- Joined
- Jan 27, 2006
- Location
- Chulak
Im in the market for a new card so I can get DD or DTS in my games. Do games even have these options? What sound card has these options?
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dolby digital or DTS in games? What card?
- Thread starter nvidiaOCmaster
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2005
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
i would say this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829156001
or this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829156002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829156001
or this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829156002
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
I dont think games have DD. some games have EAX (whatever that is, still kinda new to the high end sound card range.)
I like the xfi platinum, but thats because it has the built in processor, and at the moment my computer can really use all the help it can get.
I like the xfi platinum, but thats because it has the built in processor, and at the moment my computer can really use all the help it can get.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2003
Go with either the Bluegears B-Inspirer or the Auzentech Meridian. They are the newest of the digital cards out there and they use newer chipsets. Not only do they have more features, but they also offer higher sound quality over their predecessors.
nvidiaOCmaster said:
yep, or dts or what you have the card set to output. i just picked up a auzentech xplosion, and it sucks. its ok if you get those cheesey efects right, like padded cell environment.. i never liked that setup at all. it sounds ok, but it lacks soul. the top end is harsh, and really sounds terrible. i shouldve realised that when i saw the cmedia chip :/ analogue was even worse, so i got my audigy4 back in.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2003
The Auzentech cards output a PURE signal, non touched by anything that might alter the signal like a Creative card such as the audigy or the X-Fi. It doesn't upsample audio. If you don't have a decent set of speakers, then there's no reason to go for the higher end Auzentech or Bluegears cards. I would say high end speakers start at the Logitech Z-680s and up or the Klipsch Promedia 2.1s and up.
The Auzentech and Bluegears card are enthusiast cards, closer to professional audio stuff but still somewhat cut back due to keeping cost down. However, they are superior compared to the Audigy cards. You can't have an amazing sound card and crappy speakers and expect amazing results. The same for vice versa. Nothing great if you have great speakers and crappy sound card.
This is why for the past year and a half I've purchased the first card released by Bluegears (The X-Mystique), then the X-Plosion, to use with my Logitech Z-680s. Not only because the the analog output is stunning, but also because the digital quality is quite acceptable for a PC audio card of it's price range. Coupled with the fact that I perfer to listen to WAV, OGG and FLAC compressed audio formats over anything else, and cannot stand to listen to any MP3 encoded any lower than 320kbps, I am striving to get the most out of my audio equipment that I can, and I enjoy every moment of it!
Speakers arn't always the best way to determin the level of sound quality from a sound card. Headphones are usually a better choice of test equipment. If I had batteries for my headphone amplifier (The GF left it on and drained the two 9V's that are in there.
), I would be using the headphones almost 100% of the time. Of coarse though, just as in speakers, a cheap set of headphones won't pass an sound card quality test either. Mine are slightly below the medium grade of sound quality, but they arn't low or lowest either. I have a set of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's which I treasure more than my speakers. To the average headphone user, they won't sound very mind blowing, because they use high ohm drivers and often require the assistance of an amplifier to boost the audio signal. They also require a high quiality audio source to show their brilliance.
I'll stop ranting now, as this has all been said several times in the past. I said it However, I still hope I can help to push the fact that these sound cards are not to be shunned because most users of it don't hear any improvment, or degraded improvment. Everyone hears things differently and thus could be another reason for the degraded sound quality to an individual.
Audigy cards have their place in the computer world and so do the Auzentech and Bluegears cards. I was once a proud owner of an Audigy 2 ZS which was the first high end card I ever owned and I STILL miss it's EAX features, as the Auzentech cards only offer EAX 2. However, I will never look back on the Audigy 2's lack of sound quality and degraded signal quality, which could not deliver the full performance of my expensive sound system or headphones.
The Auzentech and Bluegears card are enthusiast cards, closer to professional audio stuff but still somewhat cut back due to keeping cost down. However, they are superior compared to the Audigy cards. You can't have an amazing sound card and crappy speakers and expect amazing results. The same for vice versa. Nothing great if you have great speakers and crappy sound card.
This is why for the past year and a half I've purchased the first card released by Bluegears (The X-Mystique), then the X-Plosion, to use with my Logitech Z-680s. Not only because the the analog output is stunning, but also because the digital quality is quite acceptable for a PC audio card of it's price range. Coupled with the fact that I perfer to listen to WAV, OGG and FLAC compressed audio formats over anything else, and cannot stand to listen to any MP3 encoded any lower than 320kbps, I am striving to get the most out of my audio equipment that I can, and I enjoy every moment of it!
Speakers arn't always the best way to determin the level of sound quality from a sound card. Headphones are usually a better choice of test equipment. If I had batteries for my headphone amplifier (The GF left it on and drained the two 9V's that are in there.
), I would be using the headphones almost 100% of the time. Of coarse though, just as in speakers, a cheap set of headphones won't pass an sound card quality test either. Mine are slightly below the medium grade of sound quality, but they arn't low or lowest either. I have a set of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's which I treasure more than my speakers. To the average headphone user, they won't sound very mind blowing, because they use high ohm drivers and often require the assistance of an amplifier to boost the audio signal. They also require a high quiality audio source to show their brilliance.I'll stop ranting now, as this has all been said several times in the past. I said it However, I still hope I can help to push the fact that these sound cards are not to be shunned because most users of it don't hear any improvment, or degraded improvment. Everyone hears things differently and thus could be another reason for the degraded sound quality to an individual.
Audigy cards have their place in the computer world and so do the Auzentech and Bluegears cards. I was once a proud owner of an Audigy 2 ZS which was the first high end card I ever owned and I STILL miss it's EAX features, as the Auzentech cards only offer EAX 2. However, I will never look back on the Audigy 2's lack of sound quality and degraded signal quality, which could not deliver the full performance of my expensive sound system or headphones.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2000
- Location
- Sheboygan, Wisconsin
I have to agree with Celeron_Phreak on this. I'm still building my HTPC and wanted a nice sound card. So I sold my X-Fi Platinum and bought an AuzenTech XPlosion. For songs and movies this thing blow the X-Fi Platinum out of the water. For gaming it's not great but it gets the job done. I play alot of WoW and with the X-Fi I was heaing things I never heard with my old Audigy 2 zs. Now with the XPlosion I no longer hear those sounds.
ill have to give it another go i suppose.. i shouldnt have smack talked the card, with tweaking, it did sound good.. i only gave it about 1.5 hours tho.. i have a decent stereo, good quality onkyo, some mission floorstanders, good cables and interconnects, and an ok kenwood sub. the build quality of the auzentech is very good, much better then the audigys ive had. i was useing the toslink connection, i will try the coax tommorow after work. CF, i listen to ogg, flac, and wav as well.. again my remarks on the card were a little premature, i spent some good coin on it, so you can bet its going back in lol. theres people over for dinner rightn ow, and the pc is a jukebox, so i cant swap it out now. also the card is upgradeable, so im fairly stoked about that.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2003
It's no problem. I really enjoy being back on the OC Forums after being away for 7 months. I'm more than happy to help educate fellow members and I ask that they do the same for me when I'm having trouble understanding something.
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2001
- Location
- in a magical field
Wicked Klown said:
So for someone looking more toward gaming you'd recommend an X-Fi, or am I misunderstanding your last sentence?
One thing I was thinking about about is for a motherboard with a digital output that's hooked up to an external decoder/receiver/amp and used exclusively as an HTPC is a soundcard even necessary?
I am considering a few different sound cards I suppose I should start my own thread
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2003
If you want to use onboard optical out, that's fine. As long as you have something to decode the signal, which your receiver will do if it is a DDL/DTS receiver. However if you want 5.1 digital, you will need something that ENCODES to 5.1. As far as I know, no onboard sound chip will encode to 5.1, however in the 7 months I've been away from the technological race in the computer world, that fact may have changed.
All that makes the Auzentech, Bluegears, and now to think of it some Turtle Beach cards to, is the fact that they DO encode digital signals into special outputs such as DDL and DTS. It only eliminates yet one more piece of equipment necessary to make your entertainment more realistic. Instead, it's all coupled into one microchip, soldered onto one circuit board.
If you PRIMARILY game, then go with an X-Fi, it's the most up to date with EAX because EAX is Creative's invention. EAX is what most gamers listen for on a new sound board, however I like my games without EAX. If you listen to music or watch movies more, then don't bother with it, as you'll only be killing your ears.....Not literally, but you get what I'm saying.
I might sound like a fanboy now, but one more good thing about the Auzentech cards is the socketed DACs. They can be swapped out for different chips which can enhance sound quality higher than what it already is. Just one more thing I thought I'd point out about the cards that I skipped earlier.
All that makes the Auzentech, Bluegears, and now to think of it some Turtle Beach cards to, is the fact that they DO encode digital signals into special outputs such as DDL and DTS. It only eliminates yet one more piece of equipment necessary to make your entertainment more realistic. Instead, it's all coupled into one microchip, soldered onto one circuit board.
If you PRIMARILY game, then go with an X-Fi, it's the most up to date with EAX because EAX is Creative's invention. EAX is what most gamers listen for on a new sound board, however I like my games without EAX. If you listen to music or watch movies more, then don't bother with it, as you'll only be killing your ears.....Not literally, but you get what I'm saying.
I might sound like a fanboy now, but one more good thing about the Auzentech cards is the socketed DACs. They can be swapped out for different chips which can enhance sound quality higher than what it already is. Just one more thing I thought I'd point out about the cards that I skipped earlier.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2000
- Location
- Sheboygan, Wisconsin
MadMan007 said:So for someone looking more toward gaming you'd recommend an X-Fi, or am I misunderstanding your last sentence?
One thing I was thinking about about is for a motherboard with a digital output that's hooked up to an external decoder/receiver/amp and used exclusively as an HTPC is a soundcard even necessary?
I am considering a few different sound cards I suppose I should start my own thread
Celeron_Phreak said:
I could not have answered his question any better.
Sorry I found this thread by accident.
I recently bought the creative fatality system as it was only 80.00 from a friend.
To be honest I never even knew about the other brands of cards listed here. I listen to music and only play first person shooters with my computer. Of that I really only play counter strike source competatively and bf2 for fun. Is the card I have the right one for my uses? It seems based on the posts it may actually be the right brand I just wanted to make sure.
broody
I recently bought the creative fatality system as it was only 80.00 from a friend.
To be honest I never even knew about the other brands of cards listed here. I listen to music and only play first person shooters with my computer. Of that I really only play counter strike source competatively and bf2 for fun. Is the card I have the right one for my uses? It seems based on the posts it may actually be the right brand I just wanted to make sure.
broody
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2003
I would say you're set ahbroody. Sounds like you're a gamer and that's what the fatalitiy card by creative is for.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2004
well as bad as i hate to jump on a thread i am going to ask here. I have the E-mu 404 http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?category=505&subcategory=491&product=10447 the reason i like the card is the optical out and optical in. i need both of those, the sound quality is ok but not really what i want. I listen to alot of music more then anything. I do play games but not enough to justify buying one of the X-fi but now i see the Auzentech has anyone used the 404? and the Auzentech I like the DD DTS incoding and will probley buy one here in a few days. Any ideas guys?
