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Q about upgrading gaming audio...

M

mart243

Junior Member
I'm planning on upgrading my PC in the next few weeks and am having a though time about the audio side... It will be used ONLY for gaming. No music or HTPC.


I currently have a Hercules Game Theater XP and a set of Boston Accoustics BA4800 speakers (4.1, they were among the best 3 or 4 years ago... see http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/BA4800/BA4800.html ). The GTXP is not supported anymore and is only EAX 2.0 so I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to upgrade it to something better. Here are my options:

  • 1- go with an Audigy 2 ZS and keep my current speakers. EAX 4.0 but analog speakers.. Is EAX 3/4 worth it?

  • 2- go with a nforce2 (or 3?) motherboard and buy a set of Logitech Z680. Everything digital, but is soundstorm good for EAX and 3d positionning?

  • 3- keep everything I have because an audigy 2 is not much better than a GTXP and the Z680 are not much better.


Something to keep in mind:
I want something where I can hookup headphones easily (mute speakers) and a microphone. It's super easy to do this with the break-out box of the GTXP.

Since the GTXP and my BA4800 are already outdated, I haven't seen reviews comparing them to newer products so it's tought to make a choice... As for money, it's not really an issue. I'd be willing to fork the money for the z680 and go digital if they make such a difference..

Thanks a lot and sorry about the long post!
 
I had a set of those 4800s and loved them. Great speakers. 🙂

Here's my suggestion for you. If you are strictly a gamer, there is no better gaming card than the Audigy 2 ZS series. Period. For the cost of an OEM card, that upgrade should be a no-brainer. As far as speakers go, while the BAs are still very good speakers, I would get a set of Logitech Z-5300s to pair with that Audigy 2. For gaming, this combination will blow you away for very little cost. I honestly wouldn't do anything else but get the Audigy 2 ZS and Z-5300s.
 
Did you notice a big difference by going from the BA4800 to the z5300s? Much clearer sound? Center speaker is useful? Or was the only difference with the base? There's something "missing" in the way my set-up sounds and I can't pinpoint what it is. Would the extra $ be worth it for the z680 or that's mostly for HT use?
Are you bothered by the fact that it's an analog set-up? No hiss & pop? (that's the only thing that worries me in the long run. maybe games will use digital w/ soundstorm a lot more? but again, DD is compressed so you lose some...)

Thanks a lot for your help!

 
Audigy 2 ZS is a nice card, I'd go with that and probably stick with the speakers you have. If you're considering the 680s, read reviews on them; a LOT of people complain of hiss with them, apparently the amp isn't of the highest quality..
 
If you get the Audigy 2, there really isn't any need to get the Z-680s. The only real difference between those and the 5300s is the fact that the 680s decode DTS/Dolby while the 5300s do not. The Audigy 2 will be decoding anyway, so it doesn't matter.

I went from the 4800s to a set of 7500s (the digit version of the 4800s) and then to the 5300s. I did notice a difference. The center channel is very pronounced and the bass hits a lot harder at higher volumes. The satellites sound a little crisper, too. I do miss the smaller size of the BA subwoofer, though. The Logitech sub takes up quite a bit of room.
 
maybe you don't have to get the z680 but the z540 is pretty good too. it has a digital/analog controller that comes out so you can stick in your earphone, mute very easily if you want. the 540 is just a grade lower but they are still very good. But you must get a good sound card to have a good speaker or else it just wouldn't be worth it; the best card out there has be the audigy2z. You can always upgrade the speaker later when you have money but the card is a must.
 
All right then. Audigy 2 ZS it is. I guess you guys are not big fans of the soundstorm audio on the nforce boards right? 😉 I tought (and read) that the soundstorm + digital out was great (but analog out sucks). That's why I thought it would be a good solution to go for the z680.

Is the center channel used at all in games? Or it's pretty useless?
 
soundstorm is good accept it makes no adaptations for games that have multiple channels of soung used in surround I am using soundstorm and bought a 4.1 speaker setup and the back two channels were virtually useless. Maybe this is a malfunction but eighter way it is just not as great as it was at first made out to be. The audigy's are awesome. my next computer is definatly going to have one if I don't decide to put one in this computer.
 
I had tremendous luck with SoundStorm and my BA7500s (digital). The digital speakers seems to work extremely well, while people have had a lot of problems getting analog speakers to play correctly, myself included.
 
Center channel is used in games, but not necessary. 4 speakers will give you good directional sound in games. More helps, of course.
 
Well, I finally bought the Audigy2 ZS. Wow! What a difference compared to my GTXP!

The sound is so good that I've decided to stick with my BA4800s for a while!!

Thanks for your help guys! 🙂
 
I just upgraded to an Audigy 2 ZS over the weekend as well. I have it paired with a set of Z-640's. Absolutely incredible sound. My previous setup was a TB Santa Cruz and and old set of HK395's. Big improvement over those!
 
Yeah, same here. the A2 was the only card Creative ever put out that decisively pulled me away from my TBSC. It's the card that the original Audigy SHOULD have been.
 
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