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Would an X-Fi Xtream make a difference at all with 2.1 speakers?

I don't see how it CAN'T make a difference. The CMSS3D is pretty much made for 2.1 and headphones. All of it's features work for 2.1. A 5.1 setup would just be icing on a great card. Yes, I own one and yes, I have 2.1 speakers which saw crappy onbaord sound before going to an X-fi.
 
Absolutly. If you don't hear much difference in the 2.1 setup, you WILL her the difference with headphones. It's just a better audio processor alltogether.
 
If you're doing gaming, go for the X-Fi for sure (especially with those good deals around).

For music, if you're just a music listener and don't want any "effects" and listen to straight stereo, then you can go with the Chaintech and save some cash.
 
I listen to a lot of movies on this, but with a 2.1 set i don't know if the X-fi would make a difference. It seems like it resamples music and stuff to sound better?

The X-fi is ~75 bucks, the chaintech is 28 bucks in canada.
 
Originally posted by: PascalT
ah well I bought a Chaintech card 🙂 (And Klipsch 2.1 speakers)
Click to expand...

Look up how to use the surround channels as your R/L channels. I guess they have a better D/A converter or op amp than the normal R/L channels.
 
Originally posted by: PascalT
is that so? interesting. thanks
Click to expand...

from another forum:
...just make sure you plug the speakers into the "rear" outs and go into the control panel and tell it to use the rear surround ouputs as the main stereo outputs. For some reason the rear surround channel has a better dac than the rest of the channels.
 
Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Originally posted by: PascalT
is that so? interesting. thanks
Click to expand...

from another forum:
...just make sure you plug the speakers into the "rear" outs and go into the control panel and tell it to use the rear surround ouputs as the main stereo outputs. For some reason the rear surround channel has a better dac than the rest of the channels.
Click to expand...

More info if you want it, PascalT
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=364771
 
Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Originally posted by: PascalT
is that so? interesting. thanks
Click to expand...

from another forum:
...just make sure you plug the speakers into the "rear" outs and go into the control panel and tell it to use the rear surround ouputs as the main stereo outputs. For some reason the rear surround channel has a better dac than the rest of the channels.
Click to expand...


I just got my card, can't figure out where to make the rear speakers the main one in the control panel? I don't see any such option. There's "2/4/6/8 speakers" settings but no way to change which is the main.
 
Originally posted by: PascalT
Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Originally posted by: PascalT
is that so? interesting. thanks
Click to expand...

from another forum:
...just make sure you plug the speakers into the "rear" outs and go into the control panel and tell it to use the rear surround ouputs as the main stereo outputs. For some reason the rear surround channel has a better dac than the rest of the channels.
Click to expand...


I just got my card, can't figure out where to make the rear speakers the main one in the control panel? I don't see any such option. There's "2/4/6/8 speakers" settings but no way to change which is the main.
Click to expand...

The drivers change where things are with the different verisons, but when I had it, it was the farthest tab on the right I think. It was something like 2 channel "high quality" or something.
 
gotcha. I am updating my drivers right now, probably a cause of the problem.

no sound is working at the moment. I tried plugging my speakers in "surround out" and "line out". should I use "enable digital output"?
 
Originally posted by: PascalT
gotcha. I am updating my drivers right now, probably a cause of the problem.

no sound is working at the moment. I tried plugging my speakers in "surround out" and "line out". should I use "enable digital output"?
Click to expand...

You'll be using the analog output, but I don't know if that gets screwed up if you enable the digital out.

Just get the latest drivers from viaarena.
 
got it to work using the new drivers (and the 64-bit version control panel)

it sounds a million times better than my old onboard sound. 🙂
 
If you have a relatively new mobo, just use onboard sound. I guarantee you won't notice a difference. Sound cards are the physics cards of yesteryear.
 
I beg to differ. I have a DFI NF4 ultra-D, quite recent, with a 7.1 onboard sound module on it, and it doesn't even compare to this quality.
 
curious what this "hi-sample rate" 2 speaker mode is? should I use that or just normal "2 speakers"? I don't really notice a difference in sound quality between the two.

I have the speakers plugged into the "center/bass" input..
 
Originally posted by: PascalT
curious what this "hi-sample rate" 2 speaker mode is? should I use that or just normal "2 speakers"? I don't really notice a difference in sound quality between the two.

I have the speakers plugged into the "center/bass" input..
Click to expand...

High sample rate likely samples at 96 KHz...pretty pointless actually for most all music.

Why do you have it plugged into the center/output...shouldn't you have them in the Surround R/L??
 
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