Is there anything else besides a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 that is worth getting?

[Moab]

Is there anything else besides a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 that is worth getting now a days?

Need a good card for gaming purposes and my Sound Blaster Live Value just isnt cutting it anymore.

 

[TheBDB]

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

 

[DaveSimmons]

For best gaming compatibility you can't beat a soundblaster. Other cards are better for high-end audio output (not 128kbps MP3s) but with them you're more likely to have problems in games.

 

[Vette73]

I am not a big creative fan, driver problems and all the other stuff that goes with creative products.

The 2 Soundcards I like are the Via ENVY chipset and the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz.

 

[Zelmo3]

SoundBlaster 16 ISA! All the Way!
(sigh) I need a card that works in DOS.

 

[jjyiz28]

use hacked A2 drivers

 

[Bovinicus]

The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is supposed to be quite good, especially with MP3s and music. The positional audio is also decent.

The Audigy 2 supports more forms of positional audio, and it is still good with music.

I like my Philips Acoustic Edge. I find the sound to be very clear for MP3s and CDs. Positional audio is just fine in games when I use my headphones; also, it works pretty well with a 4.1 setup, but not as well with a 2.1 setup.

 

[Amorphus]

sunters away, whistling, with hands in pockets

*edit*
well, that seems to be down, Google saves the day (mirror)

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: Amorphus
sunters away, whistling, with hands in pockets

*edit*
well, that seems to be down, Google saves the day (mirror)

That's a bit old, don't you think? It predates the entire Audigy line, among other things.

 

[thraxes]

Originally posted by: Zelmo3
SoundBlaster 16 ISA! All the Way!
(sigh) I need a card that works in DOS.

Me too...

I could kick myself today for selling my old AWE32 when I got my Live. Who would have though that that old full length ISA bruiser would be so handy in a fit of nostalgia

sigh...

 

[KillaKilla]

Do sound cards really affect gaming performance? (on non-sound related things like FPS.)

Have a saound blaster Audigy I, I like it.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: KillaKilla
Do sound cards really affect gaming performance? (on non-sound related things like FPS.)

Have a saound blaster Audigy I, I like it.

Cheap ones can: they'll offload all the processing on to the CPU via drivers, making the card a DAC, and not much else. This in turn hurts performance, since the CPU is doing extra work that a gamer-level card wouldn't make it do.

 

[Wynner3]

Originally posted by: TheBDB
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

I agree, I have had this card for over a year now and boy do I love it. I've always had problems with Sound Blaster cards so when I went to WinXP I picked this one up. It's great, no problems. Even though I only have 4 speakers, Call of Duty sounds great. It's a great card, I highly recommend it.

 

[Big Lar]

I've had the Santa Cruz here recently, as well as the Revolution, ( with the envy chip), and the Audigy2 zs that I am running. Santa Cruz is a Very good card, just not as much output as the Audigy, the Revolution sounds better than both with Music, but gets beat bad by the others in gaming. Hope this helps.

edit; spelling

 

[Mem]

I`ve to agree for pure gaming the Audigy 2 series is your best bet ,remember only the Audigy series support the new EAX4 standard.

However if EAX support is not important then the new Entertainer sound card based on the VIA Eny 24 chipset is worth a listen,I`ve a new review link on the Entertainer sound card here in my thread .

Btw MsMoab,welcome to the AT forums .

 

[imported_Phil]

Zelmo3 & thraxes: As you two have PMs turned off, I'll say this here: there are Live! DOS drivers floating around somewhere, although I forget the exact location on the net.

However, I don't know if they'll work with the Audigy. Hell, it's worth a try. I got to about 95% complete (getting them working) and got fed up with DOS and not being able to remember certain syntaxes

Anyway, they're out there.