[[H]ardwareNick]

hi all, im a noob here and a noob to audio. I have decided to get a set of z680s and im having trouble deciding which card to pair it with

I listen to music ALOT but i also game quite a fair bit - this is the dilemma

Revo - superb music quality, not much support for games, big performance hit

A2ZS - best for gaming period, music qual not as good as the Envy based cards

AV710 - excellent value, great music quality - im not sure about its gaming performance and performance hits

what do you guys reckon ?

thanks
Nick

 

[3rdoptic]

i think the Zalman phones have pretty bad record in these types of forums

the question is how much you wanna spend..
personally im in the same dilemma, however i found out that doom3 does not use all Creatives 3d sound etc it uses the CPU instead.. im throwing away the idea of a audigy..

 

[djooky]

Hi, I doubt you would catch any SQ difference between those cards through a set of z680s, AV710 offers best value, Audigy2 best gaming performance and gaming SQ.

 

[Mr.Radar]

Get an OEM Audigy 2 (non-ZS) for gaming and for your Z680's and an AV-710 for your music listening. If you get the Chaintech be sure to take a look at the setup guide linked in my sig.

 

[Shizelbs]

I agree, with the z680s, just go with the Audigy 2 ZS. Its the best for games. Even through headphones the positioning the Audigy 2 can do is really quite effective, IMO. Its rather terrible for music (compared to my Philips CD player), but the z680s aren't exactly king of the hill in the world of speakers. z680s + Audigy 2 ZS should make for a very fun gaming setup.

 

[Edwood]

Welcome to Head-fi.

You will know the meaning of the phrase "Sorry about your Wallet" soon enough.

So, what's your budget?

-Ed

 

[The_Mac]

In your post, you made it seem that music was more important to you than gaming (or at least that's how it seemed to me). Might I suggest this then:

Don't get the Logitech 680's. They're quite a poor value for a music speaker. Excellent for movies and gaming, but bad for music. I'd instead suggest the Megaworks 550. They're still a quite good movie/game speaker, but much better for music.

With the saved money, you could afford to get an OEM Audigy2zs and a Chaintech AV710. Then you'll plug the rears and center/LFE into the Audigy, and you'll get a dual stereo male->single stereo female mini so that the signal from the 710 and the A2 both go to the front channels. (like plugging the 550's into the Audigy and the chaintech at the same time).

Then you'll be all set. A good gaming card and a good music card feeding a nice set of speakers.

You could also try plugging a mini-mini from the 710 output to the A2 line-in and then just plugging the 550's into the audigy2 ports, but I don't know if the A2 can just patch the signal straight from line-in to line-out or if it needs to resample and garble it. Something to try maybe.

 

[richx]

The_Mac's first suggestion with the MW550 + A2 + AV710 is a good one ... Don't bother re-routing the AV710 thru the A2 ...

 

[[H]ardwareNick]

thanks for the replies guys, something ironic, i had just got through the dilemma of choosing the 550's for AUD 320 odd or the z680s for AUD 450 odd and i had picked the z680s. I was scared about the problem of the 550s blowing so i picked the z680s. Well i did hear that because of the lack of tweeters, the z680s did not fare as well in music as the 550s. Yes, I do place more importance on music so if i can get just one or two more people with first hand experience telling me that the 550's have better music quality then i will def switch.

As for the soundcard....i still wouldnt have the money for two soundcards. I live in Australia and i can only get the AV710 shipped in for about 80-100 AUD or i can get an A2ZS for around 170 AUD.

"With the saved money, you could afford to get an OEM Audigy2zs and a Chaintech AV710. Then you'll plug the rears and center/LFE into the Audigy, and you'll get a dual stereo male->single stereo female mini so that the signal from the 710 and the A2 both go to the front channels. (like plugging the 550's into the Audigy and the chaintech at the same time)."

sorry ? im a total noob at audio so please clarify it ?

thanks a heap guys
Nick

 

[Velda]

im rather sure the A2 wont just patch that simply.

And welcome to Head-Fi Nick. From your name id guess you are from the [H] forums?

 

[dj_mocok]

Hardware nick,

you can get M-Audio soundcard from a shop on Pitt street (sydney), the one selling musical instruments (guitars, pianos, and stuff)
For PC speakers that are great for music, i have yet to come across one...
most logitech i tried sounded " BOOM BOOM BOOM.... + some unclear midrange and recessed highs... "

although monsoon planar media is pretty good for music, but unfortunately they are discountinued..

hey, how about this one ?
looks cool... but dont know if it sounds like whats mentioned...

http://www.altecpro.com/pdfs/SLS6221_R01_BRO.pdf