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Recommend me a sound card?

AKlass

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I'm looking for a cheap preferebly around $50 that will fit in my matx case for music/gaming. I was going to get a xonar dx on ebay but my matx board only has 5.5" before hitting the dims. And the D1 is $80 on ebay. So can anyone recommend me one? I don't mind used. Ebay,amazon,newegg etc doesn't matter
 

DirectorC

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I would go down to Wal-Mart and pick up an Audigy SE for $30... oh wait, I did :p

Seriously, it's small, does the job more than well enough, and works on any OS.

That is if you have a regular PCI slot of course. I would recommend the PCI-E X-Fi card but it gets trashed on Newegg.
 

AKlass

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Thing about creative is their drivers suck and eax is non existant without alchemy. I only like crystalizer and cmss-3d. That is the reason I liked the xonar, it has eax without an app and the drivers are better. I dno't like the audigy because its not really a gamers card like a x-fi or xonar
 

DTV DRAGON

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hey guys if i may jump in her what card would you suggest in the $150.00 range? Dragon
 
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Auzentech X-Fi Prelude is what I recommend, should be in the 150 range. I have one and love it to death!
 

DirectorC

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Thing about creative is their drivers suck and eax is non existant without alchemy. I only like crystalizer and cmss-3d. That is the reason I liked the xonar, it has eax without an app and the drivers are better. I dno't like the audigy because its not really a gamers card like a x-fi or xonar

I've never had a problem with Creative drivers. In fact I thought they were the most popular and best supported cards for a reason. The only problem I've got with Creative is that they don't give you the software suite without an original installation so if you didn't have the CD it used to be that you were screwed. But now that Daniel_K is around with his support packs this isn't a problem. I've got amazingly stable drivers on any OS I use, and thanks to Daniel_K I have the X-Fi control panel for my Audigy SE. And I hate Crystalizer, CMSS, and all that other crap. I just want clean sound. The Equalizer is what I can't get by without.
 

AKlass

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So I've basically narrows down my options to the xonar ds or the auzentech x-raider. DS is cheaper and has the av-200 but poor newegg reviews. The X-raider is more expensive but I've heard good things of the company
 

DTV DRAGON

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will the auzentech x-raider offload any work from the cpu? Dragon
 

AKlass

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heres its product page

I'm actually leaning towards the xonar ds now.
Its sample rate is 192 compared to the raider's 96. Not to mention that its cheaper
 
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surfingerman

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hey guys if i may jump in her what card would you suggest in the $150.00 range? Dragon
for music and movies and games (in that order) look no further than the "HT Omega Claro +" you'll find it around 150 some sites, i got mine open box on ebay 120 shipped...Drivers are awesome, its almost plug and play, you'll want to use it with a newerish receiver though, if your receiver is kinda old it might have some troubles, the only thing that sucks about it it takes up a pcie 2.0 slot.. but it sounds amazing high end speakers are a must,.... to use this card with a sh**y 'speaker in a box' set-up would just be a slap in the face to the claro,
 
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I've never had a problem with Creative drivers. In fact I thought they were the most popular and best supported cards for a reason. The only problem I've got with Creative is that they don't give you the software suite without an original installation so if you didn't have the CD it used to be that you were screwed. But now that Daniel_K is around with his support packs this isn't a problem. I've got amazingly stable drivers on any OS I use, and thanks to Daniel_K I have the X-Fi control panel for my Audigy SE. And I hate Crystalizer, CMSS, and all that other crap. I just want clean sound. The Equalizer is what I can't get by without.


Creatives drivers are dire for any 64-bit OS. I've used XP/Vista/7 in the past and the same issues occur across all platforms - scratchy, crackly intermittently-dropping audio recording. And speaker configuration is unreliable. Daniel_K's drivers are a little better however.
 

SabreWulf69

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Sound card I'd recommend for music and movies is the M-Audio Audiophile 192 or the Auzentech for gaming, but if your going the full digital route, it shouldn't really matter too much unless you got some Bowers & Wilkins 700 Series + or the like.
 

AKlass

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I was thinking of getting the DS and combining it with SRS sandbox to makeup for the features that the dx has. And if that isn't enough I can hook up my Unison research SR1 to it.(Speakers only)
 
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