EAX 4.0/5.0 game list

[Irish_PXzyan]

hey guys,
I have had an Auzentech prelude x-fi 7.1 EAX5.0 for a year now and ive enjoyed the games ive played with EAX support. I really liked Medieval 2 total war and mass effect. They seem to be the most impressive sounding games that I have played.

I would also like to play some other games that support EAX. Can anyone give a little list of game with EAX 4.0 or higher??

How many games support EAX 5.0 anyway? I don't really hear much about EAX and really wish spending 160 euros a year ago would be more put into good use??

Anyway! Can you guys help me build up a list of EAX 4.0/5.0 games??
Thanks in advance!

 

[Darren]

There is not many games that support EAX 5.0, EAX is officially dead.


If you've got an Auzentech Prelude you should be more concerned with Dolby Digital and DTS encoding, puts those EAX echos to shame.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

I'm pretty sure EAX is dead, vista and 7 killed it pretty much. So open al is all that you'll be getting in new games. Unreal 3 sounded great with al enabled, unfortunately for the longest time it would crash the game.. and the fix reduces sound quality.

 

[KainXS]

they're right, alot of game developers have switched to XACT now

 

[Mussels]

EAX died off, it was a closed standard while openAL and the other competitors arent.
A few games come out with it these days, but not many.

The main selling point for EAX, was that in those titles you got better performance - once dual core CPU's came out, that went away and all that was left was the proprietary nature of EAX - then vista came along and nutkicked that, so everyone scrambled to find something new.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

I see!
Why did everyone here convince me to go ahead with the Prelude? I thought EAX was one of the main reasons for getting a sound card?

How do I get Dolby on my prelude? I don't know nothing about how this works or what is required! But can you please give me a little explanation on how do I use Dolby or DTS or something??

Thanks!

 

[Mussels]

I see!
Why did everyone here convince me to go ahead with the Prelude? I thought EAX was one of the main reasons for getting a sound card?

How do I get Dolby on my prelude? I don't know nothing about how this works or what is required! But can you please give me a little explanation on how do I use Dolby or DTS or something??

Thanks!

the prelude meets in the middle - its a high quality card (good analogue sound) with EAX support (for the few games that still use it) as well as real time encoding.

To use the encoding, you need to use a digital connection, and have digital speakers with the ability to decode the stream (aka, dolby digital or DTS on both ends)

 

[Darren]

I see!
Why did everyone here convince me to go ahead with the Prelude? I thought EAX was one of the main reasons for getting a sound card?

How do I get Dolby on my prelude? I don't know nothing about how this works or what is required! But can you please give me a little explanation on how do I use Dolby or DTS or something??

Thanks!

EAX was never the main reason to get the Prelude, its main selling feature was Dolby Digital and DTS encoding via a digital cable (Fibre/coaxial), EAX was just a bonus because it was a Creative and Auzentech collaboration product. If you wanted EAX 5.0 you could of picked up a budget Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1.


To enjoy Dolby Digital or DTS encoding, you need a AV receiver/amp that supports the DD and/or DTS codecs. On the low end of the Hi-Fi market and high end of the PC market one can purchase the Z-5500 speakers which have a build in receiver, haven't you ever wondered why the enthusiasts always pair the Z-5500s with their high end Asus/auzentech cards it for this very reason.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Ahh ok thanks for the information!

SO, if I want to use this wonderful Dolby! Do I need to go ahead and buy myself a nice new pair of speakers!
The Logitech Z-5500 is what I should go for?
Although I do not have the extra room needed for a surround sound system

Is there a cheaper way?? A 2.1 system perhaps??

 

[Mussels]

2.1 system would be useless, as the entire point of dolby digital and DTS is 5.1 sound.

 

[Darren]

Ahh ok thanks for the information!

SO, if I want to use this wonderful Dolby! Do I need to go ahead and buy myself a nice new pair of speakers!

The Logitech Z-5500 is what I should go for?

You can not use it without a Dolby Digital compatible amplifier/receiver. The only decent "computer speakers" that come with an amplifier is the Z-5500s. Personally I think they are old and overpriced, I'd buy a decent home theatre in a box or a buy a separate amp/receiver and bookshelf speakers.

Is there a cheaper way?? A 2.1 system perhaps??

No there is no cheaper way.

A 2.1 "computer" system will not come equipped with a receiver. You could buy a dedicated receiver compatible of 5.1 and then optionally hook up 2.1 speakers, but it would defeat the purpose as Dolby is traditionally 5 channels and hence 5.1 is expected.

 

[hat]

z-5500s are about $300... I wouldn't spend that kind of money, heh

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

ouch that hurts my ears
Ah what a shame!

I don't plan on spending that much cash on a sound system at the moment.

So if I were to go out and buy a 5.1 system and bookshelf them on my wall.
Then get an Amp?

Would that be it in order to use Dolby at it's best?

 

[Darren]

ouch that hurts my ears
Ah what a shame!

I don't plan on spending that much cash on a sound system at the moment.

So if I were to go out and buy a 5.1 system and bookshelf them on my wall.
Then get an Amp?

Would that be it in order to use Dolby at it's best?

I'll be back in a few hours to answer that question.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Thanks

 

[Darren]

ouch that hurts my ears
Ah what a shame!

I don't plan on spending that much cash on a sound system at the moment.

So if I were to go out and buy a 5.1 system and bookshelf them on my wall.
Then get an Amp?

Would that be it in order to use Dolby at it's best?

Yes, home theatre in a box (HTIB) would come equipped with a basic receiver and basic satellite speakers, it might work out slightly cheaper than buying pieces but the sound quality isn't great, a notch better than computer speakers.

If you were to buy separate pieces it could work out cheap if you have an eye for a bargain. I bought my Pioneer VSX-516 7.1 Receiver for less than £80 on eBay. I have a pair of Sony SSB1000 bookshelf speakers for £56.68 and a pair of Sony SSF6000 floor standing speakers for £117.55 and a the Kef Cresta 20c which I got from Richersounds for £29 last year. My subwoofer I've had for 3 years from my old crappy home theatre in a box, but I subwoofers on Richer sound for £30 a few weeks back. (To shave money off I could of bought two pairs of Sony SSB1000 bookshelf speakers to make four in total opposed to buying the floor standing speakers)

Obviously this is extremely low end in terms of AV equipment but it is much better than what is available on the computer market. Looking back on my purchases I wouldn't of bought the Sony SSB1000 bookshelf speakers now that I've seen the Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 bookshelf speakers for £49.95, you could pair them with the Eltax Concept 180 for £69.95.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Thanks for the information!
I am certainly interested in these speakers and I will consider saving up some cash and blow it on these!

I would need some more help when it comes to picking the parts out, but since I am already eyeing up the new ASUS 23.6" 120Hz monitor, I can't afford to buy these just yet

At the moment, I have 300 Euros to spend. 150 euros will be for the Nvidia 3D Vision. Then 2 weeks later I will have enough cash for the Samsung 120Hz monitor to go with it. or else If the ASUS version is out soon enough, I will wait for that.

So I would expect to have cash available for a Dolby system within 2 months from now. Depends on how much I am going to need for a decent setup.

Would 200 Euros be enough cash for a full working Dolby setup? Or am I being too soft?

Maybe 300?

 

[Darren]

Thanks for the information!
I would need some more help when it comes to picking the parts out!

When you've got the budget and you're ready to order just let me know and I'll hunt around for the best deals at the time for you.

So I would expect to have cash available for a Dolby system within 2 months from now. Depends on how much I am going to need for a decent setup.

Would 200 Euros be enough cash for a full working Dolby setup? Or am I being too soft?

Maybe 300?

I'm not too familiar with the current GBP to Euro exchange rate, but £300 GBP is certainly enough to buy a low end receiver and bookshelf speakers, but it depends on the special deals and offers that are available, a lot of the cheap AV stuff that are considered low end today were high end 4 or 5 years ago so the retailers put them on special offer to get rid of the old stock.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Well I suppose I might save up 400 Euros in that case! Maybe 3 months from now I will be able to afford it.

Well I done a little bit of looking on ebay just to prepare myself and get an idea of how much this is going to cost me.

Here is 2 speakers that are 50 Euros in total, would these be worthy enough??

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Attractive-100W-...tems?hash=item2302501e9f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Could I get 4 of them " 100 Euros "


Here is a Sub woofer at around 55 Euros in total:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Powerful-100W-Sa...kers?hash=item4836b25c99&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Would that be worthy too??

As for the receiver, I have no idea what that is

But would those items be enough?? or am I looking in the wrong direction?

 

[aCid888*]

Put all your 300 euros on a sound system rather than spending 150 of it on a waste of time called 3D Vision that sounds like it should be on a late night ad on your TV.

You'll get more enjoyment out of music and rich sound than you will via a pair of glasses that don't work like you hope they should.



I own a full set of Wharfedale Diamond 8.1's and they sound damn good with a nice amp....I know the 9's offer superior sound quality so you wont go wrong picking up any of them.

 

[Darren]

Well I suppose I might save up 400 Euros in that case! Maybe 3 months from now I will be able to afford it.

Well I done a little bit of looking on ebay just to prepare myself and get an idea of how much this is going to cost me.

Here is 2 speakers that are 50 Euros in total, would these be worthy enough??

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Attractive-100W-...tems?hash=item2302501e9f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Could I get 4 of them " 100 Euros "


Here is a Sub woofer at around 55 Euros in total:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Powerful-100W-Sa...kers?hash=item4836b25c99&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Would that be worthy too??

As for the receiver, I have no idea what that is

But would those items be enough?? or am I looking in the wrong direction?

Those speakers look cheap, they are not reputable brands and I'm sure it would sound awful, aCid's Wharfedale Diamond 8.1's would be a good choice, I linked you the Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 two posts back for £49 from Richer sounds.

Here is a quick specification checklist.

Brand: Wharfedale, Q Acustics, Mordant, KEF Cresta, Tannoy, Denon, Eltax, Gale, Cambridge Audio, Tangent, klipsch. (There are a few other respected brands)
Material: Wooden
Weight: At least 4kg each, good build quality due to weight
Frequency response: Low frequencies of at least 60 Hz, highs of at least 20 kHz
Extras: Bookshelves needs bass port/bass reflex, at least a 5' woofer with tweeters.

I'll give you an example of a bargain. I'm replacing my Sony SSB1000 bookshelf speakers, last week I jumped onto eBay and saw a Pair of Kef Cresta 2 bookshelf speakers, I managed to get them for £33, condition is practically new, they would of cost around £100-150 retail and about £200-300 a few years ago. Low end today but high-midrange a few years back.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I'm using a denon av amp and mordaunt short ms902s speakers wicked sound.

It is worth spending a little extra for some Good Quality speakers,cheap ones usually sound,well cheap.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Impressive buy Darren!
Perhaps I should look into buying a used set also to get them cheaper?
You got them so cheap!!

When I do decide on buying these goodies I will be asking you to help me find some nice speakers!!

As for the 3D Vision, are they a waste of money? Do they not give you a more realistic 3D feel to gaming?
From what I have heard, there are many who are impressed and would never turn back to playing games on a 2D screen anymore!

 

[Polarman]

Don't you need Creative's Alchemy software to make EAX work in Vista btw?

As far as the EAX game list... That's what i found.

http://connect.creativelabs.com/alchemy/Lists/Games/AllItems.aspx

 

[InnocentCriminal]

Weirdly I launched Doom 3 last night and enabled EAX 4.0.