Buying a sound card in a few days

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deadman_uk

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 30, 2003
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I have a Sound Blaster Live sound card, I want something better than this.

I am willing to pay up to £80 for a sound card and I want this for music and gaming.

What sound card would you recommend I get?

Also

What is the difference between this...

Audigy%202%20Value.JPG


Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value 7.1 PCI Sound Card - OEM (SC-027-CL)
When it comes to PC game audio, there is really only one name to know - Sound Blaster! With full EAX® 4.0 ADVANCED HD™ performance, Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 Value will take your gaming experience to a new level. Give yourself the competitive edge with compelling 7.1 surround sound. Plus advanced music tools, Advanced Resolution DVD-Audio playback, and Dolby Digital EX support, makes Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value an awesome audio upgrade!

- Patented CMSS® 3D Audio Technology
- Enhance music with Bass Boost, Multi-Band Graphic Equalizer, Audio Clean-Up, and more!
- 24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion during playback and recording
- SPDIF input/output at up to 24-bit/ 96kHz quality
- ASIO drivers for low latency (>2ms) multi-track playback and recording at 16-bit/48kHz*

Price: £27.50 (£32.31 Including VAT at 17.5%)

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and this....



Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 THX Sound Card - OEM (SC-023-CL)
The THX® certified Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS delivers 24-bit ADVANCED HD™ audio, 108dB SNR clarity across 8 channels, and is the only available PC platform to deliver Advanced Resolution™ 24-bit DVD-Audio playback in 24-bit/192kHz stereo and 24-bit/96kHz 5.1 surround. EAX® ADVANCED HD™ effects produces ultra-realistic sound in supported games and multi-channel playback in 5.1, 6.1and 7.1 with over 400 existing 3D games. EAX ADVANCED HD™ acoustic enhancements dramatically improve all your music with features including Bass Boost, Graphic Equalizer, Audio Clean-Up, and more!

Price: £44.90 (£52.76 Including VAT at 17.5%)

audigy%202%20ZS.JPG


The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value is only £30 its the same price as the Sound Blaster Live which I have now. If this card is an Audigy 2 why is it the same price as my card?!
 
Get the value sound card. There's not any real difference. Put the savings towards your speaker upgrade. What sort of speakers are you driving anyway?
 
If there is no real difference, why is the Value Audigy 2 the same price as the Sound Blaster Live which I already have now???

I use headphones mostly, my speakers are cheap, i have 2 speakers and 1 large one in the middle.

Would buying some better speakers help? if so what ones do you recommend? I dont want to spend alot on speakers.
 
what kind of speaker set up do you want? 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 (the .1 stands for the sub). and how much are you willing to spend on speakers?
 
I am willing to spend £40 on speakers (more if i have to but really i use headphones 95% of the time)

I want a 2.1 setup.
 
If you want the best result, take the £40 and the £80 and put both towards better speakers/headphones. Your onboard sound is good enough that upgrading the soundcard to drive 2.1 will be pretty meaningless until you get to really nice speakers.
 
I dont want to spend £120 on sound thats way too much.

Your onboard sound is good enough that upgrading the soundcard to drive 2.1 will be pretty meaningless until you get to really nice speakers.
Click to expand...
I dont have onboard sound, I have a sound blaster live card.

So getting an audigy 2 value is a complete waste of money?

What speakers are good? I shop at this site... www.overclockers.co.uk so please recommend me a speaker or headphone from there.
 
Without getting into lots of detail? Yeah, pretty much.

I don't know if a computer parts store is necessarily the best place to shop for new speakers...especially not online. Alot of people like to go somewhere that they can try out various ones and see which sound best to them. If you order online after you pin down a model, cool, but it's good to try out a few in person first.
 
The Audigy 2 value isn't actually much like the Audigy 2 that it takes it's name from. The Audigy 2 (ZS) card is based around the EMU10k2 DSP, which is what allows the card process sounds and soundfonts in hardware, which is what has given the Audigy series consistently better performance in gaming compared to soundcards from other companies. The Audigy 2 value doesn't have the processor, which makes it cheaper to produce and makes your computer's CPU do all the sound processing work, much like Creative's Audigy NX, Audigy LS and Live 24bit products. Not the same card at all.
 
They're not rubbish, but from what you just said they're definately "not good enough" either.

What constitutes good sound, and what constitutes total crap audio, is a very subjective thing. Your preference is going to be relative to what you're used to having.

Sennheiser is pretty popular, and you might try looking at this buying guide.

There's also different types, for example I use a pair of Sony canalphones.
 
Forget upgrading the soundcard. Spend your money on better headphones. Try some Senn HD-497 cans. Maybe HD-280 if you need to block out noise.
 
Your best bet is probably a pair of HD-497s ($60) and a Chaintech AV710 24-bit soundard ($25).
 
The Chaintech really needs an amp to drive those things. He's best simply sinking all his upgrade money into better headphones. If there's an amp in the chain, the chaintech is really an excellent bang/buck headphone source.

p.s. I'm not even sure that the Chaintech is availible in the UK anyway.
 
thanks for the replies.

Well in UT2004 when I turn EAX on, the sound is all echoy looks like this SB live cant handle the EAX in ut2004.

If a Audigy 2 ZS saves the cpu doing the work, supports more things for the future which i may want, and can handle EAX 4 then I think its worth the £50.
 
SB Live is basically a piece of shit. I have one around here that I haven't used in years that's just collecting dust.
 
Yes, the SB Live is a crappy card, but EAX also just sucks. It's not something that would upgrade to acheive. Don't sweat it. Use your onboard sound.
 
If your first impression is Gaming, I recommand Audigy2 Value for best budget for anyone.

And for most comprehensive digital entertinment and features: Audigy2 zs is the definitive audio card.
 
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