Sound Card Question for the Gurus

[Texun]

I am using the SB Live and have found that is does a great job as far as music and have seen no need to change.

But..... recently I have been playing games a little more than usual and noticed when playing Counter-Strike and using stereo headphones I have trouble determining the direction of noises, shots, footsteps, etc. unless they are far left, far right or straight on. It is difficult to determine the location of sounds that are slightly off-center. Do the better sound cards help with the separation or is it the game? Awe hell, could just be those rock concerts from years ago are finally starting to catch up with me.

Thanks

 

[jaeger66]

The Live was never great at positional audio, that was A3D's domain. The Audigy cards, which support EAX 3, do better.

 

[Electric Amish]

AFAIK, you can't do sound positioning with headphones.... It works better with 4.1 0r 5.1 surround speakers.

amish

 

[jaeger66]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
AFAIK, you can't do sound positioning with headphones.... It works better with 4.1 0r 5.1 surround speakers.

amish

On Aureal-based cards, it worked great. Sensaura-based cards also have a whole set of algorithms for headphone based 3D audio. Creative has always lagged in this area.

 

[Texun]

Thanks. I did a search on Pricewatch for Aureal but came up empty. Can you list any brands that you know of that have Aureal or Sensura ?

 

[jaeger66]

Originally posted by: texun
Thanks. I did a search on Pricewatch for Aureal but came up empty. Can you list any brands that you know of that have Aureal or Sensura ?

Sadly, Aureal went bankrupt and was bought and buried by Creative. Cards that use Sensaura include the Hercules Fortissimo 3 and Game Theatre, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and the nForce onboard audio. I'd go with the Herc cards since TB is getting out of soundcards and I assume you don't want a whole new motherboard.

 

[chizow]

CMSS2 for the Audigy2 (and hacked A1's) provide excellent positional sound on a set of cans, might not have been the case before, but I've found EAX HD to be more accurate and responsive on a nice set of headphones than a 5.1 set-up. I still prefer my 5.1 set-up for the immersiveness and overall effect for positional sound in games tho.

As for CS, I believe its a limitation of the game itself, as its rather old and positional sound relies on game support of the sound API. I didn't notice much difference in terms of positional sound in CS after going from my Live! to my A2. OTOH, newer games that support 3D 5.1 surround and EAX HD benefit tremendously from a better sound card, like SoF2 and BF1942 for example. Being able to hear foot steps and the direction from which bullets are whizzing by is invaluable to online gameplay. Being able to hear distant rumbles from explosions also helps a great deal. Its like having a set of eyeballs in the back of your head; or a "sixth sense" considering interactive feedback in PC games in the past have more or less been restricted to visual data.

Chiz

 

[Texun]

Thanks everyone. Got the info I needed and now I just need pick up a card... leaning toward the TB but hadn't heard about them getting out of the SC business. I've heard about their reputation for great cards for years and would like to know what all the fuss is all about. Never had a moment's trouble with the SB lives that I have in 3 of my computers, but the gaming thing opened up a new set of problems that I am just now becoming aware of. Got plenty of horsepower, but that hasn't helped me against my office staff in Counter Strike. I'm a n00b at games and they are cleaning my clock! 😉

Also need to get a decent set of headphones, preferably with a mic. If anyone can recommend one please let me know.

Thanks again!