[danny93]

Quote:

Yeah you can swap them, but if something goes wrong im sure they wont just give you a new card for free.. Also if you really want to start messing around with op-amps the same can be done on the asus essence card, so it still remains the better card
 
Anyways, topic starter should just read stuff the experts say that tested all major cards instead of 1 guy who owns 1 card and claims it to be the best
 
whatever topic started decides im sure the HD wont disappoint even though the asus ones are better cards if you dont care about EAX.. Good luck!

Im curious what soundcard do you own...please enlighten me!
 
Also how is the Asus the better card any first hand experience, or you just going on numbers like that review?
 
When did i say the Titanium HD is the best? I said its probably not quite as good going on reviews for music (slightly) but for gaming its a card built from the ground up for this segment and the STX slightly dips its toes into the water in this regard.
The Ti HD is the most reccomended card for gaming...period
 
You clearly just looked at that website and as the STX had higher numbers the reviewer said it was the best so you now troll around threads like you have heard it saying its the superior to the Ti HD when in fact you dont have a clue...its been clear time and time again:
 
First you said hook up the Mixamp to a soundcard...seriously What
Then you said only go for Ti HD for EAX...again What (developers dropped this years ago) 
You went on to say how replacing opamps is bad...

Then you link to a review who doesnt even talk about the sound quality and bases everything off numbers...
 
Im sure you can see where Im going with this...you are clueless, and the only reason im continuing to reply is because its rather amussing and im curious as to what ridiculous statement your going to make next...please keep them coming

 

[Hoax]

I didnt say changing op-amps is bad, I only said you might not want to start messing around with that because if you mess something up you're in trouble. And if you really do want to you can also do this on the asus card so there's really no reason to pick the HD over this.
 
And HD Most recommended card for gaming? Yeah by you lol, Experts disagree, Im sure the guys from that website have a little more knowledge than you
 
Anyways, whatever topic starter decides to go with is his choice, I dont have to listen to it so i dont care. I just hope he wont get carried away by fanboys praising their soundcard as being the best as I think it would be sad for someone to make a mispurchase which could have been avoided if he valued expert reviews over fanboy recommendations
 
Btw I was just checking the stats on steam for most online players/games, one of the most played games (nr2) is still Counterstrike
 
55,964 players online now and a peak of 60,493 today. Counterstrike is one of the great games that support EAX
So your argument about nobody today could use EAX is obsolete
 
Anyways,
 
Im off for some gaming rather than wasting my time discussing soundcards. Take care

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

After seeing what switching out op-amps did to my NFB5 (very, very little), I don't believe in that at all. Advertised as cold neutral to supposedly warm and tubey, yet they sounded 99.99% same. More like a placebo change than anything, aka typical head-fi exaggerations. I wouldn't hold my breath. I got more of a change going from USB to Optical.

 

[danny93]

Quote:

After seeing what switching out op-amps did to my NFB5 (very, very little), I don't believe in that at all. Advertised as cold neutral to supposedly warm and tubey, yet they sounded 99.99% same. More like a placebo change than anything, aka typical head-fi exaggerations. I wouldn't hold my breath. I got more of a change going from USB to Optical.

I think its more the lengthy time needed to replace the opamps rather than there being minimal change as I definatly noticed quite a bit of difference, but it all comes down to what opamps you used at the end of the day as some there wasnt much change but other there was quite a bit. It wont as you say make the whole sound sig change but it does add noticable improvements IMO
 
I do not believe in cables changing sound at all BTW 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Unlike your typical op-amp rolling, where you have to stop listening, switch, and listen again, the NFB5 allows me to switch from ACSS to opamp with a push of a button. So there is no memory involved, just straight A/B testing. That placebo didn't affect me one bit. Between two op-amps, and ACSS, they all didn't sound even 1% different, other than ACSS being a microscopic amount brighter in tone. The two opamps sounded the exact same, one supposedly being neutral, and one tube-like.

So if you're getting a soundcard with the intent of making it sound better with an op-amp, I would be highly skeptical.

As for changing from optical to USB, It's not about the CABLE, but the internal processes that your DAC/AMP have. In my case, the optical input is better than the USB one.

Trust me, I'm nowhere near a believer of CABLES.

 

[Hoax]

Quote:

I think its more the lengthy time needed to replace the opamps rather than there being minimal change as I definatly noticed quite a bit of difference, but it all comes down to what opamps you used at the end of the day as some there wasnt much change but other there was quite a bit. It wont as you say make the whole sound sig change but it does add noticable improvements IMO
 
I do not believe in cables changing sound at all BTW 

 
Probably noticeable if you keep telling yourself how much better it sounds,
 
And cables can change the sound dramaticly .. However it depends on the signal, if its a digital signal like usb/optical then there wont be any difference (if the cables are not too long)
However using quality over poor non shielded cables for analogue sound signals could hightly improve sound quality

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

USB and optical are processed differently. If it were so simple as to make all digital inputs sound the same, companies wouldn't hate optical as much as they do. Coaxial is known as the best digital source, for a reason. Though companies know are working to make USB as good as it can be, considering that's what the majority of users use. I know it's all 0's and 1's, but the process from Digital to analog can vary from one to another. if not, all DACs would sound exactly the same, which I can assure you, do not.

But I digress...

Op-amp rolling to me is mainly placebo, and reading up on subjective opinions of it, I'm not surprised.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Speaking of OPAMP-rolling, I tried replacing the JRC 2114s in my X-Fi Titanium HD with LME49860NAs.
 
The result was a V-shaped frequency response that completely wrecked the tonal balance (I don't like the mids in the back seat, so to speak), so I put the JRC 2114s back in.
 
I don't think I'll be meddling around with the OPAMPs in the future unless I absolutely need to. The card sounds fine to me as it is, and there's a good EQ that I can use if needed.
 

That sounds like you're adding extra processing from the EAX to the Mixamp's Dolby mode. I fail to see how this can be good, if not more unnatural. But I haven't tried it so...

 

Modern games, console and PC alike, already do EAX-esque reverb/chorus/occlusion/etc. effects in software (if you've played Battlefield: Bad Company 2, you'll easily notice the reverb in indoor areas, ESPECIALLY with the War Tapes audio mode), so you'd have that same supposed problem with Dolby Headphone either way. That's all EAX does for PC games-make it sound like you're actually in the game environment through such effects.
 
Ideally, a binaural HRTF tech should not add extra reverberation, as DH2 and especially DH3 modes are known for, but it may be a necessary positional audio cue for it to work as well as it does, hence why DH2 is generally the default mode (and only mode on the Mixamp). Admitted, I don't notice too much of a difference between DH1 and DH2 from Dolby Digital sources, but Dolby Pro Logic II sources greatly benefit from DH2.

 

[Hoax]

The whole op amp changing stuff kinda reminds me of when I was 6 and my friends painted numbers on their bikes to turn them into race bikes and go faster..
 
Funny stuff when you're bored but pretty useless unless you can imagine like a little kid can