New sound card & speakers time, advice appreciated.

[Zaphod]

Ok, I'm more confused by your caveat than anything else...could you use little words please?

Without going into the physics of it that basically means that when i 4 channel analouge mode all sound that are reproduced equally in the front and rear channels will be cancelled out. This will be noticalble mostly on the bass going away, but would make some funky distorions on all frequensies depending on the material.

To illustrate: You can try to put one of your home stereo speakers out of phase (switch the speaker wires on one end) and then play a mono sound source. The effect should be similar.

Anyways: A page later in my search results i found a fix for the Audigy. Dont know about tha Audigy2 or any other soundcard though.

I'm not looking for anything in a bundle, I'm just interested in getting the best hardware for the cheapest and if the only diff is the bundle and 7.1 support than it's no diff to me. 8)

Well... Gold on black also make the retail cards look a little nicer!

 

[digitalwanderer]

Found the ADA 885 for $89 shipped here and here , and I'm still happily hunting.


Oh, and an Audigy2 for $67 delivered is the best price I've found so far for me card.

 

[fallguy]

Why would you be panicked or freaked out by your wife coming home?

Look on some forums. I sold my retail Audigy 2 with all software/games/box it came with for $50 shipped about 3 months ago.

 

[BRiT]

Digi, you may want to go for the Audigy 2 ZS...as it seems the Audigy 2 ZS has support for EAX 4.0 while there's no mention of it on the Audigy 2.

 

[nelg]

Over Budget, but sweet. Approx. $220 US. I have always been impressed by Yamaha's home audio equipment but cannot vouch for their computer equipment.

 

[Zaphod]

Digi, you may want to go for the Audigy 2 ZS...as it seems the Audigy 2 ZS has support for EAX 4.0 while there's no mention of it on the Audigy 2.

The driver update enabling EAX4 came out in November (and was updated a couple of days ago), and it is for the original Audigy 2 also.

 

[PC-Engine]

For a 2.1 system, I would have to recommend the Yamaha YSTMS50. I've been using these for many years and nothing from Altec Lansing compares to this Yamaha model in this price range. You can find them for around $100.

http://www.yamahamultimedia.com/yec/products/speakers/ystms50.asp

What's nice about this system is that it has separate drivers for mids and highs ie spruce cone mid-range and balanced-dome tweeter which makes a big difference compared to single driver full range satellites from other models. Yamaha uses spruce cones in their studio monitors that are used in the majority of recording studios. It's the standard in the music industry. This particular system produces very deep bass. It's not boomy at all instead it's deep and it's loud too, window rattling loud if you crank it up. However I use mine with a NEWQ equalizer so the stock sound from these might not be bright enough for some users since it has no bass/treble adjustment. The system comes in either black or white and it has a headphone output too. I've listend to Altec Lansing, Logitech, and Klipsch and at this price you can't beat the Yamahas.

Edit: It does have a subwoofer level adjustment, but no bass/treble adj.

 

[BRiT]

Digi, you may want to go for the Audigy 2 ZS...as it seems the Audigy 2 ZS has support for EAX 4.0 while there's no mention of it on the Audigy 2.

The driver update enabling EAX4 came out in November (and was updated a couple of days ago), and it is for the original Audigy 2 also.

Funny how their marketting fluff only promotes it on the Audigy 2 ZS. Go figure.

 

[digitalwanderer]

So unless I'm looking for 7.1 support the OEM, generic, non-ZS Audigy2 would be just as good as the Audigy2 ZS then? (I am NOT an audiophile, but I do have a damned golden ear from classical music training so I tend to notice the slightest sound difference.)

 

[Sxotty]

Yes pretty much digi the audigy doesn't have much over the santacruz which isn't generic but is cheaper. The only soundcard I think that is worth anyting more is if you get an audigy with either the breakout box, or the front panel. Having the headphone and mic inputs with resistors so you can easily adjust while using a headset is a WONDERFUL feature. And I am sorry but having to quit the online game and slide the volume around just isn't easy .

If you get those yamaha's tell me how you like them I almost bought a set of those in the past (the ones with 5.1 and dts decoder).

 

[Zaphod]

Yes pretty much digi the audigy doesn't have much over the santacruz which isn't generic but is cheaper.

I agree that the TB Santa Cruz was a great soundcard for it's time, but I wouldn't buy it today (this applies to any of the CL4624 based cards) for one simple reason: No chance of new drivers. Ever! Cirrus Logic/Crystal have discontinued all their DSPs and the development team was disbanded over a year ago at the time of the eol. announcement.

 

[Saem]

Heck you can convert SB Lives into Audigy's, they just did some firmware work IIRC. There are sites which show you how to do this.

 

[BRiT]

The only thing I've seen are hacks to enable installing the newer drivers on the older cards. People have said the sound is improved, but I don't know about the performance impact each one has.

Hacks (I'm sure there's newer guides than these):
Audigy 2 software on older cards: http://www.tech-pc.co.uk/audigy-1.php and http://kpush.tripod.com/tweaking/id33.html
Hardware mod SBLive to SBLive 5.1: http://www.digit-life.com/articles/livetolive51/

From DigitLife, here's a list of differences between Audigy 2 and Audigy 2 ZS [http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/creative-audigy2-zs/index.html]:
The new analog output mode (7.1) added to the existing 6.1;
108dBA SNR instead of 106dBA (claimed for analog output at 2V signal with AES17 filter);
DTS ES support in addition to Dolby Digital Surround EX;
ASIO2 support, the additional 24/96 mode (offered by A2 Platinum eX);
Bundled software changes: the new THX settings panel, multiband equalizer, karaoke mode;

The lack of driver support on cards which are not the latest and greatest is one of the reasons I loathe Creative and hope to never buy another one of their products.

 

[Sazar]

you can find some really good stuff @ the newegg refurb section if you don't mind these things... good sound cards and/or speakers or both there.. usually decent breaks over retail...

better to get the speakers retail though since the refurbs are usually raw OEM and don't include all components... the sound card should not matter as much...

 

[stevem]

So unless I'm looking for 7.1 support the OEM, generic, non-ZS Audigy2 would be just as good as the Audigy2 ZS then?

Yep. Output codecs were even the same last time I checked (so long as you don't get a weird OEM batch). I don't think the lack of gold plated sockets will matter much either. You could also try an Audigy3...

...I am NOT an audiophile...

You say that as though it's a bad affliction...

 

[digitalwanderer]

So unless I'm looking for 7.1 support the OEM, generic, non-ZS Audigy2 would be just as good as the Audigy2 ZS then?

Yep. Output codecs were even the same last time I checked (so long as you don't get a weird OEM batch). I don't think the lack of gold plated sockets will matter much either. You could also try an Audigy3...

There's an Audigy3? Or are you funning me? :|

...I am NOT an audiophile...

You say that as though it's a bad affliction...

No, no...I really meant that as just a statement-o-fact rather than any digs against audioheads. I just happen to play me games/music/movies rather softly since I tend to play mostly when everyone else in the house is asleep. I just included that along with the golden ear comment to try and explain my perspective better for the equipment I'm looking for.

I'm now thinking of just grabbing a soundcard now and waiting 'til Snipes deal comes thru, and picking up a new mobo in the meantime since this damned K7N2-L's 175Mhz FSB limit is bugging me.

Anyone know a good/cheap OCing nForce2 mobo out there? I got a barton 2500+ and about a gig of PC3200 to toss in it...

 

[{Sniping}Waste]

Digi, you might look for another place to get the ADA890. My supplier is out of stock and he hasen't see any in about 1 month now but when he does get any he will call me first.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Digi, you might look for another place to get the ADA890. My supplier is out of stock and he hasen't see any in about 1 month now but when he does get any he will call me first.

Thanks Snipe, I've found a couple of deals online that are close and with postage are probably about the same anyways. I really appreciate your efforts and REALLY 'preciate you turning me on to the ADA890s. 8)

 

[martrox]

DW, I got a set of Logitech z5300 5.1 THX, and, for the money, they are excellent. While a small bit over your budget, they can be had shipped from Amazon for $139.44. And with an Audigy 2.....impressive!

 

[Saem]

From the current gen of yamaha low-end computer sound systems any good?