[leoftw]

I'm sorry to ask such a stupid question but I just got my card and wont be able to install it for another 10 hours. Im very excited and wanted to ask

how big will the sound difference be ?

will it be jaw dropping or

"it sounds "sort" or better"


sorry for the newb question . flame if you want

 

[Hookem]

Make sure to uninstall the onboard sound program in control panel and disable it in the BIOS before installing the new card.

It should sound noticably better than the onboard for sure.

You might also want to check and see it there is a updated driver, program set for the card...Usually they will be better than the driver/program set on the included driver disk supplied with the sound card.

 

[Damian]

Actually from personal experience I've been surprised how good onboard sound actually is these days; And I've seen tests which indicated they are much closer these days then people think.
(I was using Realtek ALC883 which I quite liked the sound coming out of; Then I had to replace my motherboard, and ended up with the newer Realtek ALC889A, which again was a noticeable step up in quality even from the relatively new ALC883.)

Still there will definitely be an improvement, and you get all the X-fi features now.

Anyway, let us know what you think! I'd be interested to know.

 

[Culverin]

well, i guess it depends on what kind of onboard you are coming from, but i must agree, onboard has made leaps and bounds.

so if you've got mediocre headphones, you probably won't notice much a difference.

but the prelude also has a good amp. so if you have headphones that are good and scale well with amplification, you will notice a big difference.

 

[terrymx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damian /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually from personal experience I've been surprised how good onboard sound actually is these days; And I've seen tests which indicated they are much closer these days then people think. (I was using Realtek ALC883 which I quite liked the sound coming out of; Then I had to replace my motherboard, and ended up with the newer Realtek ALC889A, which again was a noticeable step up in quality even from the relatively new ALC883.) Still there will definitely be an improvement, and you get all the X-fi features now. Anyway, let us know what you think! I'd be interested to know.

Just did a RMAA test with my ALC883 onboard:


Not great, but pretty acceptable. I don't get noise either, only from the front panel. I have to use it now as my main source right nowbecause my EMU 0202 buzz off after every three seconds after updating to a beta mobo bios.

 

[leoftw]

Well I got it and paired with my DT770's it sounds great but not 200$ great . I should have just got a xtremegamer

 

[ditzydj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leoftw /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I got it and paired with my DT770's it sounds great but not 200$ great . I should have just got a xtremegamer

Unless you're really really a gamer? the Prelude was a better, albeit more expensive choice. And that's without me having heard the Prelude myself. I'm going by what I've read by plenty of enthusiasts who game and listen to music.

The Prelude is a definite upgrade from XG. Yes, the Prelude uses some of creative's hardware (EAX I think mostly), but overall, quality of card, support, drivers, etc., and the fact that I do have an XG in my main rig. Well, let's just say the audigy SE in my spare rig sounds better for music than the XG. I think it's the darned EAX effects.

Give the Prelude a chance