Best Sound Card to Buy

[jasper1605]

As seen in the title. What would be the best sound card to go for if I'll primarily be gaming and music listening to? I've heard to stay away from creative but then I've also ready to go with creative because of the EAX stoofles. I like the omega HT claros personally but i don't want to get something that would be not so good of an investment if there's something better. I'd be going for a full 7.1 w/ either the discrete channels or some form of digital medium doesn't matter to me (though I am slightly partial to the discrete channels)

Thanks

 

[segalaw19800]

go to creative

 

[ChewyBrownSuga]

I haven't heard great things about creative drivers.... but I can't say much since I don't have a sound card

 

[Kursah]

I love my Auzen X-Fi Forte, but really I didn't need to replaced my well aged Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music, if you can find one of those go for it, or an Xtreme Audio (not a true X-Fi). I have yet to have or see any issues with either of those creative cards, though there were some issues with the newer PCI-e top-end X-Fi's that some reported...I haven't kept up, hopefully solved. But I had some great experiences with my lower end X-Fi for years, in fact it's still going strong in a different build, Windows 7 x64, no issues.

 

[hat]

I would stay away from Creative.

 

[majestic12]

My X-fi Elite Pro has had no issues whatsoever, but I am still running in XP. I've used it in both Vista and Windows 7 (RC) with no isses as well for a while. The EAX benefits only really apply to a few games so I don't see the point in it really any longer. If building for a home theater or surround sound system, I'd probably go with an Asus Xonar card or an HT Omega Claro. If it was for headphones, an Asus Xonar Essence STX is the best card out there. They all have the choices between digital-outs and the standard analog connections as well.

 

[Zubasa]

Stay ayay from Creative, get an Azuentech if you want an X-Fi.

 

[jasper1605]

I think I'm going to take Kursah's suggestion and shoot for the forte. I'm considering whether or not to change out the opamp; right now I think I'll go w/ a no and see how the difference is between onboard and this card. If it's crazy insane then I might go ahead and invest a touch further to please my ear

 

[belitsky]

I invest around 200 USD to my ears, and bought Asus Xonar Essence ST. And i'm totally pleased by this piece of hardware. If you want to listen high quality music - take a look at it.

 

[majestic12]

I think I'm going to take Kursah's suggestion and shoot for the forte. I'm considering whether or not to change out the opamp; right now I think I'll go w/ a no and see how the difference is between onboard and this card. If it's crazy insane then I might go ahead and invest a touch further to please my ear

If you're sold on the x-fi chipset, that forte is a really nice card. you get the benefits of the x-fi EAX and better stability/drivers!

 

[NinjaCool]

I avoid Creative cards due to the driver issues i read about so when i was looking for a PCI-e card for my 5.1 setup, the Auzen X-Fi Forte looked great. It gets a vote from me too, best card i have bought to date and its an added bonus its low profile so my crossfire setup has a bit better airflow

 

[Wile E]

I have absolutely no driver issues with my Auzentech X-Fi forte in Win7 x64. It's come highly recommended. It's powered by Creative's X-Fi chip.

You do not have to avoid Creative. Their PCIe X-Fi cards tend to be just fine.

But, the important questions here are, what is your budget and what do you plan to hook it up to.

 

[Reefer86]

the only reason i wouldnt go for a forte is that the price tag in the UK is high and the output on the card would not suit my needs at all.

 

[Wile E]

If you have a very high budget and an HDMI receiver, the Auzentech HomeTheater HD or an Asus HDAV Delux or HDAV 1.3 might be options.

In other words, we needz more infos.

 

[belitsky]

If you have a very high budget and an HDMI receiver, the Auzentech HomeTheater HD or an Asus HDAV Delux or HDAV 1.3 might be options.

In other words, we needz more infos.

This cards is good if you need multi-chanel setup, but if you want just stereo - i think Asus Essence series is better option if you like high quality music.

 

[Wile E]

This cards is good if you need multi-chanel setup, but if you want just stereo - i think Asus Essence series is better option if you like high quality music.

Yeah, very good actually. But the OP did mention 7.1.

The Auzentech Forte has both a high quality headphone amp like the Essence, and still has 7.1 analog outs if you need them. It really is a great all around card. It's the one I generally recommend for a modest budget and versatility. I don't get into the specialized cards like the Essence unless those are features people need/want specifically.

 

[belitsky]

Yeah, very good actually. But the OP did mention 7.1.

The Auzentech Forte has both a high quality headphone amp like the Essence, and still has 7.1 analog outs if you need them. It really is a great all around card. It's the one I generally recommend for a modest budget and versatility. I don't get into the specialized cards like the Essence unless those are features people need/want specifically.

Agree. Sorry for reading non carefully about 7.1.

 

[Oscnn]

I recommend the ASUS D2X...it's a great card.

 

[runnin17]

I recommend the ASUS D2X...it's a great card.

+1 for the Xonar series (even the DX is a very good card). You really can't go wrong with Asus or Auzentech cards. However, I prefer the Asus cards.

Creative just sucks....PERIOD. Their drivers are terrible and while the cards are fairly decent they can't compare to Asus cards IMO. The main difference is the quality of opamps and other parts that go into the Asus cards. If you want a good opinion on computer sound cards you should go over to www.head-fi.org and browse through their "computer audio" section. Cheers!

EDIT: Here is the Asus card I would get if you wanted 7.1 and don't need a discrete headphone amp: Newegg Link

 

[KainXS]

forte is a good card, go for it.

 

[jasper1605]

My set up is as follows:
Yamaha RX-V663
Acoustech H100 subwoofer
My 4 surround speakers
Center Channel
Left and Right Channel

Pretty much the sole usage will be gaming. I watch blu ray through my ps3 so it doesn't need to be stellar in that category (but if it is then added bonus I would like to keep it under $300 for the card, but I'll go for what comes recommended before I start ruling out because of price.

Edit: I would also slightly prefer to stick with analog for the 7.1 sound but would not be opposed to HDMI sound if that's the only thing available on a card. But I would definitely like to stick with the analog audio channels if at all possible

 

[Meizuman]

go to creative

no

 

[Wile E]

+1 for the Xonar series (even the DX is a very good card). You really can't go wrong with Asus or Auzentech cards. However, I prefer the Asus cards.

Creative just sucks....PERIOD. Their drivers are terrible and while the cards are fairly decent they can't compare to Asus cards IMO. The main difference is the quality of opamps and other parts that go into the Asus cards. If you want a good opinion on computer sound cards you should go over to www.head-fi.org and browse through their "computer audio" section. Cheers!

EDIT: Here is the Asus card I would get if you wanted 7.1 and don't need a discrete headphone amp: Newegg Link

Asus is having just as many problems as Creative with their drivers right now.

People seriously need to get off the Creative-bashing wagon. It's not like it was when Vista first released anymore. Most bugs are fixed and those that aren't are usually minor, if you get any at all.

You do have a valid point in terms of Opamp and overall sound quality for many Creative cards, but then again, the X-Fi based Auzentech cards are just as good as the Asus cards in audio quality, have the better gaming compatibility (although EAX is disappearing slowly anyway), and have tweaked drivers that tend to have even less bugs than the stock Creative drivers.

It all depends on budget, his usage preferences, and his audio equipment.

@jasper - Another question, why the preference for analog out instead of using HDMI?

If analog is a must, then I still say Forte. If you decide to go with HDMI, then the previously mentioned Auzentech HomeTheater HD or Asus HDAV Delux or HDAV 1.3. Draw straws to pick. lol.

Nice setup, btw. You will absolutely benefit from a sound card with that equipment.

 

[jasper1605]

@ Wile E, in my early days of being drafted into the kingdom of nerdness (which I absolutely love and I hope we can all appreciate our own unique nerdness) I was told that a discrete analog signal coming out of blu ray beats the HDMI sound quality because the HDMI still has some form of compression despite handling lossless. This info could be completely wrong but unfortunately, it has shaped my mind forever into liking the discrete channels over the HDMI. Also, with the hdav 1.3 I read that it would only do the top dawg audio if it was running a video pass through to it as well, which is something I don't really feel like doing because I'm fine and dandy with my set up the way it is

Thanks for all the help and info on this guys; I think I'm going to go w/ the forte cause it seems to be tailored to gaming a bit more (even beyond the EAX capabilities) whereas the d2x seems to have a higher music and movie quality. My music and movies are on the ps3 so I don't need it for that. Also, after looking at my board and where my 5850 toxic fan sits, I need a low profile card to go into the uncovered pcie 1 lane since I don't want to put it into the other X16 lanes and drop my speeds to X8.

 

[NinkobEi]

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_bravura.php

new auzen card