lol wow, i dont eve know why I thought it only had an optical in or...I dont know lol
Good to know. But what would be the major difference between the Z card and the Omni USB?
I use only windows 7 and in terms of them both having the same DAC, how are we sure that they do share the same DAC?
Also. Wouldnt a PCIe x1 be a better interface for audio compared to USB? or is the USB cleaner?
and also, would you say the Omni be more convenient compared to a Z card? It does have a volume knob which is cool, so as to not using the keyboard to raise or lower the volume.
Its kind of hard to choose, since for some reason, the Z card just looks more beefed up compared to the Omni. Even though on paper they carry the same specs. Something must be better in the Z card that the Omni doesnt have. But that would have to be diggin really dip into the subject.
Edit:
So i went to the creative labs website, tried to talk to a customer service rep. Asked them about if they knew if both had the same DAC...they dont know. I was like huh?
But from what specs show on their website, when using their compare feature, Sound Blaster Z is better than omni in some aspects but everything else is the same. SNR is 100db for omni and 116db for Z. For Max playback quality the omni does 24 bit/ 96khz and the Z doesn 24 bit/ 192khz in stereo direct mode and 24 bit/ 96hz in surround. Z has dts connect and omni doesnt. Z has optical in and Omni doesnt....
So i guess if the price drops this BF to what it was last year, I would say its a better buy if you only use it for your pc only/ windows.
Omni may be more favorable if you use Mac/Windows and carry a laptop with you as well. Both have the same functions but it seems the Z has better internals, unless someone can find that info. We already know that the ZxR has better internals anyways but i dont think we know how much the internal differ from the Z and Omni.
but for now, guess I will go with the Z, especially that I currently found out that my GFX card going into PCIe 3.0 x8 wont really get affected performance wise. Im sure that once GFX cards become more powerful and start using more bandwidth, PCIe lanes will matter...but by then, All the good stuff that current x99 platform has right now, will make its way to the mainstream platform down the road.
Or we can all just go enthusiast and get ourselfs a 5960k six core unlocked with more PCIe lanes, ddr4, compared to the mainstream quadcore with 16 pcie lanes and ddr3.
I wonder if sound cards will ever utilize more than just x1 pcie slots down the road? probably not anytime soon or ever?
. A prime example is the Mad Dogs review thread, chock full of useful stuff, but it is over 400 pages long, had been locked and now has a second one over 200. It's taking a while...
