Meant to be Seen

OK. Sometime towards Xmas time, I'm thinking of building a new system. Was wondering what the thoughts are of regarding audio cards. I have an Audigy 2 right now.

Aside from gaming, I do some [non-professional] audio editing and video editing. I have 5.1 speakers. System could dual boot between XP and Win7.

Do I stick with my card, get something more recent from Creative Labs [X-Fi series] or go somewhere else? Is Azentech [sic?] any good?

Any new replacement card requires the following features [at least]: line in, option to capture whatever is going through my speakers [i.e. Creative Labs "What you hear" feature].

Don't want to break the bank either. Maybe $100US max.

For what it's worth I bought both cards like 2 years ago (X-plosion and Xtreme gamer pro). Thought the sound quality was better in the X-plosion until I saw a review that clearly gave X-Fi the victory. The kool thing about the X-plosion is the abillity to output Dolby Digital sound if You got a HiFi system (I don't), the kool thing about the X-Fi is the CMSS-3D headphone sound with which You can actually hear where people are positioned/shooting from. Also works with 5.1. speakers.
X-Fi lacks one jack (don't remember which).

The ability to hear where people are depends on the game though. When it works great (like in Battlefield 2) You totally have an audio world surround You giving You a lot of immersion. Call of Duty 4 MW sound is nowhere near as good. X-plosion sound was distorted/not working right in Battlefield 2.

But this was 2 years ago, new models/companies/drivers have emerged I know.

From what I've read, nothing beats the X-Fi, and it looks like Creative allow other companys to use the X-Fi Chip as Azentech sell X-Fi's as well (I've read that they made better drivers for the X-Fi than Creative!)

I'd personally never go back to anything less than a X-Fi, the audio experience in games with decent headphones is great. And don't forget about Alchemy, which you may need if your using Vista/Windows 7

gisabun wrote:option to capture whatever is going through my speakers [i.e. Creative Labs "What you hear" feature].

I didn't think any Sound Cards offered this in Windows Vista but I have this on my X-Fi in Windows 7

Freke1 wrote:Call of Duty 4 MW sound is nowhere near as good.

Can you explaine what you mean please, I'm playing CoD4:MW again at the moment (It looks great in S3D, even the Guns Scopes are only on one eye!) and the audio sounds fine to me, I can pinpoint other players positions on my headphones, and everything is crisp and clear.

ok maybe they have updated the game sound in CoD4 since I played. I just never felt I could hear where people were running like I can in Battlefield 2. Similar with granades. Couldn't hear where they landed. Also noted that nondirectional engine sound in a racing game - annoying. In Battlefield 2 I can hear a sound from behind, turn straight around and there he is, just where I expected him to be. Just like the chopper flyaround demo in the control panel. But like I say they may have updated the game sounds in CoD4.

An X-Fi from Auzentech is probably better than one from Creative due to better components, but things may have changed.

Man, I didn't even bother getting a soundcard for my current rig. Didn't see the point, the on-board sound was already 5.1, how much better is it really going to get? I ended up using the extra PCI-e slot for a PhysX card. Horrible decision, that thing is next to useless now.

Freke1 wrote:ok maybe they have updated the game sound in CoD4 since I played. I just never felt I could hear where people were running like I can in Battlefield 2. Similar with granades. Couldn't hear where they landed. Also noted that nondirectional engine sound in a racing game - annoying. In Battlefield 2 I can hear a sound from behind, turn straight around and there he is, just where I expected him to be. Just like the chopper flyaround demo in the control panel. But like I say they may have updated the game sounds in CoD4.

An X-Fi from Auzentech is probably better than one from Creative due to better components, but things may have changed.

So you're saying an OEM fron Auzentech is better than a Creative? Interesting. Already it was mentioned that the drivers are better. I know at one point when ATI OEMed their cards, as an exampole, a 4000 from Diamond [or whoever] had less features than the same version from ATI/AMD.

Not really surprised with the drivers though. Creative has pissed off plenty over the years. Even this guy "Daniel K" was doing a better job. They seem to allow his stuff now if the card is discontinued but won't support it.

UndeadD3vi1 wrote:

gisabun wrote:option to capture whatever is going through my speakers [i.e. Creative Labs "What you hear" feature].

I didn't think any Sound Cards offered this in Windows Vista but I have this on my X-Fi in Windows 7

Actually my Audigy 2 does in Vista SP2 64-bit.

I remember reading about Creative using low quality condensators on their card, some people changed them to better ones and got better sound. Surely there's some reviews testing both card's together?

A soundcard will give You things like more soundsources (from the game objects) at the same time and the changed sound from people/vehicles behind obstacles. Also EAX 2.0 or 5.0 with changed sounds according to if You are in a stone hall or wood cabin. There's some demo's here: http://www.soundblaster.com/technology/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(go to: X-Fi technology - X-Fi demo)

Creative's drivers are special - one time I was without sound for a week because I couldn't uninstall the faulty driver. Got some help from the forum, because I couldn't download the driver. pissed me off quite a bit!