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View Full Version : X-Fi Extreme Music, Aduigy 2, or something else?

whitebloodcell
11-06-05, 12:38 PM
Just got a set of Speakers and a Reciever

Yamaha DSP-AX630SE Reciever
Wharfedale Diamond 8.3 Floor Standers
Diamond Center
Wharfedale 8.2 Bookshelf Speakers.
Might get a Sub.

I am gonna position them perfectly around me for a great gaming experience. Which brings me to my question? Is X-Fi worth the money over getting and Audigy 2 for this purpose? I can get an Audigy for 45 Sterling new, yet and X-Fi costs me 95 Sterling. (my keyboard is irreversibly set to US layout it seems, so dont know where Pound symbol is) I assume I need to connect the Sound Card to the Amp using an Coax or Digital Cable. Will this give the gaming surround sound signal? Is there any other card that would be more suitable for my setup.
Recording is not a feature I am interested, gaming and music are what I want.
lowfat
11-09-05, 12:32 PM
From what I have heard in the X-Fi threads, the X-Fi is a very good upgrade from an Audigy 2.

No using the digital outputs from the soundcard to the reciever will not give you 5.1. You will need to use analog cables.
whitebloodcell
11-09-05, 05:18 PM
No using the digital outputs from the soundcard to the reciever will not give you 5.1. You will need to use analog cables.

I don't understand this, Wouldnt digital give better quality, why can't 5.1 be sent through digital? Would the amp/reciever then not output in 5.1?
squirrel9000
11-09-05, 08:50 PM
5.1 can only be sent through digital using certain sound cards. The x-Mystique and a new Turtle Beach card can both encode into dolby digital and output that using a digital connection.
sandrock
11-09-05, 10:54 PM
That's why I just bought an x-mystique, for the 5.1 over optical out. :D
lowfat
11-10-05, 01:45 AM
5.1 can be sent through with any soundcard only if it has some sort of compression to it (i.e. DTS and Dolby Digital, like watching a dvd) If you want to use digital output only then like squirrel9000 suggested the HDA X-Mystique and Turtle Beach's 7.1 Montego DDL,because they both encode Dolby DigitalDL. However its software encoded, and takes a bit of your cpu power to do so. Analog sound can still sound very good, as long as the DACs on the soundcard are good, which they are on the X-Fi.