Klipsch Promedia 5.1 + 5.1 channel sound card

[NTguru]

I received my Klipsch Promedia 5.1 speakers last night, but to my surprise, my current Hercules Game Theater XP is not a true 5.1 sound card, as there is no plug-in for the center channel. I was wondering which sound card would suit me best with these speakers. I was thinking of either the Philips Acoustic Edge or the Creative Extigy.
Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Jyncus]

Yeah, I've read some good reviews on the Creative Extigy, and my friend is planning on buying one in a couple weeks.
I'm sure you've read all about these problems with the Audigy and XP by now...hopefully, the Extigy won't have the same issues.

Tell me how the speakers turn out...I've been very interested in buying a ProMedia set of speakers, but haven't quite decided if I wanna dish out the extra $100 for a 5.1 channel instead of the 4.1's. Good luck man.

 

[DN]

Uhm, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Extigy geared more towards people who have laptops..? I'm 99% sure that's the case.. So, my strong suggestion would be to go for the Audigy (whatever flavour of it you require).. It's an excellent sound card and imo a lot better than your alternatives.. I have it setup with my DTT3500 5.1's and it's pure schweetness!

 

[FluxCapacitor]

I'd go for the Audigy. I have a SB Live hooked up to my Klipsch 5.1s and it sounds excellent. I can only imagine the Audigy sounds even better.

Jyncus, for the extra $100 you get a much larger subwoofer with 2 8-1/2" drivers and a control pod with a digital readout for all the levels of your speakers (with a lighted volume control knob), and of course the center channel. It was worth the extra $100 to me, especially for the 5.1 ability my sound card had going to waste previously, and the control pod adds a nice touch.

 

[Amused]

What's wrong with the TB Santa Cruz?

 

[kyoshozx]

NTguru, what input connections do the promedia 5.1 have? I'm interested in getting these speakers in the future.

 

[NTguru]

Well, I must state right now for Jyncus, that even if it was made for laptops, I do own a laptop. The extigy was design for DVD players. Game consoles and PC. I CANNOT use a Creative sound card that uses a pci slot, as there is an issue with those cards and my system. Tyan and Creative themselves were not able to fix it, so don't ask me why I won't pick an audigy or Live card. I am ordering the Extigy tonight and will get it by monday or tuesday. As for AmusedOne, the TB Santa Cruze has major driver problems in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, I'm sure there's a leak somewhere that fixes a few of them, but I tend to look at those cards as to how I look at the ATI Radeon driver issues. The Klipsch Promedia 5.1 speakers have 3 1/8" plug-ins. 1 Front L/R, 1 Rear L/R and 1 Center/Subwoofer. This is the only reason I need a new sound card, as the Hercules only has the Front/Read, but it also has the Center/subwoofer, however those are RCA connectors.

 

[MasterHoss]

The GTXP isn't a standard 5.1 sound card. In fact, you can currently get 6.1 out of it and 7.1 with a later driver update by Hercules. To get the center channel to work with your GTXP, you'll have to buy some cables and maybe an adaptor to get your 1/8" minijack to turn into standar stereo RCA male plugs. It's easy to do...just visit your RadioShack.

Note that some people have experienced some problems with the PM 5.1 and the GTXP running together. If you are going to get a new card, I'd definately recommend something from the Audigy family or the Santa Cruz. To experience more 5.1 sound from almost any sound source, get the Acoustic Edge.

 

[Finality]

<< 5.1 speakers

To use a 5.1 speakers system, connect the front, rear, center and subwoofer speakers on the corresponding connectors on the back of the Game Theater XP 6.1 rack, using either the RCA connectors or the 1/8" jacks.

This speaker setup will allow you to hear sound playing on all 5.1 speakers independently of the original sound format coming from the PC. The Game Theater XP 6.1 digital signal processor uses special algorithms to recreate the front center channel, achieving a high degree of realism in 3D sound supporting games. Regular stereo and mono sounds will also be virtualized on 5.1 channels.

Monitoring of input signals can be virtualized up to 5.1 channels using the Aux 2 and Line In 2 inputs on either the PCI card internal connector or the rack alternate front MIC connector. All other inputs are monitored on the front speakers only. >>

 

[Budarow]

The Klipsch are sweet, but if you get the 5.1's...you damn better have a good CHUNK of available floor space to put it! The sub is HUGE (and awesome) AND I DO MEAN HUGE!
!

 

[Goi]

aww comon, with just dual 6.5" woofers(midbass at most), these so-called "subwoofers" can't be "huge"

 

[Goosemaster]

Huge?

MY friend has a 12 inch that is 750watts..now that IS huge.


I have the 4.1s and a guy accross the hall has the 5.1s

They are not HUGE, but sound AWESOME for their size

 

[HouRman]

That sub is puny compared to REAL subs like an SVS 16-46. These produce sounds as low as 16hz and in my book considered BIG subs.

I like the THX certification the Klipsch promedias have and their fair pricing.

 

[Goi]

Hehe, them SVS's are extreme...you don't need to go THAT large to be considered "real"...I'd like to think my Servo-15's a real sub too

 

[TheWart]

a vote for the Acoustic Edge here. makes my Promedia 4.1s rock!

 

[eno]

I have the Promedia 4.1 with the OEM audigy and my neighbor runs the 5.1 Promedia with the same OEM audigy and it is a huge performance gain over are ON-Board SOYO mb 5.1 sound. Even without the comparison to the SOYO , stand alone It is a great sounding card. It has built in 96khz/24bit processing, sheesh my almost 2 year old Yamaha DTS reciever doesn't even support that for 600$( newer amps your can get 96/24bit for 250$). They even have a firewire port for the 60$ OEM card. That audigy is worth every penny IMO.

 

[GladiatorPotato]

So what's the final verdict on the sound card that reigns supreme? I have SB Live!. I only had the choice of SB Live! or TB Santa Cruz from the factory (Dell - 8200 Dimension) based on price. I didn't want to commit to the TB until I had researched some. But I'd like to move to a premium sound card asap. I DON'T like Creative. Maybe I'm just cursed, but I've always had no end of misery with their products (though that Extigy IS luring me.....evil thing). Their software is flakey, product reliability is touch-n-go and getting support from them requires an unreasonable effort on the consumers part. whine, whine.....sorry.

So what's the GOOD news? I'm an audiophile - Yamaha power and pre-amp, Nakamichi CD player, Klipsch Forte II's, but I've only begun to delve into the realm of PC audio. I certainly don't mind paying a premium for a product that's going to deliver sound quality that gets me all warm and fuzzy.

 

[Goi]

Well, for basic digital coax and S/PDIF output, the TB Santa Cruz does a good job...if you want better quality sound and more features though, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 is hard to beat. Take note that you'll lose all the gaming functionality, but it'll still be able to play games with just plain jane, quality stereo(or whatever processing your Yamaha preamp does).

 

[WyteWatt]

The Santa Cruz has the best drivers for windows 2000/windows xp. Plus they are the only ones who update their drivers a lot to fix any issues as fast as possible. Just look at the latest drivers! they are from 1/10/02! Thats only 1 month ago. New drivers come out at least every 3 months if not more. Driver support is a very important thing for any hardware you have and the Santa Cruz has the best no ifs or buts about it.