Do Audigy2s go bad?

[digitalwanderer]

My PC was crashing like a mofo today, and after I finally got it up and running again my sound didn't work.

It acted like it should work, but nada....so I pulled my A2 and hooked up my K8NS Ultra-939 onboard sound stuff and am currently downloading the drivers for it.

My A2 was a cheapy OEM & was old, but I've never heard of a soundcard dying before.

 

[ANova]

I'm sure it just failed as all electronic items have a habit of doing.

 

[AlNom]

I've got three of them. One was an OEM purchase from 2004. It still works.

 

[digitalwanderer]

I'm not exactly sure what the hell was/is wrong, I'm gonna pop the A2 back in tomorrow and check something...

The bloody puppies had a fight under my desk and tossed each other into Bubbles, which was bad.

 

[The_Wolf_Who_Cried_Boy]

Your not alone.

I had an Audigy fail after a few months, the left channel kept dropping out.
It's warranty replacement suffered the same fate after about a year.
I check the serial no's and they were different cards.
Been stuck with onboard sound ever since, X-Fi is looking tempting though.

 

[Guden Oden]

The bloody puppies had a fight under my desk and tossed each other into Bubbles, which was bad.

Don't have computers on the floor... Not only will they collide with all kinds of things, including overgrown puppies, but they'll also suck in all kinds of nasty dust and (human) debris.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Don't have computers on the floor... Not only will they collide with all kinds of things, including overgrown puppies, but they'll also suck in all kinds of nasty dust and (human) debris.

I'm actually starting to agree with you on that. When I put my hutch together it made sense to have Bubbles where she is, but over the intervening years I think the situation has changed sufficiently to warrant contemplating relocating her a bit.

That and I did just clean off my hutch so now I actually have room on it for her.

<sigh>

Ok, here's what happened last night after I hooked up the onboard sound....nothing. Nothing at all from the speakers, just like with my A2. I got slightly upset and said a few bad words, then started playing around with the connections on my subwoofer....and my sound came back.

So it was probably just a bad connection 'tween the subwoofer/amp and PC that was the problem and my Audigy is fine.

I got pissed off after that with my systems new found instability, so I did something stupid and flashed her bios with a new one that I just found came out a few weeks ago and I left her at default settings....and she's been a rock for me again.

<double-sigh>

I think I'll move her up and just start over with OCing her, I didn't have something right.

 

[digitalwanderer]

I put the Audigy2 back in today and it's working just fine.

I had to try it, the onboard sound just wasn't as good. I hate to admit it, but I could really tell a difference. The A2 is just so much richer and fuller.

Looks like my PC is just getting old, time to upgrade.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Man, make that "so much richer and fuller" into a "about a bazillion times more betterer"!

I just got done watching a few episodes of some anime that I'd watched yesterday that left me dissatisfied with the AC97 sound and was totally blown away by the quality difference.

Mucho betterer.

 

[Skrying]

Yeah, I can never understand how people can live with onboard audio, its just so mind-numblying bad.

I just upgraded from an Audigy 2 to a X-Fi, I thought it wasnt going to be much of an improvment...... wrong. Another huge step up audio quality wise. Creative has really impressed me with the X-Fi, improved every area, and the three modes are damn cool, and the CMSS-3D for the headphones works! Awesome.

 

[Altcon]

Man, make that "so much richer and fuller" into a "about a bazillion times more betterer"!

I just got done watching a few episodes of some anime that I'd watched yesterday that left me dissatisfied with the AC97 sound and was totally blown away by the quality difference.

Mucho betterer.

I had a similar problem with my audgy last week, sound started stuttering and games freezing with sound stuttering. I figured I should try the onboard to isolate the problem.... and wo and behold my onboard sound just wouldn't work at all.
So I ended up RMA'ing my mobo...
Im currently on an ac97 onboard an ECS piece of !@#!$!$, and I suffer...
Glad you didn't have the privelage of actual problem!!!

 

[ANova]

Yeah, I can never understand how people can live with onboard audio, its just so mind-numblying bad.

I just upgraded from an Audigy 2 to a X-Fi, I thought it wasnt going to be much of an improvment...... wrong. Another huge step up audio quality wise. Creative has really impressed me with the X-Fi, improved every area, and the three modes are damn cool, and the CMSS-3D for the headphones works! Awesome.

You don't notice a difference unless you have a good sound system to go with it.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one, I was worried I was being too picky/anal.

 

[Skrying]

You don't notice a difference unless you have a good sound system to go with it.

Bullshit. The difference on my crappy Logitech X-530 speakers was night and day.. But yes the difference on my Sennheiser HD595's was huge.

 

[digitalwanderer]

I could tell a difference clear as day on my Altec-Lansing 885 set-up.

It just feels soooo good to have the quality back, I'm still apreciating the difference.