I just saw that the av-710 has an optical cable included, which has made me much more seriously consider getting it (optical cables alone cost at least $15). I know the 710 is quite a bit better than the zs, but I am using an external dac (dac-ah), so would I hear any difference anyway (in addition to the gain by using optical - the dac-ah stock has a low-quality coax in, apparently)? I use software resampling to listen to music, but I am guessing that the audigy 2 zs is coloring the music (there is an audible difference between 2.1 and headphone mode using digital out, for instance) before it gets to the dac-ah, whereas the av-710 is bit-perfect... Or am I confusing what bit-perfect actually means? I am assuming bit-perfect means sending out the data as it is, bit-for-bit, from the source data, with no (or as little as possible) coloration.
I am a big gamer, and the av-710 is said to not be good with a lot of games, but I should curb my gaming, anyway. If I could keep the audigy 2 zs in my computer at the same time, however, I will still use it for gaming... I also have two harddrives, each with winxp on them, so I could install one card on each winxp installation if driver conflicts occur.
Ultimately, if it is doubtful that I would notice a difference (out of the dac-ah, which, again, has a not-too-good coax in, so just going to optical could make a difference), I won't get the av-710. I noticed a BIG difference moving from audigy 2 zs analog to audigy 2 zs -> dac-ah. Even a very slight difference would be worth the $25 and hassles.
I know I don't have an amp. I'll be getting a go-vibe with an ad8620 op-amp sometime in the near future. I just want to focus on making my source setup as decent as possible, first.
Thanks.
I am a big gamer, and the av-710 is said to not be good with a lot of games, but I should curb my gaming, anyway. If I could keep the audigy 2 zs in my computer at the same time, however, I will still use it for gaming... I also have two harddrives, each with winxp on them, so I could install one card on each winxp installation if driver conflicts occur.
Ultimately, if it is doubtful that I would notice a difference (out of the dac-ah, which, again, has a not-too-good coax in, so just going to optical could make a difference), I won't get the av-710. I noticed a BIG difference moving from audigy 2 zs analog to audigy 2 zs -> dac-ah. Even a very slight difference would be worth the $25 and hassles.
I know I don't have an amp. I'll be getting a go-vibe with an ad8620 op-amp sometime in the near future. I just want to focus on making my source setup as decent as possible, first.
Thanks.
