[wallstreet]

I'm going to get a good set of cans to use with my computer for both listening and gaming. I keep hearing on the forums that the SB Live/Audigy are junk and that the Santa Cruz are the best for an entry level sound card. So should I ditch my newer Audigy and get an older Santa Cruz?

It would really help if I could see some links to reviews that compare the Audigy to the Santa Cruz. Thanks.

 

[Strogian]

It is generally accepted that the Santa Cruz is better for playing music, while the Audigy has better gaming (EAX) support. I'm not sure if anyone would suggest that you actually spend an extra $50+ to go from an Audigy to a Santa Cruz, though. The Live is crap, but the Audigy is actually (from what I've read) pretty close to the SC.

 

[Gluegun]

Well, due to Sensaura headphone positioning and the Virtual Ear program that lets you customize headphone positioning *to your exact headphones and ears*, the Cruz is commonly known to be the best headphone gaming card out there....

Here's a Santa Cruz review that compares the sound quality of the Cruz to pretty much everything...

http://www.epinions.com/content_55647309444

 

[wallstreet]

Well I might have to oppurtunity to sell the Audigy and get a Santa, and not loose much money at all on the deal, so thats why I was asking. I'll read up on more stuff, and let you know what I decide. Thanks.

 

[Gluegun]

Also, it depends on how good your headphones are, and if you are playing mostly new or games of all ages. Can you tell us about both subjects?

 

[wallstreet]

Right now my cans are KSC-35s ... I plan on getting a closed set of cans (around $100) in the future though for both music and gaming.
I guess I play mostly new games ... the oldest that I have and play every now and then is Total Annihilation from 97 ... I don't mess with any of the old DOS stuff. I don't think that drivers supported by old games should be a real issue.

 

[Gluegun]

By old games, I mean "Released any time before two months ago".

 

[wallstreet]

Oh, sorry I completely misunderstood. Yes, I guess I will be playing some old games then ... actually all of my stuff is old except Morrowind, and Warcraft III which I plan to get out right after it comes out.

 

[Gluegun]

Well, EAX Advanced HD will confer a good amount of advantages, and I hear that the headphone positioning in the Audigy with those games is indeed quite up to par...

 

[jarthel]

wrong forum? This is the headphones forum. I think there's a more appropriate section for this thread.

 

[wallstreet]

Sorry, I should have paid more attention to where I was posting.

 

[fyleow]

I just replaced my Live with a Santa Cruz. First thing I notice is that I can have all channels unmuted and still have no hissing. One small problem, where is the bass?

 

[markjia]

You really can't get the same quality sound out of a sub $100 sound card compared to something like a real CDP. You need to move upto at least someting like an Audiophile 2496 (plus maybe a DAC).

 

[Kryogen]

What about the Live VS audigy???

I got a live cause everyone told me the audigy was thr same thing.

 

[Calanctus]

Quote:

Originally posted by markjia You really can't get the same quality sound out of a sub $100 sound card compared to something like a real CDP. You need to move upto at least someting like an Audiophile 2496 (plus maybe a DAC).

That wouldn't be much use for gaming (which the original poster wants). No EAX support at all.