Help finding a sound card

deathmore · Apr 25, 2010

I'm looking to get a high quality sound card for my comp to use with e set of 5.1 Edifier s550 speakers and a Tritton AX pro gamming head phones.... problem is i have no idea what is a good proper sound card for these two devices. can anyone who knows sounds cards help me find one?

thanks

Solaris17 · Apr 25, 2010

im partial to the asus xonar series. but the highend creative cards or the highend asus cards would be good but be warned ppl will spout driver issues from both camps.

n-ster · Apr 25, 2010

If you are looking budget, as in 50$, Xonar DS... some people might suggest the Xtreme Audio from Creative, but the Asus Xonar DS beats it by a large margin and at the same price.

and I am not biased against Creative, I just bought some Creative Aurvana Live!

Oh and I heard bad things about your headphones

Frizz · Apr 25, 2010

check out Auzentech, hasn't failed me driver or gaming wise so far.

Fourstaff · Apr 25, 2010

Major brands you are looking for are Creative, Asus Xonar and Auzentech (who uses Creative's sound procesors). Be careful though, more often than not, soundcards will be frustrating, because the manufacturers never bother to update the firmwares as often as they should. They are also not stellar in the bugfix section.

Oh, I see Solaris have covered my post.

xBruce88x · Apr 25, 2010

pretty much what they said.

and as for the ax51's... i have an older pair (the green ones with the 4 plugs and power brick) and love them, until i try to turn up the bass... and after a while the cord likes to pigtail and curl up in odd ways a lot and that gets really annoying. As for sound quality they're pretty good just don't expect booming bass but they do have enough bass.

and yea prepare to have fun with drivers and such

Wile E · Apr 25, 2010

Auzentech X-Fi Forte is one of the best bang-for-the-buck high end cards out there. It will drive the snot out of your cans, and make your speakers sound better than they ever have.

I almost automatically recommend it, unless a user needs a really high end card.

Cold Storm · Apr 25, 2010

Even if he really needed a real high end card, the x-forte can do it for him. Opamps do wonders with that card.

RejZoR · Apr 25, 2010

If you're a gamer, Auzentech is the answer. Just avoid Bravura because it's not really using the X-Fi chip (CA20K2) but a similar one found on X-Fi Xtreme Audio. Which is more a software solution.
Not really recommended. Creative reference cards are also ok, though they tend to carry lower grade components (DACs, OPAMP's and cheaper all electrolytic capacitors).

Xonar has good stereo quality (especially Essence STX/ST) but 3D sound positioning is far from good.

xBruce88x · Apr 25, 2010

lol the bravura is the only one in stock on newegg's site as far as auzentech goes

deathmore · Apr 25, 2010

well there's no price limit at the moment for the card i want to get i'm just looking to find one that has the proper connections for the speakers and headphones, the headphones i'm gonna use are mainly for my ps3 but i game and watch a lot of blue ray movies on my computer to my TV.

RejZoR · Apr 25, 2010

xBruce88x said:
lol the bravura is the only one in stock on newegg's site as far as auzentech goes

That's weird. I can get Auzentech Forte wherever i want and we are known to get the hardware last here and we also get out of stock just as fast. Aren't there any other online tech stores like Newegg (even if you have to pay slightly more)?

Darwin96 · Apr 25, 2010

I've got the X-fi Sound blaster Fatal1ty and loving every minute of it. It's a couple extra bucks but well worth it. Here's a link if you're interested.

http://us.store.creative.com/PCI-Express-Sound-Blaster-XFi-Titanium/M/B001BDPLJA.htm

deathmore · Apr 25, 2010

i noticed that card has a optical in could i say hook up my ps3 into the card and then play it to the speakers with that setup?

edit: i can get the forte from canadacomputers here in the north

Darwin96 · Apr 25, 2010

I know it works but I can't personally vouch for it as I've never tried it.

Wile E · Apr 25, 2010

deathmore said:
i noticed that card has a optical in could i say hook up my ps3 into the card and then play it to the speakers with that setup?

edit: i can get the forte from canadacomputers here in the north

I'm not sure, never tried anything like that on mine. And definitely grab the Forte if you can. The only thing better from Auzentech is the HomeTheater HD, but it works best if you have a reciever that uses HDMI for audio input.

eidairaman1 · Apr 25, 2010

HT_Omega, BGears, Auzentech, Asus, Razor.

Auzentech uses CL Xfi DSP

deathmore · Apr 25, 2010

OK right now im looking at the auzentech x-fi home theater card and im wondering if its worth considering a watch a great deal of blue ray movies to get a card that allows me to put my hdmi cable into it, but i don't play the sound on the tv but on the speakers. currently only my ps3 plays through the TV, would it be worth it to hook up the ps3 this way?
any opinions on this card?

Wile E · Apr 25, 2010

deathmore said:
OK right now im looking at the auzentech x-fi home theater card and im wondering if its worth considering a watch a great deal of blue ray movies to get a card that allows me to put my hdmi cable into it, but i don't play the sound on the tv but on the speakers. currently only my ps3 plays through the TV, would it be worth it to hook up the ps3 this way?
any opinions on this card?

The Hometheater HD is only worth it if you plan to buy a surround receiver with HDMI inputs and switching. Otherwise, the Optical and analog outs offer the same quality as the Forte.

If you could afford it, Hometheater HD and a HDMI receiver is your best course of action.

deathmore · Apr 25, 2010

any suggestion on a hdmi receiver? i take otherwise there's no point in hooking up anything but a receiver to a hdmi ports on a sound card?

Wile E · Apr 25, 2010

deathmore said:
any suggestion on a hdmi receiver? i take otherwise there's no point in hooking up anything but a receiver to a hdmi ports on a sound card?

Correct. No point in hooking it up to the TV.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120165

Good receiver. Can't go wrong with Onkyo. Go to the higher model numbers for even better performance.

SNiiPE_DoGG · Apr 25, 2010

Another vote for the X-fI forte from me, flawless usage and great sound to my Beyerdynamic Dt770 PRO's

deathmore · Apr 26, 2010

well seeing as how im not ready yet for going down the AV receiver path i think i'll pick up the x-fi forte since its cheaper by over $100 up then the home theater.

thanks to everyone for there opinions.

deathmore · Apr 26, 2010

on a quick note would anyone know if i can hook up the speakers and headphones on the sound card at the same time?

Wile E · Apr 26, 2010

deathmore said:
on a quick note would anyone know if i can hook up the speakers and headphones on the sound card at the same time?

Iirc, if you use the rear headphone jack it lets you.

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Help finding a sound card

deathmore

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator

n-ster

Frizz

Fourstaff

Moderator

xBruce88x

Wile E

Power User

Cold Storm

Battosai

RejZoR

xBruce88x

deathmore

RejZoR

Darwin96

New Member

deathmore

Darwin96

New Member

Wile E

Power User

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

deathmore

Wile E

Power User

deathmore

Wile E

Power User

SNiiPE_DoGG

deathmore

deathmore

Wile E

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