nForce 2 MB, any need for a sound card like an Audigy 2?

[glen]

... or is the on board sound good enough?

 

[jaeger66]

Good enough for what?

 

[glen]

good enough for my old 2.1 cambridge soundworks speakers

 

[jaeger66]

I meant what do you use the sound for? Music, games, movies...

 

[glen]

mp3s and games
neither tend to support 5.1

 

[Schadenfroh]

if you have a soundstorm version, then you have a card that is just as good as an audigy2 built in. even if you dont have soundstorm, the integrated audio is good. what mobo you got?

 

[glen]

Epox Motherboard for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors, Model# EP-8RDA+

 

[jaeger66]

The Audigy2 has better sound quality and supports EAX3. If games are your main thing I'd get one.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I haven't used soundstorm as my NF2 uses the ALC650 but I just finished my media server for the master bedroom using an old SBLive 5.1 and even with just good headphones the SB has richer, stronger sound than the integrated. I'm certainly no audiophile but I can perceive a noticable difference.

 

[BenSkywalker]

mp3s and games
neither tend to support 5.1

For games the nForce2 SoundStorm setup doesn't need support, it can output DD 5.1 sound no matter what the game. Of course, if you don't have a DD rcvr/speaker setup then that point is rather lost

Given a choice between EAX3 and DD 5.1, I don't really see any contest at all, DD is vastly superior for games(in no small part due to the fact that the game doesn't need to support it).

 

[Bonesdad]

The onboard is great, it's more than enough for what you want.

 

[jaeger66]

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker


Given a choice between EAX3 and DD 5.1, I don't really see any contest at all, DD is vastly superior for games(in no small part due to the fact that the game doesn't need to support it).

I disagree completely. Sending an EAX stream through the encoder will mangle it terribly, and if you set the game to 2 channel and encode you destroy all the pre-rendered 3D audio effects not to mention stripping some of the detail. The point of the encoder is to facilitate connections, NOT to add some new sound experience.

 

[chizow]

I've used both and prefer the Audigy 2 for games; they're pretty close when it comes to music when you enable CMSS2 upmixing on the A2. Movies are a tie since I output via s/pdif to a DD/DTS 5.1 receiver. Sound Storm also has superior subwoofer output in any application other than movies.

The biggest benefit I've found in having both is that for online multiplayer games, 2 sound devices allows me to use a VoiceIP client without interfering with the sound my speaker outputs. What's that mean? Well, when using 1 sound device, you're basically stuck with a headset and mic combo which has led to poor positional sound in my experience. Voice reproduction also interferes with the gameplay feedback gained from positional sound which further deteriorates the gaming experience. If you use a speaker and boom mic combo, you end up getting feedback and reverb from your speakers and you also get voice and sound playback mixed in with your speakers. Not a very good combo either.

The Audigy 2 + Sound Storm combo I've been using is simply awesome with TeamSpeak or in PlanetSide (built-in VoiceIP, still needs work, but its the first I've seen of its kind). I've basically got my XBox Live headset connected to my Sound Storm mic/headset outputs through the use of a 1/18'' sub-mini to Y- 1/8'' mini adapter. Once I set the VoiceIP client and Windows device settings to output voice and input mic to nForce MCP-T, I get all voice through a single-eared headset and my voice is picked up through the Live headset's boom. As a result, I get true 5.1 EAX HD and voice playback via headset w/out any mixing of the two signals. Still not as good as the XBox Live's implementation of VoiceIP, but much better than with a single sound device solution.

Chiz

 

[alexkraemer]

my 8RDA+ is arriving today. I have a soundblaster Live! Value, so 4.1. Should I even bother installing this sound card or is the onboard better?

 

[snidy1]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
if you have a soundstorm version, then you have a card that is just as good as an audigy2 built in. even if you dont have soundstorm, the integrated audio is good. what mobo you got?

Whatever, Audigy 2 is way superior. Although soundstorm is great onboard and should be fine for your needs.

 

[T9D]

..

 

[Doomguy]

Most people's opinions on the Nforce 2 vs Audigy 2 is based on firingsquad.com's comparisons, which used ancient Nforce 2 drivers. If you're using the analog outputs on the Nforce 2 your sound will not be nearly as good as the Audigy 2. This is because the DACs on the nforce 2 motherboards aren't very good. However, if you're using digital output there's no reason why the Nforce audio be just as good in quality as the Audigy 2. It would be nice to see an updated cpu utilization comparison with some fairly recent nforce audio drivers.

It seems as if NVidia is improving sound quality on their driver sets. Here's a comparison run from a member of nforcershq.com . Seems like NVidia has gained the edge in certain categories, although the Audigy 2 wins some.

Differences between nForce Audio Drivers and Audigy 2.
I run Right Mark Audio Analyzer in 16-bit / 48 kHz and these are the results:

Frequency response, dB: [nearly to zero is better]
**Audigy 2: +0.00, -0.00
**nForce 2 (5.10.2917): +0.01, -0.26
**nForce 2 (5.10.2934): +0.00, -0,00
**nForce 2 (5.10.2938): +0.00, -0,00

Noise level, dBA: [smaller is better]
**Audigy 2: -97.2
**nForce 2 (5.10.2917): -98.1
**nForce 2 (5.10.2934): -98.1
**nForce 2 (5.10.2938): -98.1

Dynamic range, dBA: [bigger is better]
**Audigy 2: 93.5
**nForce 2 (5.10.2917): 95.8
**nForce 2 (5.10.2934): 98.0
**nForce 2 (5.10.2939): 98.1

THD, %: [smaller is better]
**Audigy 2: 0.0041
**nForce 2 (5.10.2917): 0.0021
**nForce 2 (5.10.2934): 0.0003
**nForce 2 (5.10.2938): 0.0003

IMD, %: [smaller is better]
**Audigy 2: 0.0095
**nForce 2 (5.10.2917): 0.0068
**nForce 2 (5.10.2934): 0.0061
**nForce 2 (5.10.2938): 0.0060

Stereo crosstalk, dB: [smaller is better]
**Audigy 2: -88.9
**nForce 2 (5.10.2917): -93.1
**nForce 2 (5.10.2934): -99.8
**nForce 2 (5.10.2938): -100.4

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: alexkraemer
my 8RDA+ is arriving today. I have a soundblaster Live! Value, so 4.1. Should I even bother installing this sound card or is the onboard better?

The onboard sound is vastly superior to the SBLIve! 4.1.

 

[Auric]

The SoundStorm's signal to noise ratio spec is awful -worse than ye olde Sound Blaster 16. So like Doomguy, I would avoid it for analog output.

 

[jspeicher]

my 8RDA+ sound is more than good for my own purposes...but then again, i'm not a sound whore either.