The Nameless Guide To PC Gaming Audio (with binaural headphone surround sound) - Page 62

Quote:

Originally Posted by HalidePisces 

Yeah, I think we just started at different places.
You seem to have the Xonar DX though lacking an S/PDIF cable to test AKWintermute's problem. Though as you said, it likely depends on how the card is implemented.
Have you tried using your mic on the front panel and the back of the sound card to compare? Is there a notable difference? I'm a bit curious on this myself.

My Xonar DX has been buried in a box somewhere for the past year, do not feel like searching around for it, to test the optical & mic use.

HallidePisces: I haven't tried it in that config, but I'll give it a whirl tonight. Heh, might be a bit weird though--my mic is attached to my headphones! But yeah, I'll try Rear Panel speaker output + Front Panel mic in.

Thank you for checking that.  Based on the information provided, I went ahead and ordered the Xonar DX, Schiit Lyr, and AKG Q701s. I'll just go from the green headphone out to the Lyr, but its good to know that if I want to upgrade to an external DAC in the future I will be able to. Again thanks to everyone who replied.

Alright I followed this guide that you linked: http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArticle.aspx?sid=96663

But I don't get an option for 7.1 or any of the other options except stereo and 5.1 
Any suggestions? 

AKWintermute: I'm sorry! I forgot that it was originally you who wanted to know about the DX's input/output capabilities. Grats on the purchases! I'm sure you'll enjoy them much. Btw when the DX arrives, you might want to use these drivers instead:

http://brainbit.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

Third party drivers that are recommended a lot on the gaming forums, and I've been using them too. 

HalidePisces: Not that I could tell. I just ran a Skype test call (the automated one), is all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NamelessPFG 

 

Just use 5.1. It's not that big of a difference compared to 7.1 when using CMSS-3D Headphone in software-mixed games.

Which is fine, but why don't I get the 7.1 option? The page shows a 7.1 option, I want a 7.1 option. Lol. Any ideas? 

Fantastic guide Nameless, answered many questions i had. I want to buy a dedicated sound card to upgrade from my onboard which uses Realtek ALC888 chipset.

I am on a limited budget and i decided between these two cards, asus xonar dg and creative x-fi xtremegamer. I know for gaming the latter would be better but i am kind worried about the performance in music. I know also that it doesn't have a build in headphone amp like the xonar dg.

After reading this review, i am kinda worried about xtremegamer's music performance

http://techreport.com/review/14500/asus-xonar-dx-sound-card/7

I know this review is kind of old and the card is the xtrememusic and not the xtremegamer, but as far as i know they are very similar cards, and in this review at least things aren't looking very good.

But in this review, things are way better (again xtrememusic not xtremegamer)

http://www.insidehw.com/reviews/multimedia/1142-integrated-sound-cards-roundup

On the other hand the xonar dg scores very good

http://techreport.com/review/19997/asus-xonar-dg-and-xense-sound-cards/7

I plan to use logitech g51 and Superlux HD-668b headphones.

Short version: I prefer the creative xtremegamer due to better 3d audio support and cmss3d, the only thing that's holding me back is the inconsistency i see with this card in some rightmark audio analyzer results, and maybe the lack of headphone amp, although to be honest i don't know if the superlux hd668b need it. So i would like opinions about how these two compare in music and not so much about drivers and features (with the exception of the headphone amp perhaps) because i prefer the xtremegamer as i said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haruspex 

Fantastic guide Nameless, answered many questions i had. I want to buy a dedicated sound card to upgrade from my onboard which uses Realtek ALC888 chipset.

I am on a limited budget and i decided between these two cards, asus xonar dg and creative x-fi xtremegamer. I know for gaming the latter would be better but i am kind worried about the performance in music. I know also that it doesn't have a build in headphone amp like the xonar dg.

After reading this review, i am kinda worried about xtremegamer's music performance

http://techreport.com/review/14500/asus-xonar-dx-sound-card/7

I know this review is kind of old and the card is the xtrememusic and not the xtremegamer, but as far as i know they are very similar cards, and in this review at least things aren't looking very good.

But in this review, things are way better (again xtrememusic not xtremegamer)

http://www.insidehw.com/reviews/multimedia/1142-integrated-sound-cards-roundup

On the other hand the xonar dg scores very good

http://techreport.com/review/19997/asus-xonar-dg-and-xense-sound-cards/7

I plan to use logitech g51 and Superlux HD-668b headphones.

Short version: I prefer the creative xtremegamer due to better 3d audio support and cmss3d, the only thing that's holding me back is the inconsistency i see with this card in some rightmark audio analyzer results, and maybe the lack of headphone amp, although to be honest i don't know if the superlux hd668b need it. So i would like opinions about how these two compare in music and not so much about drivers and features (with the exception of the headphone amp perhaps) because i prefer the xtremegamer as i said.

refurb Creative X-fi Titanium (non-HD) PCI-E sound card, $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102043

Thanks for the reply, i should have mentioned that i am not from US, it's difficult in Europe to find such a low price for the titanium, refurb or not.

Both xonar dg and xtremegamer together with shipping costs about 30-35 euros, the titanium last time i checked it's double that and more, so it's out of my budget.

I've did some further research about the xtremegamer and it seems it gets those horrible results in rmaa (especially in frequency response) due to some wrong settings the reviewers put.

Still i have my doubts...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haruspex 

Thanks for the reply, i should have mentioned that i am not from US, it's difficult in Europe to find such a low price for the titanium, refurb or not.

 

Both xonar dg and xtremegamer together with shipping costs about 30-35 euros, the titanium last time i checked it's double that and more, so it's out of my budget.

 

I've did some further research about the xtremegamer and it seems it gets those horrible results in rmaa (especially in frequency response) due to some wrong settings the reviewers put.

 

Still i have my doubts...

I'm an Xonar fan myself, so i would push for the Xonar DG.

Comes with a half-way decent headphone amplifier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haruspex 

Thanks for the reply, i should have mentioned that i am not from US, it's difficult in Europe to find such a low price for the titanium, refurb or not.

 

Both xonar dg and xtremegamer together with shipping costs about 30-35 euros, the titanium last time i checked it's double that and more, so it's out of my budget.

 

I've did some further research about the xtremegamer and it seems it gets those horrible results in rmaa (especially in frequency response) due to some wrong settings the reviewers put.

 

Still i have my doubts...

It's quite simple, actually. If you intend on doing any sort of serious gaming, any X-Fi powered card (except the XtremeAudio model) are significantly superior to any alternatives, such as Asus soundcards.

Regarding music playback, either the XtremeGamer or the Titanium will be acceptable, and certainly quite a bit better than onboard audio chips.

You just have to decide whether you want full gaming audio support with reasonable music playback capabilities or partial gaming audio support with slightly better music playback capabilities. Overall, I'd recommend you to wait longer until you put more money on the side and get an Auzentech X-Fi Forte or a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, both easily surpassing the Xonar DG and the X-Fi XtremeGamer on gaming, music and movies.