Vista Sound

[_Spanky_]

Hey everyone. I have Windows Vista Ultimate and a Creative Sound Blaster Live!. I know that isn't the BEST sound card but I am having some issues with it. I mostly use my Sony MDR-G57 with my computer and when I play games the bass is muddled. I know those headphones can reproduce decent bass, as they do on my ipod but is there some kind of equalizer or advanced sound config for my card? On my ipod I read the following page and I now have excellent bass on the pod, how can I do this for the computer?

The iPod Poor Bass Response

Many thanks.

*EDIT* I should probably mention that I believe the resistance of the headphones is 32 ohms.

 

[_Spanky_]

Is there no software out there that can help me out?

 

[dizzyorange]

Just to clarify, you're looking for a software EQ that affects all sound coming from your PC, correct?

 

[_Spanky_]

Thanks for responding. I'm not really sure what I need. I don't think an EQ will work too well. Here is what I did on my rockbox'd ipod and the headphones produce bass very well:

Advanced EQ Settings:
Low Shelf Filter -> Cutoff Frequency: 20 Hertz
Low Shelf Filter -> Q: 0.6 Q
Low Shelf Filter -> Gain: 3.0 dB

Is there any way I can do that on my computer?

 

[_Spanky_]

Can ANYONE help me? I am really getting tired of the muddled bass.

 

[Rempert]

Those low shelf settings are rather dubious. I understand the context in which they were made, but it may be pointless because 20 hz is REALLY low. Whatever it is you are hoping to hear, it surely ain't down there.

 

[_Spanky_]

Well, on my iPod the difference is big (maybe default is 60hz?). Are there any settings that would help me out? I don't know a whole lot about computer audio, even though I do enjoy nice sound.

 

[Dorito123]

It would help if you were to upgrade your sound card. The Live sound cards are 2 generations back and not well suited for gaming in 2008.

Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Newegg.com - Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail

I have the Live! and the Audigy as well as the X-Fi version of the sound blaster and the X-Fi is a much nicer product than the other two. My opinion is that is is much better for gaming and audio as compared to the other two. I will say that for music, an external dac is a much better solution. For gaming, go for the 80 dollar X-Fi and I am confident it will eliminate all your woes. Good Luck!

 

[_Spanky_]

Allright, thanks. I will do this when I get a couple dollars ahead.

 

[abbynormal]

Does your sound card have digital out? If so, maybe an external DAC is in order?

 

[_Spanky_]

I am not sure but what I am sure of is that a DAC would be expensive and with my speaker setup I probably wouldn't get the most out of it. At this point I think I will just save up for a new card.

I do have one last question. I have an asus motherboard, it has the onboard ADI SoundMAX HD Audio. Would this better than the Creative SB Live card? Thanks.

 

[Operandi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Spanky- /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not sure but what I am sure of is that a DAC would be expensive and with my speaker setup I probably wouldn't get the most out of it. At this point I think I will just save up for a new card. I do have one last question. I have an asus motherboard, it has the onboard ADI SoundMAX HD Audio. Would this better than the Creative SB Live card? Thanks.

The ADI is a good sound chip; probably better than the Live! in every category on paper but how it actually sounds depends on how well the Asus engineers implement the chip on the board.

The last ADI equipped Asus board I heard had some pretty bad issues in regards to interference from other components on the board. Any sort of HD activity or mouse movement would result in noise artifacts in the analog output, pretty annoying.

 

[Dorito123]

I dont think either the SB or your on board sound are going to give you decent sound spanky. I would definitely invest in a Dac be it low priced or not. The onboard sound or the live cards are good for gaming but you will find they have terrible sound quality for 2 channel music. Here is a link for a product that I think would be great for you and doesn't break the bank.

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

 

[Behemot]

if you want to add bass just check the enhancement enabled/disabled box in the control panel under the sound and audio in Vista

 

[_Spanky_]

Thanks for the link, I will look into one of those. How does a DAC work? Does it work with your existing sound card or is it a sound card or what? I was expecting to see something where I could connect the digital out and then plug in my 2.0 speakers. I'm learning more and more

Right now the onboard sound is pretty nice, I am hearing more and really clearer sound without interference of any kind.

On a side note, there is really a love-hate relationship with this site. I love it for the help but I hate it because I'm having to spend money because now with this knowledge, I enjoy better sound

Thanks all.