New Build - Need Sound Card and Headset (50% gaming, 25% Music, 25% Movies)

[Medicius]

I'm building a new computer. My current one uses the on-board sound because for whatever reason, I can't get my speakers to work using my SB Audigy Z card. So essentially, I'm using a USB HS w/Mic.

For my new computer, I want to utilize the 5.1 (or a future 7.1) speaker system that's just collecting dust right now. I also play a lot of games and want to get a good 7.1 headset with microphone (I play with a clan and we utilize TS).

Is the Creative Sound Card series the way to go? I read that EAX 5 is essential for Gaming. And that some high-end cards don't have the ability. Creative's X-FI series seem to. Should I just stick with them? What about getting a card with an external control unit, either one that is a "break-away(?)" or one that utilizes an external disc drive slot. I have plenty of space (1200 case, with only 1 planned DVD/CD Combo drive and 1 future BR Disc Drive). I'm just not sure which way to go. My goal is to keep the sound card under the $250-$300 range and less expensive would be better. Any advice on which card to get?

Regarding the headset, I like circum-aural (surrounding the ears?). I require a mic since I use TS a lot when gaming, and I game the majority of the time. Also, when I play I like knowing where a sound is coming from - not just left or right. 7.1 is what I'd like from my headset. I'm willing to spend up to $150 on a HS - but as I said, it needs to have a Mic too. Does anyone have any advice on good headsets for primarily gaming usage (online-FPS, with a few MMORPG's tossed in)? If it also sounds good with Movies I may use it when the family is asleep. Otherwise, I'll be using my 5.1 speaker system.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Medicius

 

[terentenet]

If you are using Vista or 7, EAX is no longer supported. OpenAL is the standard you should be looking for. Plus, most of the new games no longer go with EAX either. The difference between different cards in OpenAL is that some cards do the processing in software, using CPU cycles, and others (X-Fi) do the processing inside the hardware DSP, freeing some CPU. With the current CPU power, the difference is not very big. At best, we're talking about 5% more performance from hardware accelerated OpenAL.
If you want headphones, I would advice against 7.1 headphones. Get good stereo ones. You can game on them no problem and you can listen to music at very high quality. You don't need to spend a fortune on headphones, a good start would be Sennheiser HD-485.
I have 2 sound cards: Auzentech X-Fi Hometheater HD and Asus Xonar Essence ST.
When I game, I game either on the 5.1 HT system and output from the Auzentech X-Fi, or through the Essence ST through headphones. I can game on my headphones no problem and I know wether the sound is coming from the front or the back. Once you have a good sound card, soundstage reproduction is no longer a problem.
I would stay away as much as possible from Creative sound cards. If you want the X-Fi sound chip, get an Auzentech implementation. They build the cards around the same chipset as Creative ones but with better opamps, better PCB's and upgraded, audio grade condensers.

If 7.1 analog is your priority, I would go with one of these:
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 - PCI card, based on the Creative X-Fi DSP chip, but better op-amps than creative sound cards, this sounds good, very well regarded.
Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 - again, X-Fi DSP chip, this time PCI-e card. This one also has an integrated headphone amplification circuit.
Asus Xonar D2 / D2X - D2 is PCI, D2X is PCI-e - these sound very good. They have very good op-amps, sound quality is above Auzentech cards. They don't have hardware accelerated OpenAL though.

The following 2 cards are stereo cards. They are very good with headphones, 2 speakers analog systems. If you want 7.1 from them, you need a digital connection to your speakers. That requires a digital friendly receiver that can accept Dolby Digital Live. The only speaker system that I know it can handle digital out of the box is the Logitech Z-5500.

Asus Xonar Essence STX - PCI-e sound card, very good stereo sound, audio grade capacitors all around, swapable op-amps, very good headphone amplification; you will have no problem driving whatever headphones you want with this one. Software OpenAL.
Asus Xonar Essence ST - PCI card, same as the STX, but with better clocking circuit. This one can also be upgraded to offer 7.1 analog connections, by purchasing an add-on DAC card.

There are more cards that are suited to your needs, these are just a few. Again, forget about 7.1 headphones, those are toys. Get a big man's tool, get good stereo headphones and don't look back. The sound quality alone will blow you away, you will find yourself listening to all your music collection just to hear what you were missing... Gaming will also be very good. Most sound cards support some form or another of simulating a 3D environment over headphones. X-Fi chips use CMSS 3D Headphone, all Asus cards I mentioned use Dolby Headphone.

 

[Medicius]

Thanks for the good info Terentenent!

A side question for you though. Can a person run 2 sound cards? Looking at your specs below I see "X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Asus Xonar D2/PM". Does that mean you utilize 1 for native 7.1 speaker sound and 1 for native stereo sound? If I'm reading that wrong then let's go back to my original question in this post; can I install two audio cards - one for HP's and one for 7.1 Speakers? I assume I'd have to switch them off/on in the BIOS or via Win7 hardware controls?

Thanks,

Medicius

 

[terentenet]

Yes, my siganture is outdated though. I now use an Auzentech X-Fi Hometheater HD and an Asus Xonar Essence ST.
I feed 5.1 signals through digital connection, otherwise I would have to run 3 cables instead of one, and for a preety big distance. My A/V receiver is 20ft away from the computer. Analog 20ft is not that good, lots of interference would find its way into the sound.
I have them set as following:
Auzen: Optical TOSLINK to receiver.
Essence ST: RCA cable to receiver and headphones plugged directly into the card.
Both cards are configured to send digital Dolby Digital Live signal through the digital connections. I select from the receiver which input it should listen to.
Auzen card is set as Default Playback device, because games use the Primary sound device.
Where I want to use the Xonar Essence ST (foobar and different movie playback apps) I configure the app itself to use the Xonar.

Not the case for me, since my motherboard also comes with a discrete sound card that I'm not using, but you can disable the onboard sound in BIOS.
Both my cards are enabled, I only configure them in Playback devices, in Windows.

In your case, you could use a Prelude 7.1 for example to output games and a ST(X) for music and movies. But I'll tell you one thing... if I GAME on the Essence ST, the sound quality under 7 or Vista is the same as with the X-Fi chip. Positional effects are the same, there's no difference between them in games. I just had a lot of money to burn on 2 sound cards... if I were on a budget, I would only get the ST, the addon DAC card for 7.1 analog outs and be done with it.

Leaving hardware accelerated OpenAL aside, speaking about sound quality, the ST is way above the Auzen. Both cards are flagships from their respective vendors.
My advice, get the Asus Xonar Essence ST, try to get ahold of a H6 DAC add-on card for it. With this package you have everything. You have a very good headphone amp, a very good sound card and you have the analog 7.1 connections.
Please note, in Windows 7 and Vista, the ST sounds the same as an X-Fi chip, just with a small penalty in frames per second. But when you have 100fps on the X-Fi, there is no problem having 95fps on the Xonar...

A question: what speakers will you be using?
For an educated choice in headphones, visit www.head-fi.org

 

[Medicius]

Cans w/o Mic: Grado SR60i (If i can get 'em back from my son)
HS w/Mic: Not sure - Plantronics something for now
Speakers: Creative 5.1 Set (older model...though in a perfect world, I'd own a full set of MB Quarts)


Medicius

 

[murphyslabrat]

First, the "7.1" headphones (to my knowledge) all use a simulated system. I am not sure how exactly it works, but it does mean that they include a DSP, thereby bypassing your fancy sound-card. You are going to get much better sound from a dedicated soundcard + real headphones. Now, I can tell you with absolute certainty and three server bans in COD:4, that my Creative Aurvana Live's (aka: Denon AH-d1001 k or s) are almost as good as a wall-hack. They are a straight-up left/right setup, without a crossfeed.

I do not know of any good headsets (with a mic) other than the Sennheiser PC 350 for ~$140 @ eBay, but for them to be good requires a warranty-voiding mod: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/...set-406187/index3.html

I haven't heard the sr60's, though, so I can't give a comparison with them.

Oh, and, yes, you can use two soundcards at once. Not that you'd want to, though.....The difference between onboard and a good soundcard is incredible. I use a USB DAC from HotAudio.com that works fine for me, as I just use hadphones.

 

[terentenet]

@murphyslabrat: No question about it, discrete sound card is way better than onboard. Whoever have listened to a good discrete sound card can never go back to onboard audio. As headphones, I listen to Denon AH-D5000 headphones, plugged directly into the sound card; no other sound amplification needed, the ST can drive them to volume levels that could damage the hearing.
Grado, generally speaking, are very bright headphones. Bass response is not very good and they are mostly good for clasical music. Soundstage is rather limited as well. For good, cheap headphones I recommend Sennheiser HD-485. I've listened to those, good tonal response, generally darker presentation, a warm headphone. Soundstage is preety wide. Price is under $100.

About the 2 sound cards, he was asking about 2 discrete sound cards, like I have. Auzen X-Fi HTHD for gaming and Essence ST for music and movies. But as I told the OP, there's no need for 2 sound cards. I thought it would be and I bought 2. Now, having both of them, I can say there is a difference. The X-Fi card can play better. But not that much better that you would want to put another $250 into it.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: terentenet
@murphyslabrat: No question about it, discrete sound card is way better than onboard. Whoever have listened to a good discrete sound card can never go back to onboard audio. As headphones, I listen to Denon AH-D5000 headphones, plugged directly into the sound card; no other sound amplification needed, the ST can drive them to volume levels that could damage the hearing.
Grado, generally speaking, are very bright headphones. Bass response is not very good and they are mostly good for clasical music. Soundstage is rather limited as well. For good, cheap headphones I recommend Sennheiser HD-485. I've listened to those, good tonal response, generally darker presentation, a warm headphone. Soundstage is preety wide. Price is under $100.

About the 2 sound cards, he was asking about 2 discrete sound cards, like I have. Auzen X-Fi HTHD for gaming and Essence ST for music and movies. But as I told the OP, there's no need for 2 sound cards. I thought it would be and I bought 2. Now, having both of them, I can say there is a difference. The X-Fi card can play better. But not that much better that you would want to put another $250 into it.

Actually, I have no idea why you bought the X-fi hometheater HD...unless you plan on using HDMI in the near future its overkill with your current setup. You aren't using the analog audio from it and therefore are bypassing 70% of the card.

 

[terentenet]

Originally posted by: PurdueRyActually, I have no idea why you bought the X-fi hometheater HD...unless you plan on using HDMI in the near future its overkill with your current setup. You aren't using the analog audio from it and therefore are bypassing 70% of the card.

I know... I first bought it for the headphone amp. But the ST one is much better so I'm using the ST amp instead. I do plan using the HDMI passthrough in the near future, so it will pay off.