AV-710 or Audigy2 non-zs : which is better?

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

i recently acquired an audigy2 non-zs for free and i was wondering which is better for my needs. i don't have surround, i use a 4.1 altec lansing set in 2.1 setup (dual fronts), music and movies are the top priorities and the games i play are perfectly fine with the AV-710, so the question is, which has better quality sound? the AV-710 in 2-channel hi-sample rate or the audigy2 non-zs?

[Vio1]

id trust creative over chaintech.

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

it doesn't work that way Vio1, the chaintech uses a well known quality chipset (envy24) which is recommended by many audiophiles and also a very nice wolfson dac for it's 2 channel hi-sample rate

creative on the other hand has made some ****ty stuff, has finicky drivers, and still no x-fi drivers for 64-bit, the big winning point of creative is EAX for games although the X-Fi is very nice in many ways, but if i want to spend that much, i'd get a DDL card like the X-Mystique or TB Montego

i actually expect to hear the chaintech is better than the creative in pure sound quality, i just want someone who really knows to make sure

[Emon]

The AV-710's high-quality output from it's first two channels (the ones with the Wolfson DACs) is generally considered to be superior to the Audigy 2's, even the ZS, since it's basically the same thing with more features.

Considering the price, the AV-710 is a better deal. The Audigy 2 is better for games, no doubt. EAX is useful for positioning, I find, at least with headphones. Environmental effects can be nice, too. It all depends on the individual game's implementations. Some are barely noticable, some are outstanding (Thief III).

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

thanks Emon, that's exactly what i wanted to know

[Vipasnipa]

For the highest performance to price ratio in stereo, the AV-710 is unbeatable.

[zabomb4163]

chaintech AV-710 for stereo, mystique for 5.1.

AV-710 if you mostly listen to music as well. 5.1 music just....doesnt sound right IMHO.