Shadowstrider Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Okay, so, when it comes to sound cards and speakers I don't know a thing. However, with my tax return coming soon, I am looking to upgrade my home theater/PC stereo system and want to go wireless. Any of you game maniacs have any tips on a speaker system that will be used for home theater and PC use? Additionally, I'm looking to upgrade my sound card, so any information in this regard would also be coo. I'll probably end up asking the sound goofs at the office, anyway, but I figured you guys might have some info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Raven Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 For soundcards get Creative's Sound Blaster X-FI. I use the Audigy 2 ZS which I am very happy with, great sound, no static. The X-Fi is suppose to be better. Visit their website. I really do not know much about speakers. I use Logitech 5.1 surround sound speakers and they perfom very good. Hades was the life of the party. RIP You'll be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deraldin Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Shopping for speakers in kind of like shopping for a monitor. You'll want to check out a big electronics store that will hopefully have a number of different speaker sets all hooked up to an audio source so that you can try them out. It'll give you a chance to check the volume level of the speakers and the sound quality as well. Something like this you'll definately want to experience first hand before you make your purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angshuman Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 A friend of mine from work used to say: "I feel sorry for the guys at Creative and other sound-card vendors. If they hope to make as much progress as those in the video card business have been making, they're going to have to wait for human evolution to catch up." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaftan Barlast Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 (edited) I just use whatever is on my motherboard and plug it into my crappy stereo ..no actually I lied, I dont even have a stereo. I spent time at my parents this summer and took the opportinity to nick the old speakers my dad was going to use for his "use my computer as a TV" experiment that failed miserably. thats two speakers... one for each ear. Edited March 22, 2006 by Kaftan Barlast DISCLAIMER: Do not take what I write seriously unless it is clearly and in no uncertain terms, declared by me to be meant in a serious and non-humoristic manner. If there is no clear indication, asume the post is written in jest. This notification is meant very seriously and its purpouse is to avoid misunderstandings and the consequences thereof. Furthermore; I can not be held accountable for anything I write on these forums since the idea of taking serious responsability for my unserious actions, is an oxymoron in itself. Important: as the following sentence contains many naughty words I warn you not to read it under any circumstances; botty, knickers, wee, erogenous zone, psychiatrist, clitoris, stockings, bosom, poetry reading, dentist, fellatio and the department of agriculture. "I suppose outright stupidity and complete lack of taste could also be considered points of view. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diogo Ribeiro Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 I'm not that much of a hardware connaisseur, although I'd also recommend the Creative X-Fi if you're looking for a top quality audio experience. It's been recommended to me by a surprising number of people, many of which didn't actually care much for audio quality before coming into contact with it. On the other hand, the Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 is still a good option; it doesn't reach the same level of quality of the X-Fi but it's satisfying nonetheless and at an affordable price. If you're interested, here are some reviews: Audigy 2 review at Techspot Soundblaster X-Fi review at Techspot Audigy 2 review at Tom's Hardware Creative X-Fi review at Tom's Hardware As for speakers and home theaters, maybe this article will help; it's a comparison article between some of the best, high-end speaker systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WITHTEETH Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Creative gave it sex appeal. I wouldn't give that enough cause to buy it though. $130 for a sound card? Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Home theatre: all the reviews I have read say that the Creative X-Fi is best, it actually up-mixes to 5.1 192kHz from stereo. It is very good for headphones, especially, making normal stereo sets ACCURATE 5.1 (3D soundscape object placement). It's expensive, though, and not many games are written with OpenAL extensions (yet) and take advantage of the 130 voice capability (Battlefield 2 being one notable exeception), so the X-RAM seems a bit uneconomic. You do get a remote control and a 5 OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meshugger Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 (edited) Bah, there's other cards that are better than Creative and even have features that the X-Fi doesn't have, to an even cheaper price. The Hitec HDA Xplosion. Features: - C-Media CMI8770 PCI chipset (8CH audio single chip with DTS Edited March 22, 2006 by Meshugger "Some men see things as they are and say why?""I dream things that never were and say why not?"- George Bernard Shaw"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."- Friedrich Nietzsche "The amount of energy necessary to refute bull**** is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it." - Some guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bokishi Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 EAX support on that card? Current 3DMark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meshugger Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Read the final line at the features, lazy-boy "Some men see things as they are and say why?""I dream things that never were and say why not?"- George Bernard Shaw"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."- Friedrich Nietzsche "The amount of energy necessary to refute bull**** is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it." - Some guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deraldin Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Read the final line at the features, lazy-boy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It doesn't have support for EAX 4 though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meshugger Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Read the final line at the features, lazy-boy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It doesn't have support for EAX 4 though... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> EAX is Creative's creation, and it's not even up to license for other makers of soundcards. They simply have to wait until Creative feels like releasing it public (like they recently did with EAX 3.0 and OpenAL added it shortly after). "Some men see things as they are and say why?""I dream things that never were and say why not?"- George Bernard Shaw"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."- Friedrich Nietzsche "The amount of energy necessary to refute bull**** is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it." - Some guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deraldin Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Read the final line at the features, lazy-boy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It doesn't have support for EAX 4 though... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> EAX is Creative's creation, and it's not even up to license for other makers of soundcards. They simply have to wait until Creative feels like releasing it public (like they recently did with EAX 3.0 and OpenAL added it shortly after). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oh I know. Just pointing out something that the card doesn't have that the creative cards would. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meshugger Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Read the final line at the features, lazy-boy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It doesn't have support for EAX 4 though... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> EAX is Creative's creation, and it's not even up to license for other makers of soundcards. They simply have to wait until Creative feels like releasing it public (like they recently did with EAX 3.0 and OpenAL added it shortly after). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oh I know. Just pointing out something that the card doesn't have that the creative cards would. " <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wel,l if you like to split hairs, you got a point "Some men see things as they are and say why?""I dream things that never were and say why not?"- George Bernard Shaw"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."- Friedrich Nietzsche "The amount of energy necessary to refute bull**** is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it." - Some guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deraldin Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Wel,l if you like to split hairs, you got a point <{POST_SNAPBACK}> W00T! I win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 But isn't EAX just a different way of encoding the digital signal, like DTS? OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surreptishus Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 But isn't EAX just a different way of encoding the digital signal, like DTS? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> For different purposes though. DTS on a card is a good thing to consider if its meant to be part of a home ent. system. Sacrificing EAX 4.0 for that is well worth it IMO, if the card is a good DTS encoder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WITHTEETH Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 These two cards are the same price. Pros and cons are similar. I'd go with the creative just so I could sleep easy. Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surreptishus Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 After all, sound is sound. You'd have to be a bat or a dog to really hear the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WITHTEETH Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Ah Creatives monopoly continues... A kitten just died somewhere. Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bokishi Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I'd still go for x-fi. Current 3DMark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Is that because of the kitten, or the features? OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Hades Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Hmmm... Kittens... *munch munch munch* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Generally with speakers the bigger the better the audio quality. It's a rule that seems to work. There are none that are right, only strong of opinion. There are none that are wrong, only ignorant of facts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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