Is there any point to upgrading a sound card? (I have a Live! now)

[LordJezo]

I have had a SB Live! for years now..

Is there any point at upgrading?


I dont use surround sound or anything of the sort..

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: LordJezo
I have had a SB Live! for years now..

Is there any point at upgrading?

I dont use surround sound or anything of the sort..

I don't see any reason for you to upgrade.

Thorin

 

[miteethor]

If you play any of the newer games, especially FPS your Live could be slowing you down. I am in the same situation, and the Live only supports a limited number of 3d voice streams. Some of these games I see a noticeable performance hit due to sound playback issues. This could happen even if you only have 2 speakers...


[PhatZ]MiteeThoR

 

[CZroe]

Quite literally, you only need to upgrade if you plan on getting better speakers. The Audigy, Audigy2, etc are really the same card with new features "enabled" and external options added. ie, do you really think it takes a new chip for 6.1 audio? Firewire was added... externally.The EMUXXXX chip was just as powerful then as it is now but sound card manufacturers have to hold back on features if they want to enforce an upgrade cycle. I remember when beta Audigy drivers were unlocking full Audigy features on a Live! card (96khz recording, etc). Of course, we'll never be able to simply "unlock" the sixth channel of the Audigy2 without the extra speaker jack 🙂

 

[Thor86]

The SB Live 5.1 sounds quite better and different than the original Live. You can even pick one up (OEM) for next to nothing. If you can afford it, get the Audigy 2 with 6.1 sound, as newer games are already using 5.1 analog, and future games will none the less support 6.1 or even 7.1. Crazy, ain't it?

 

[lorlabnew]

I don't know if this thread is the right place to ask buy anyway; I wasn't too impressed with P4T533-C built-in sound features - rerouting into mic and line-in plus some more stuff), so I put SB Live! 5.1 OEM (model SB0100, whatever it is, anyone knows?); the sound is decent, except that I can't get the center speaker working in anything except PlayCenter speaker setup test itself....

I selected the correct 5.1 setup (using Logitech Z-640 5.1) etc, but when playing music or games, the center is dead. I can get workaround with "Matrix feature" on Logitech, or with CMSS set "on" from PlayCenter 3.02.52; but those are both just simulated 6-channel setups, aren't they?

I was searching with Google, and noticed quite a few people ran into the same issue , but no solution...

Sorry if this problem or issue is something well known, but I never used SB Live! 5.1 before (always only onboard sounds, or cheap 2 channel soundcards).

thx for any advice
dave

 

[Erasmus-X]

The center will always be dead as long as there is no center channel information present in the soundmix (this counts out most games and definitely, music). You'll see that center come alive on a Dolby or DTS encoded DVD for certain. As far as I can recall, there is no option in Creative's drivers or software that allows you to force sound out of the center channel (e.g. 5- or 6-channel stereo mode).

Simply put, if there's no center channel encoded in your application, the center speaker is as good as useless.


Getting back to the original discussion though, I still use a Live! X-Gamer (non-5.1 model) and I haven't found any reason to slam down $90 on an Audigy2. I've heard the card and for $90 I'll pass for now. For my uses, it doesn't make a big enough difference to justify the upgrade.

 

[lorlabnew]

Thx for reply, Erasmus-X.

OK, that's a complete explanation; I'm not very well oriented in PC audio, and so this was bugging me - my previous board (D845PEBT2 from Intel) had 6-channel audio and th e center worked with everything; well guess the SoundMax audio on that motherboard was somehow simulating the center automatically....

I was also thinking to upgrade to Audigy 2, but if I'll have the same problem there (obviously), then I'll just keep SB Live! 5.1 and run either mentioned Logitech matrix, Creative cmss, or will just leave it as it is ....

thx again for an explanation (think you just saved me $130 and a possible dissappointment from identical problem after that upgrade)
dave

 

[apoppin]

Well . . . I am a day late 😱

But my SBlive! died yesterday & I picked up a Philips Seismic Edge (PSC 705) today at a B&M for $40 (I just bought and installed Unreal II yesterday and it sucked without sound) . . . 🙂

I am VERY impressed with the gaming sounds . . . the little time I spend with CDs was spent . . . well "tweaking" the sound to get it "right" (I have an older Klipsch Promedia 4 speaker/sub system).

Whaddaya think of the Seismic Edge?

 

[apoppin]

Anyone know much about the Philips Seismic Edge?

It seems nice - especially for gaming - but is it a "good buy" for $40 and an "upgrade" from a SBLive?

Since it was an "emergency" and an "impulse" buy, I didn't research it - however, it is also "returnable" . . . anyone?

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Anyone know much about the Philips Seismic Edge?

It seems nice - especially for gaming - but is it a "good buy" for $40 and an "upgrade" from a SBLive?

Since it was an "emergency" and an "impulse" buy, I didn't research it - however, it is also "returnable" . . . anyone?

I've heard nothing but good about that card but I'm still in love with my TBSC. The $80 I laid down for this card two years ago (almost) is the best $80 I've spent on my PC yet.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: SeekingTao

Originally posted by: apoppin
Anyone know much about the Philips Seismic Edge?

It seems nice - especially for gaming - but is it a "good buy" for $40 and an "upgrade" from a SBLive?

Since it was an "emergency" and an "impulse" buy, I didn't research it - however, it is also "returnable" . . . anyone?

I've heard nothing but good about that card but I'm still in love with my TBSC. The $80 I laid down for this card two years ago (almost) is the best $80 I've spent on my PC yet.

Thanks . . . there is very little information on the Philips card in "search" . . . I guess it is a "worthwhile" $40 "upgrade" over my dead SBlive! (i guess i got lucky) 🙂

 

[Boogak]

From what I've read so far, it looks like I'll be holding on to my SBLive Gamer (non 5.1) card for a few years more. I don't plan on upgrading my original Klipsch 4.1 speakers, so all these cards with 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 would be useless to me. I game alot, but my SBLive sounds good enough for me for those purposes. Oh well, mo' money for CPU and video card upgrades!

 

[apoppin]

Well, isn't the Seismic Edge "supposed" to excel in audio "positioning" for games - particularly for those "stuck" with 2.1 and 4.1 multimedia speakers?

Maybe not so "perfect" for music(?)