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Sorry to butt in here but is there a soundcard that can do everything; games, theatre and music well? (oh and includes a headphone socket ).
Very few if any internal sound cards include headphone sockets, but most can drive headphones out of the front speaker outputs. The AuzenTech X-Fi Prelude, Audiotrak Prodigy HD2, and ASUS Xonar D2 are good examples.
Very few if any internal sound cards include headphone sockets, but most can drive headphones out of the front speaker outputs. The AuzenTech X-Fi Prelude, Audiotrak Prodigy HD2, and ASUS Xonar D2 are good examples.
To give me some perspective, how do you think those mentioned would stack up against my 1212m (or possibly 1616m)?
Well, they have surround, so technically they're better for movies if you listen in surround. The X-Fi has EAX, so it's better for certain games.
But in terms of pure sound quality, all of those cards are roughly equivalent. If you heard them all, you'd probably pick a favorite, but they are more 'side-grades' than upgrades.
Well, they have surround, so technically they're better for movies if you listen in surround. The X-Fi has EAX, so it's better for certain games.
But in terms of pure sound quality, all of those cards are roughly equivalent. If you heard them all, you'd probably pick a favorite, but they are more 'side-grades' than upgrades.
In terms of headphones, would you say the 1616m is the best option as it has the headphone out and additional analogue outputs which could be used for a headphone amp?
In terms of headphones, would you say the 1616m is the best option as it has the headphone out and additional analogue outputs which could be used for a headphone amp?
Not in terms of value. It would be more economical and probably better-sounding to take the price difference between the 1212M and 1616M and put the money into a headphone amplifier. It's up to you to decide whether or not having both outputs on one device is worth the price premium.
hey guys, my auzentech xplosion's spdif broke today and I'm in the market for a new card (wasn't full satisfied with it anyways). Unfortunately I only have 1 pci and 1 pcie so that rules out the emu 1212. But I also do gaming (though its last compared to movies/music), should I take a look at an external device usb/firewire? This is also going to a pioneer vsx-917 receiver so 24bit / 192kHz capability would be preferred. I would like to keep it under $200 but $250 absolute max. The auzentech prelude seems promising but its only 96hz, is there that much of a difference?
hey guys, my auzentech xplosion's spdif broke today and I'm in the market for a new card (wasn't full satisfied with it anyways). Unfortunately I only have 1 pci and 1 pcie so that rules out the emu 1212. But I also do gaming (though its last compared to movies/music), should I take a look at an external device usb/firewire? This is also going to a pioneer vsx-917 receiver so 24bit / 192kHz capability would be preferred. I would like to keep it under $200 but $250 absolute max. The auzentech prelude seems promising but its only 96hz, is there that much of a difference?
The 1212M only requires one PCI bus slot. The included 0202 analog card does not connect to the motherboard and can be placed in any free space.
AFAIK, the Prelude can handle up to 192 kHz, but you're unlikely to see audio at that sampling rate in the near future. Most audio is 44.1 kHz.
HD movies wouldn't benefit from 192 at all? Most of my music is flac/320kb also btw. Didn't notice that about the 1212, looks like a great card but would it be extremely lacking for games, I've never actually used EAX, had onboard prior to the xplosion. It says on auzentech's site that its just 96 but maybe theres some hack for it
HD movies wouldn't benefit from 192 at all? Most of my music is flac/320kb also btw. Didn't notice that about the 1212, looks like a great card but would it be extremely lacking for games, I've never actually used EAX, had onboard prior to the xplosion. It says on auzentech's site that its just 96 but maybe theres some hack for it
Even if you had a Blu-Ray drive, there are currently no software options that allow playback at the original lossless high-res sampling rate. Additionally, you will not be able to send HD content through the digital outputs of a sound card. So, for HD movies, no current sound card will solve that problem.
I've gamed with a 1212M, and IMO the increase in sound quality negates the lack of EAX. There are a few issues with some games involving sound bugs, but they aren't deal-breakers.
Don't let bit-rates confuse you. 320kbps (kilobits per second) only refers to the size vs. time of an MP3, not the sampling rate. I'll bet most, if not all of your music is 44.1 kHz (kilohertz). Realistically, having 192 kHz as an available sampling rate does not matter.
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Last edited by infinitesymphony; 06-04-2008 at 01:22 AM.
Thanks, just the answer i was looking for. Could you give me a quick list of games you know with the bugs? Recently i play assassins creed, call of duty 4, cs source, crysis and unreal tournement 3. Hopefully its none of those, could it also be solved by ASIO? prelude also seemed like it had a good driver control panel, not too sure but looked good from demo page on their site. (also no issues with vista 64bit i hope?)
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