[Hyperfluxe]

Hey

I'm looking for the best sound card for my PC under 100$, and I've done loads of research already. These are the two best cards for under 100$ according to most people, but I can't figure which one is the best. I know that the Xonar DX has better analog quality (by a little I think), and that the Omega Striker has EAX 5.0 (compared to the Xonar DX's EAX 2.0). I do a lot of gaming on my PC, and I listen to a lot of music. When gaming, I like to use my speakers when my parents are not home, but when they are, I always put on my headset. I heard that the Xonar DX is great with speakers such as Z-5500's, but bad when using a headset. Is it better in the Omega Striker for headset sound quality? Now about music, I will be listening to it via speakers (Z-5500) and my RE0 IEMs depending on if my parents are home. So the same rule applies, but I think that one sound card is better for strictly music than the other.

Thanks for you help, I appreciate it.

EDIT:
Oh and I forgot something. I need help on how a Z-5500 would connect to the sound card I'm getting. I heard that it makes the sound card obsolete is you use an optical cable (toslink), so you need to use the included analog cables with the Z-5500 (6 channel direct cable right)? Can anyone help me out on that? Thanks.

 

[Hyperfluxe]

Anyone? I really need help with this. I think I figured something out though...if you're going to use digital output from speakers to sound card, it becomes redundant because it will be the same as onboard audio. So what do I need to do to make my speakers use the new sound card?

 

[Dusii]

The Striker only does eax 2.0, the Xonar DX does EMULATED eax 5.0 in software, if you want true EAX 5.0 you need some thing with a x-fi chip and to be running XP to boot.

Ive never heard either so might not be the best judge, but if your gunna be gaming the xonar is probably a bit of a better option, and sense it only supports DDL id guess that analog is definitely your best bet.

However you can probably find an X-FI titanium for a little under $100, might be a better idea then either if gaming is your main concern.

 

[Hyperfluxe]

Music is my primary concern, and gaming is right behind it by a small margin. I want best SQ for both...so which sound card would be better?

 

[Dusii]

If its between DX/Striker, I'd say go with the DX, it should be a better option for gaming, and I believe it's main weakness vs the striker is lack of DTS encoding... Which if your going to hook your z5500 up with analog, shouldn't really matter.

 

[Hyperfluxe]

So will I hear a SQ benefit with my Z-5500's? I have to use analog, not digital, so I guess I have to use the 6 channel direct cable to achieve an analog signal.

 

[joelpearce]

I found analog 5.1 for gaming on the Omega was pretty weak, and I got really frustrated with the lack of driver support as well. It sounded decent for music, but it ended up being an aggravating option for games.

I've not tried any of the Asus cards.

 

[Hyperfluxe]

Alright, so the Xonar DX wins for gaming. What about music, which is also very important for me?

 

[xone13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyperfluxe /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh and I forgot something. I need help on how a Z-5500 would connect to the sound card I'm getting. I heard that it makes the sound card obsolete is you use an optical cable (toslink), so you need to use the included analog cables with the Z-5500 (6 channel direct cable right)? Can anyone help me out on that? Thanks.

I had these 5 years ago so its a bit fuzzy but from what i remember it is true. For music you want to use the analog cables for equalizer eax etc, for movies the coaxial or optical because the sound will be 5.1 and will be decoded by the control pod. You can play music with the optical/coaxial but it will be 2 channel.

 

[ROBSCIX]

The card will have analog outputs. A 7.1 card has 4 stereo outputs
1, Fronts
2, Rears
3, Center and subwoofer
4, side pair

The card is marked on the sheilding where each conenction goes and shoudl be in the manual also.

The Z-5500's do not have a very high quality DAC so going analog will most likley give you a higher quality sound then digital with those speakers.

The DX has a digital encoder so it will enocde your audio to DDL and send it over the digital connection to your speakers if you want to go that route. The Xonar DX is a great sounding card for the price you should be happy with it for music.

 

[Hyperfluxe]

Thanks everyone, I'm going for the Xonar DX.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Post your impresisons.