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What USB soundcard to get?

Well, Ive never had a need for a USB sound card but I started getting paranoid about buying creative products when, after installing wmp 9, it decided to stop playing one of my mp3s. I did a little research which suggested that current and future creative sound cards will support drm in hardware. Since this is not advertised up front by creative I find it offensive and won't buy any more of their products. I have been very happy with my Turtle Beach Santa Cruz but I don't think they make a USB card. I've also read that Creative is the only card currently offering hardware audio acceleration. Older cards from the other vendors such as Turtle Beach or philips offered it but the current trend is to rely on the cpu alone for audio processing.
 
My Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 is the best sounding card for music as well as games that I have ever heard. Perfect soultion for my needs as an audiophile/gamer. My games even sound better and my CPU can handle the extra load. Back in 2001 on board sound processing taking place on the sound card was useful. Today it is obsolete. Even then I opted for the Santa Cruz over the SB Live!

I have never been happy with Creative sound cards.
 
Originally posted by: Zap Brannigan
My Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 is the best sounding card for music as well as games that I have ever heard. Perfect soultion for my needs as an audiophile/gamer. My games even sound better and my CPU can handle the extra load. Back in 2001 on board sound processing taking place on the sound card was useful. Today it is obsolete. Even then I opted for the Santa Cruz over the SB Live!

I have never been happy with Creative sound cards.
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You do understand I'm looking for a USB card, right? This is for a laptop.
 
I suppose that's a possibility. Will it matter if they're connected to amplified speakers? Will they be connected to amplified speakers?
 
Originally posted by: Algere
I suppose that's a possibility. Will it matter if they're connected to amplified speakers? Will they be connected to amplified speakers?
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Yes they will be - but I just remember my friend who had the Sonica Theatre tried connecting his Logitech ZE-5500 speakers to it and he said it was overly quiet. Like he could turn up the volume to get it to the right volume, but I just don't like that solution. I've also heard that the Theatre is a very noisy card.
 
NleahciM, different review below of the Zalman ZM-RSSC 5.1 USB Soundcard.

I compared the ZM-RSSC to a Yamaha DSP-A1 5.1 Amplifier?s internal DSP chip. As I used the A1?s line in amplification for the ZM-RSSC tests the onus was definitely on the processing chips with both sound solutions outputting to my Mission Cinema 7 speaker setup. For gaming I compared the ZM-RSSC to a Soundblaster 5.1 Live and the onboard 5.1 sound of the DFI Lanparty 865PE.

The results were good. Movie?wise The ZM-RSSC copes well with everything you throw at it, only showing weaknesses when compared to the Yamaha amplifier (to be expected at 32 times the price!). In Games, compared to the onboard and the 5.1 Live!, the ZM-RSSC was quite competent. The 5.1 Live! was a little bit more controlled with tighter bass and had clearer treble. The onboard was identical to the external card.

Is it worth buying? Read on...
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Link.

Like all things it depends on your price range and how much volume and sound quality you want.
 
Originally posted by: Mem
You might find this roundup review of different USB soundcards interesting,link. .
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I've seen that. But you do realize that's tomshardware that you linked to, right? You pay them enough and they'll say anything is the new best thing. They haven't been a reliable source for information for a good couple of years now.
 
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