[misterwight]

I'm back with another ignorant question. As you might have guessed from the message header, I currently have a Creative Labs Live Value soundcard. I'm considering buying the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. Opinions seem to be pretty conclusive that the Santa Cruz is a better card, but would it be worth it for me to upgrade, considering that my Live still *works*?

For my system, I currently have a pair of unamped Senn 495s. Brand new Sony V6s will be arriving in the mail next week. My main problem with the Live is that if I turn the volume up more than halfway, I get noticable hiss. This gets worse as the volume rises. Especially during DVDs, which seem to output at quieter volumes on my system, this problem gets annoying. I also hear the Live's sound quality is rather lacking.

I don't have endless money to throw around, (hence the V6s and not an Orpheus) but I want my music to sound good. I've read the threads on audiophile cards, but they're somewhat out of my price range, and I still want my games to function at at least the level of the Live. What do you suppose I should do? Thanks in advance.

 

[matt fury]

The Santa Cruz is supposedly a VERY nice card. Same thing with the Audigy. Both can be had for about 72$ shipped from NewEgg.com From what I've heard, the Santa Cruz has better 2 speaker/headphone positioning, but the Audigy is more future-proof and has sound quality that is noticeably better than the old Live. Dunno which to go with, but for the money, you can't really go wrong with either one.

--
matt fury

 

[Snufkin]

I upgraded from my Live! to my SantaCruz(SonicFury) and my thoughts were "I can't believe I put up with the Live!"

In regards to future-proof(ness), the Audigy is as future proof as the Live! was, and we all know how THAT went

 

[matt fury]

Well, the reason why the Audigy is more future proof is because it supports EAX 3, which, knowing Creative's clout, may very well become the next standard in 3d positional gaming sound.

---
matt fury

 

[andrzejpw]

I love my fortissimo II. Think of it as a santacruz without 5 speaker support. BUT it has optical in and out!!!

gotta love it!

newegg has it for 43 shipped!

 

[Audio-Me]

Enlightenment - http://head-fi.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=7941

 

[Gluegun]

Oh man.. I just upgraded from my live to the Santa Cruz....

oh dear god....

With my DT831's + Total Airhead, I only got "acceptable (but still there) hiss levels with *EVERYTHING*, including the master output, muted. With my Santa Cruz, everything can be max, unmuted, and the analog CD player can be at half, and I will get NO HISS!!

This sound card ROCKS!! Also, if you are using headphones for gaming..... there is NOTHING better!

By the way, the V6's will show you how ****ing hissy the Live is, much more so thant he 495's, and you may not be able to stand listening to it through them, due to hiss.

The santa cruz is *INCREDIBLE* for music....

check shopping.yahoo.com for prices!

 

[misterwight]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I just ordered an OEM card from newegg.com
I pity my wallet...

 

[Audio-Me]

I think you should have saved up for a high quality sound card instead of settling for a budget one. Granted the V6 are budget headphones (you'd still notice the huge benifit), but you wouldn't have to worry about the source being your weak link when you upgrade your headphones and get an amp as well.

Believe me when I say this, the difference in quality between budget cards and professional cards is immense. With a better sound card, your games would sound much better, and you'd hear things from a whole different perspective (incredible imaging, articulate accuracy, etc). The "audiophile" cards would perform greatly better than a live card. The only thing you'll be missing is 3D sound acceleration, you're not missing much. Would you rather have low quality 3D garbage (based on comparison, this is a mere exaggeration to make a point), or high fidelity stereo audio? Surround sound from headphones is outrageous I think, no need for it.

 

[misterwight]

I appreciate the advice, Audio&Me.
I would have gone with a better soundcard, but I don't expect to be upgrading my V6s for a fair while. (I plan to keep them for about 3 years before considering an upgrade, assuming they sound like I expect them to)
Given that, I'd be wasting my money on a $200+ audiophile quality card. For right now, I'm not even considering an amp, so better cans are completely out of my price bracket. I imagine consumer-level soundcards will only improve in sound quality as the years go by, and when I finally get new headphones, I'll see what the market has to offer. On a side note, my computer is kind of slow as it is, so software sound rendering wouldn't be so good for me.

 

[chriscu1]

I also just replaced a SB Live 5.1 with a Santa Cruz...like others have said, it's SOOOOOOO much better.....plus XP drivers work like a charm.

 

[legoman]

i am very happy with my santa cruz.

recommended.

legoman