[Greed]

So.. recently I was in the market for a new sound card for my computer rig. Obviously two of the most highly regarded sound cards on this forum, as well as on others, are the Creative Titanium HD and the Asus Xonar Essence ST/STX. After much research and guidance from fellow members I decided to purchase the THD, because of its focus on gaming features. I also wanted to temporarily use the sound card as my source (DAC) when I listened to music. At the time my time on the computer was spend 70% gaming and 30% listening to music (sometimes doing both at the same time). Anyways, after I received my sound card, I come to find out that Creative has made it so inconvenient for their users. Because this was going to be my temporary source for my amp (WA2),my speakers (Audioengine A5), and my other set of everyday use headphones (Sennheiser HD650)... I wanted to simply be able to plug in all three to the card, and through the interface change them as needed. Well I come to find out that the THD does not accommodate such setup. In order for my to use my AMP and Headphones, I had to unplug them and change them each time I wanted to use them. It was a hassle and I simply wasn't going to stand for it, especially after my old card was able to do such a thing. So I returned the card and purchased the Asus Xonar Essence STX.
 
Ever since I have been happy both with its performance and features. I stumbled upon a forum post on the Creative website that addressed the same issues I was having. Creatives response.... "The board (X-Fi Titanium HD) has been designed to give better performance thus exclusi've outputs are used as compared to the Titanium. A driver update for both headphones and speakers to work simultaneously is unlikely because this is a hardware design." What a bunch of melarkey... I have never believed in this so called theory and if it were true, why do other manufactures do the same thing they are doing if the quality is better. After reading through much of that thread, I agree with a lot of those members when saying that Creative is just flat out lazy.
 
Link to the creative forum thread - http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=562754
 
I know this is some sort of rant on my part, but it really is unacceptable to have a new product like the THD not support switching between RCA and the headphone out without having to unplug one and then plugging in the other. Let me know if I'm being to anal about this guys, but I really do believe Creative has become lazy with their products and have really dropped the ball on what they once were very good at which is finding that sweet spot between the right amount gaming features packed in with the highest quality of sound one can get with an internal soundcard. If you are in the same boat as me and want to use multiple outs without having to plug and unplug as needed, than I would strongly advise against buying the Creative Titanium HD.
 
Thanks for the time!

 

[Shub-Niggurath]

I found out the same thing before I bought mine. Still bought it because I'm a gamer and wasn't thrilled by comparable cards from other manufacturers such as Asus or HT Omega.
Of course it depends on your use case, but for me, I'm using headphones 99% of the time. I have an extension cord running from the card's headphone out and the headphones are connected to the extension. I also have cheap Logitech speakers that I use to watch movies with other people (typically my wife). I just unplug the headphones from the extension cord, connect the speakers instead and move on with my life. It's not an Earth-shattering problem, honestly.
If you need both at the same time then... get another card obviously
Or you could get an amplifier with a speaker output and a headphone output, connect it to the X-Fi TiHD's RCA out and go have fun.
 
P.S. I guess you mean "unacceptable"

 

[Greed]

Quote:

I found out the same thing before I bought mine. Still bought it because I'm a gamer and wasn't thrilled by comparable cards from other manufacturers such as Asus or HT Omega.
Of course it depends on your use case, but for me, I'm using headphones 99% of the time. I have an extension cord running from the card's headphone out and the headphones are connected to the extension. I also have cheap Logitech speakers that I use to watch movies with other people (typically my wife). I just unplug the headphones from the extension cord, connect the speakers instead and move on with my life. It's not an Earth-shattering problem, honestly.
If you need both at the same time then... get another card obviously
Or you could get an amplifier with a speaker output and a headphone output, connect it to the X-Fi TiHD's RCA out and go have fun.
 
P.S. I guess you mean "unacceptable"

It is actually, fixed! Thanks
 
But yes, it's true the issue really isn't earth shattering. I just think that if you are paying for a gaming sound card you should at least have the option to switch between multiple outs (RCA and Headphone Out) with both plugged in at the same time. I don't think I'm alone when saying that many of us use speakers, headphones, and possibly multiple amps connected to the same source. If every other brand of sound card gives you the simplistic option of interchanging the out than why not creative. Their reasoning for not implementing this option is silly, and really should be made more public. After reading countless threads and the options on sites before purchasing the card, none mentioned that this could potentially be an issue for those seeking a card that can support multiple outs at once.
 
On the other hand, I can agree that connecting an extension cord is an option, but me being a bit OCD about stray and unorganized cables lying around I couldn't handle that solution. But it may be a good solution for some that weigh the pros to the Titanium HD over the cons.

 

[chewy4]

I understand why they wouldn't want them to be able to used simultaneously. The STX doesn't let you do that either.
 
But I don't really get why you can't switch between the two without unplugging....
 
Asus made a pretty stupid decision themselves in not allowing people to use Dolby Headphone for line out. That bugged the crap out of me when I had my STX.

 

[Greed]

Quote:

I understand why they wouldn't want them to be able to used simultaneously. The STX doesn't let you do that either.
 
But I don't really get why you can't switch between the two without unplugging....
 
Asus made a pretty stupid decision themselves in not allowing people to use Dolby Headphone for line out. That bugged the crap out of me when I had my STX.

Yea, maybe I worded it wrong or confusing, but basically I'm complaining about why you can switch without having to unplug on and then plug in the other. But yea I didn't mean simultaneously, just plugged in simultaneously.

 

[Strangelove424]

Quote:

I understand why they wouldn't want them to be able to used simultaneously. The STX doesn't let you do that either.
 
But I don't really get why you can't switch between the two without unplugging....
 
Asus made a pretty stupid decision themselves in not allowing people to use Dolby Headphone for line out. That bugged the crap out of me when I had my STX.

I can understand too - they don't want two circuits on the same card operating at the same time in parallel. I can imagine all sorts of reasons why. But I think he can't switch w/o unplugging due to this post I read on that thread: [size=13.199999809265137px] "the software already automatically picks between RCA and headphones, all we are asking for is an option to pick manually, if the driver can choose automatically then it can definately be modified to include a manual option." [/size]
 
[size=13.199999809265137px]The OP's wording had me thoroughly confused too, but I think the soundcard is switching outputs based on what jack is in use, rather than manually like on the STX. That would drive me crazy as well. [/size]