[129207]

So, some time ago I bought a uDAC as a way to listen to some music on my laptop without sacrificing too much on the portability thing. I ended up using it as my main soundcard on the desktop rig. RCA out hooked to my Headstage Arrow 12HE amp. Sounds pretty decent with my AKG K518DJ/RE0. 
 
Thing is, I bought a AD700 to improve my gaming-soundstage and found a bargain on a Creative X-Fi Extreme Gamer PCI card. Will the X-Fi give a better gaming experience compared to the uDAC? I am not expecting an improvement in SQ, but more an improvement in features. Or is the loss of SQ so high that the gain of EAX 5.0 isn't justified? I haven't bought the X-Fi yet btw.  

 

[Hybrys]

You'd gain some decent features in games, and the loss of quality wouldn't be TOO bad, if you send a line-out to your amp.
 
If the price was right, I'd do it.

 

[Head Injury]

The loss of quality isn't large enough to matter in games. Surround sound emulation is much more valuable.
 
Though I'd stick with the uDAC for music.
 
I still stand behind my X-Fi XtremeGamer as some of the best $50 I've ever spent.

 

[Maytan]

If you have a good price on it, I'd say get it. In my personal opinion, however, I'd rather have sound quality in games than surround emulation. (I really dislike what CMSS3D sounds like. I just can't enjoy my games with it.)

 

[edge111hussain]

Get it.. SQ loss will be very less but gaming experience will be significantly better.. 

 

[129207]

The bargain is sweet enough ($40) to just buy them and see what happens. Does anyone know if these are mod-able? 

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

The bargain is sweet enough ($40) to just buy them and see what happens. Does anyone know if these are mod-able? 

X-Fi cards?  Definitely.  Do a quick search for 'hotrodding', if I recall...

 

[11amaberry]

Most games don't exactly have super high quality sound anyway. Surround sound is more important in games, and udac doesn't support any kind of surround sound I believe.

 

[129207]

Well, as an update: I sold my uDAC (liked the output from my Sony X1050's line out more anyway) and I bought the X-Fi Xtreme Gamer. Bought it second-hand and when I received the package it was DOA.

 Now in an argument with the seller about that. 
 
Bought a second, second-hand X-Fi Xtreme Gamer and this one works just fine. The SQ is better than I was expecting. I thought it would be a pretty big step down from the uDAC but I'm surprised actually. Now looking into hotrodding it since I love fiddling with hardware.

 
The X-Fi makes a noticeable difference in-game. X-Fi's line-out to Headstage Arrow 12HE to Audio Technica AD700 gives a great sense of soundstage and positioning. I love it! Especially in creepy games like Singularity, Dead Space and Bioshock 2.  
 
Thanks for all the comments guys!

 

[Hybrys]

That sounds like an awesome setup.  Good stuff.

 

[edge111hussain]

good stuff and congrats on ur new purchase

 

[Apocalypsee]

Congrats on the purchase, I actually surprised to hear your impression on uDAC vs X-Fi XtremeGamer. I was thinking of buying uDAC but after reading your opinion I don't think I need to do that