anyone have experience with this upgrade and was it worth it? Thanks in advance for any wisdom.

 

[newbiepcuser]

what kind of speakers do you have?

If its a 3 piece, probably not.

 

[Brian48]

I don't think the Platinum is worth it under any flavor (unless you REALLY need the interface). Otherwise, I do think the Audigy2 card itself is a worthwhile upgrade even if all you have a (decent) 2.1 setup.

 

[GrumpyMan]

I just upgraded from a SB Live X-Gamer to an Audigy 2 and my take on it overall is that it has fantastic sound to it. However, the drivers aren't quite there yet. The EAX sound effects, such as the Equalizer do not work correctly. If I select Rock for example it changes my sound from 4.1 to 2.1 which is very irritating to say the least. Also without the 2 updates that they have on their site, the links in the MediaSource GO! bar may not work at all if you have Hitman 2 or something like Style XP running in the background. The patches do work though. The DVD sound disk that comes with it is impressive to say the least. Overall I give it a 9 out of 10 stars and award it the GrumpyMan Gold Choice Award. 🙂

 

[WHipLAsh13]

Currently I have 3 piece Altecs 45.1's but would be looking at maybe the Logitech's 680's or 560's in the near future. I like the live drive for the front ports so that part is definately worth it to me. My main concern is the sound quality difference and whether its actually noticable. Thanks for all the input thus far.