Sound card question.

[SSP]

I?m going to buy a sound card tomorrow (not too expensive). Anyway, I don't want to spend more then 70 bucks ($CAD [~50 bucks AM$]) on it. I saw some stores selling SB Live Value and some cards based on the ESS chipsets. I need a sound card with good sound quality. I'm not looking for the best, just something that won't skip MP3's when I use other applications (my onboard sound [I know, I know] does this all the time).

I really would like it if the company would support winXP in the future, so that?s why I'm not too happy to buy any sound cards with an ESS or any other chipset on it. Are there any affordable sound card models from creative? Is the Live Value any good? Any other good Manufactures (please don?t give me expensive models like Santa Cruz etc..)

Oh yeah, does anyone have that link to video tools with all those converters and codecs? If you do, can you please post it? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[mackstann]

Philips Acoustic Edge is cheap, I believe. Sound Blaster Lives are scary to me....

 

[Alienwho]

Could've bought my acoustic edge off me for 60 bucks yesterday but it's allready sold .

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Divx stuff? Try divx.box.sk

 

[SSP]

I'm not really in to online shopping, so I'll have to find a store with those models. THanks for the help though.

BTW - Does anyone know that video tools link? I really want to burn those BMW films to a cd. (gotta convert it first though)

 

[ThisIsMatt]

<< Divx stuff? Try divx.box.sk >>

eh, that should have been dvd.box.sk

 

[rundilEXE]

Hey dude, the sbLive value is the best soundcard available for the money. In fact, it is the best soundcard available including others that cost a lot more. I Replaced mine(briefly)with a hercules game theatre xp, big mistake. The sb shat on it from a great height..I took the xp bach and put back the trusty creative. What is the diff betweeen the value and the platinum? Not much...Go the live....Awesome. Just make sure if you do get one, to enable this setting. Otherwise you wil experience the problems that have haunted many
Go to Device manager>Creative Miscellaneous Devices>creative sb16 emulation>properties>settings. You will see a checkbox that says &quot;enable Lpt interrupt sharing&quot; Check it, if it is not already... Hey presto, flawless operation, forever.. I really can't stress just how good they are. I have used the same card with both an apollo pro 133a based m/board, and am currently using an asus Cusl2-c, intel 815ep chipset based board...With the correct setup, as I showed b4, it worked perfectly. Always. Cheers dude, may it give you years of flawless operation.

 

[Alienwho]

rundil took his GTXP back for a live value?

Dude what are you smoking, next time install it's drivers.

 

[crypticlogin]

<< The sb shat on it from a great height >>



If that doesn't say everything, I don't know what will. So rundilEXE, how much higher does the sb sh*t over the xp? My second question is how does the Live sound better than the XP?

 

[rundilEXE]

the xp had a very tinny sound, and the setting I described for it in the aforementioned post, was not available, so it did exactly the same thing as the sb did without it being enabled, but with no fix. Worry not, the VERY LATEST drivers were installed, to no avail. I changed the bios to suit too. No good. Rang hercules, they said &quot;Oh sorry, we don't have a fix for that!&quot; You will have to take it back for a refund. SBlive rocks, hecklers take note...what other s/card can you get for that price with a 1024 voice wavetable?

 

[rundilEXE]

just in case you think me a joker, specs are as such(money forbids anymore at this stage)
PIII 1ghz
384mb ram
30gb ata100 hdd
creative 12x dvd
creative 32x12x10cd/rw
Geforce 2 gts, 32mb
creative sblive value
Ibm Netfinity 10/100 ethernet
Asus Cusl2-c m/board(intel 815ep c/set)
Built it meself, I did, not too flash, but then again not too bad.... As I said, I am not so useless as to not have the latest driver, and updates for EVERYTHING (bios incl.)in my system. The Hercules simply was not as good. Trust me, I have been cruisin the Hi-fi Audio field for the last 18 yrs or so, and I know what sounds good, and what don't. There is no way I would have taken the herc back if it was better, believe me...

 

[crypticlogin]

I was going to edit my post to include a &quot;don't mean to sound like an attack&quot; disclaimer, but you beat me to my message. I'm just giving you a hard time, rundilEXE -- just a little tired of these &quot;X is better than Y&quot; statements when the poster doesn't even try to justify their opinion.

 

[rundilEXE]

Hey dude, no drama at all, I understand completely, it sux when an idjit tries to talk cr3p about things which they know less about than they think they do, eh hehehe...seriously though, I have rebuilt my box a million times with a million gadgets, had a million reformats, etc...Been through the hardships...Still learning, but I know a little

 

[NeoV]

XP is a great card...though out of your price range SSP...I have had that and a Creative 5.1 card in Win2k, and I have to say that the Herc has been the better card for me...

If you want to keep the budget down, and have XP support, the Live probably is your best bet.....if you don't plan on doing DVD on your PC, don't bother with the 5.1 versions...

 

[rundilEXE]

btw, sblive now works pewrfect(liveware included)with win2k, just in case U wanted to know And Me as well, and linux too....Have used it, no probs with all of them..98se is still lord tho', most polished of the lot.

 

[rundilEXE]

I wonder though, about the long term ramifications of that mutha cable(Xp) haning all weighty like, on the socket on tha back...didn't like how flimsy it seemed....I propped mine up so as not to weigh thingz downI do miss all those connectors though Might have to get a livedrive Anyone got one? They worth it? I make music, need tha connections Maaaaan

 

[Alienwho]

Wow rundil you are obviously an expert on the matter

Since everything you own is creative made i'm guessing you are super pro creative and can't see that the GTXP is obviously better than the live value. I mean read any review you can find. The GTXP is one of the best cards on the market right now, getting higher reviews then the damn sb platinum and you're saying that the live value is better?

As an owner of the GTXP, Acoustic Edge, Live X-Gamer, and Turtle Beach SC, I can tell you that you are talking out of your ass cause the x-gamer was the worst card out of all of them.

 

[rundilEXE]

Reviewa are opinions dude.. As far as I am concerned, it is in the ear of the listener...I have heard sound gear as good as any of them would have encountered, read $30,000 speakers, $100, 000 amps, in all of the best audio stores in the country. I know what sounds good, and what don't. Obviously you didn't notice that the reason the xp scored so high, was because of the price in most cases. In any case, the xp IS a turtle beach chipset, so who is talking out of it? I offered advice, you dribbled shyte Does your nappy need changing?

 

[rundilEXE]

and its not that I am pro creative, it's just that the price is right..Btw, have you read the rev's on any of me other little creative bitz? They didn't score that far below anything else to justify the massive price diffs' here in Australia, the land of the falling dollar, so I got em..What of it? I suppose your is bigger than mine eh? Anyway, this is going nowhere, our little joust, so advise the dude, don't heckle me. Trying to make me look like an idiot helps his choosing of a soundcard not at all....

 

[Alienwho]

<< in all of the best audio stores in the country >>


Hmmm...an australian, so these &quot;$100,000&quot; amps you listen to....what is that like $10 in american dollars?

Or maybe SB's just sound better south of the equator, yeah that must be it.

p.s. I appreciate the way you practically flame yourself.

 

[rundilEXE]

Oh god, a patriot....Spare me, fool...Did you not know that australia has some of the best audio/electronic technology in the world? Ever heard of Richter speakers? Krix? Orpheus, Whatmough? Sonique?...Presumption 'o' toolish one...Duntech, etc...You who know little...Eidetic amplifiers, the list goes on...It MAY cost us more, but that doesn't mean we don't have it. Btw, most of our backyards do not have kangaroo's bouncing through them..Who pioneered solar technology? Weeeeeelll, must've been us..And where would you be without your electric refrigerator, which WE designed?

 

[rundilEXE]

And when man first walked on the moon, WHOSE radar dish was catching the signal PERFECTLY while the Usa was doing, well, whatever it was doing....I got nothing against usa, btw, I just don't have a penchant for arrogant a/holes. Like U

 

[rundilEXE]

Obviously this has more to do with arrogance on u'r part, at any rate, what sort of post is this cr3p? &quot;Dude what are you smoking, next time install it's drivers&quot;, your first post, which I might add, got the ball rolling for the rest of your obviously vindictive remarks. Like I said, dude, give a little helpful input, not foul-smelling effluent...

 

[imported_vr6]

i just bought a acoustic edge online, i'll let u know what i think. i also have a SB live. but it causes conflict with ATI's radeon, which i sold a while ago.

 

[Alienwho]

Keep them coming, but try to cram all 5 posts into one this time.