[Kryogen]

Hey, I have a revo 7.1 and I always though the gaming performance was poor compared to my old SB Live.

Music was waayyyy better though.

I have grado SR125 phones and a NAD C320BEE amp.

Which soundcard should I get? I want something better than the revo for music. I want a difference

Yet, I want to be able to play games.... not what I do the most, but still.

What about the Xfi range?

Thanks

 

[Zorander]

Use two soundcards: X-fi for gaming and Revolution for music. Problem solved.

 

[Kryogen]

no, i want better music.

 

[Mazuki]

The new X-fi Prelude looks really promising.

 

[event]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Use two soundcards: X-fi for gaming and Revolution for music. Problem solved.

can you use two soundcards at once? In a serendipitous moment, I now have an X-Fi and an AV-710, can I keep the X-Fi used for games and the AV-710 be used for music?

 

[Zorander]

Yes. I would normally assign the X-fi as the default card (so games will automatically use it) and assign my media players (e.g. Foobar) to use the Revo as the output device.

 

[fuzydice]

don't waste money on a new/second soundcard -- go for an external dac and use the coax out on the revo (or usb). be warned though, the dac's on your revo aren't as bad as a lot of people make them out to be, and getting something that will be noticeably better out of the gate will cost more money than you're probably willing to spend.

as for gaming AND music, throw in some old, cheap audigy, and do as others mentioned for making games use one over the other.

 

[Kryogen]

what kind of dac?
How much better than the revo?

Should I get an X-fi instead and then use a dac for music ?

 

[Kryogen]

?

 

[fuzydice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryogen /img/forum/go_quote.gif what kind of dac?

Whatever you can afford.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryogen /img/forum/go_quote.gif How much better than the revo?

Depends entirely on what you end up getting. Start researching

I'd look in the >$200 range, preferably used.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryogen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Should I get an X-fi instead and then use a dac for music ?

Get a cheap audigy if you're going to go the multi-card route, and put most of your money into the DAC. If gaming isn't a huge overbearing priority, just stick with the revo7.1 for gaming. It does alright.

 

[Kryogen]

any dac names u think about?

 

[Kryogen]

whats the difference between the xtreme music and xtreme audio? one is 50, one is 100.

 

[Kryogen]

What are your suggestions for a good dac ?

 

[Asmo]

Go with the extreme music.

You don't need two soundards, just get one with a good digital out, so you can upgrade to a DAC later.

There are a lot of good DACs out there, do some research and try to listen to some, nobdody can tell you what you will like best.



You also would want to upgrade your AMP, the grados are 32 ohm impedance, your NAD has a 270 ohm impedance headphone out, its not a good match (high impendance heapdhones, like sennheiser 580/600/650 (300 ohm) are typically the only headphones that sound good out of NAD amps), you could look into a amp/dac combo type situation with a DAC-1 USB etc, a lot of choices out there really.

Come up with a budget, first, and then spend time doing research and try to buy either used, so you can re-sell the equipment you don't like, or buy from places with good return policies.

 

[Kryogen]

How does the X-FI Compare to the revo 7.1 ? For music.

Thanks