what soundcard to buy?price : 100$

[sabag123]

Hi
i looking for new soundcard
i got the speakers microlab solo 6c and headphones - Shure se215
my motherboard (if it matters) - gigabyte ga-770ta-ud3
my budget is : 100$
i think about asus xonar d1
there is another options?

 

[NamelessPFG]

What do you do with your computer? Gaming? Music? Movies? If gaming, which games?

 

[sabag123]

Gaming , Music,Movies
Games - Battlefield 3,portal 2, i'm not playing in alot of games.
i need the soundcard Mostly for music and Videos

 

[PurpleAngel]

The Xonar D1 is a fairly good sound card......but
The Xonar D1 (& DX) is not the great thing for driving headphones.
And the Shure Se215's are only 20-Ohm and I think the Xonar D1/DX have a high impedance, so not the greatest match.
Even plugging in a Fiio E5 or E6 between the Shures and the Xonar would (should) improve the SE215 sound.
But you can try the SE215 plugged straight in the Xonar D1 first, then decide from there.

 

[sabag123]

i not using the headphones alot
i need the soundcard for my speakers

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I not using the headphones a lot.
I need the sound card for my speakers.

Xonar D1 would be great for speaker use,
Used D1's sell for around $55.

 

[sabag123]

what about creative x-fi xtreme audio?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

What about Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio?

I believe it's an older Creative labs audio processor with added-on (newer) software drivers.
It uses the main computer CPU to process audio functions that other Creative sound card do with the newer Creative audio processing chips.
Never really liked by Creative Labs fans/supporters.

 

[NamelessPFG]

PurpleAngel is right on the money. The XtremeAudio cards are "fakes" (lack the EMU20k1/20k2 DSP that defines a proper X-Fi card), basically Audigy SEs with a different driver package, and thus should be avoided.
 
If you're going to get an X-Fi card, at least make it an XtremeMusic or XtremeGamer (PCI), if not a Titanium (PCI-Express). Then again, it doesn't seem like you play anything that really utilizes DirectSound3D or OpenAL (the Battlefield series ditched 'em with BF:BC2 and BF3, and they sound much worse from a 3D positional audio standpoint for it), so there's little incentive to get an X-Fi card specifically.

 

[sabag123]

i can get creative x-fi titanium 7.1 pci-e
it's better than Xonar d1?
thank you

 

[sabag123]

any help please?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I can get Creative X-Fi Titanium 7.1 PCI-E
It's better than Xonar D1?

I'm going to "guess" they are different.
Any game that comes with built in EAX 5.0 support is going to do better on the Titanium over the Xonar D1.
But I believe direct EAX support in new games is just not there.
I'm guessing the Xonar D1 comes with a better DAC so over all audio quality on the Xonar D1 should be better.
The Xonar D1 comes with Dolby for speakers and headphones, so movies should sound great on the Xonar.
 
What price would you be paying for the X-Fi Titanium (non-HD) card?

 

[sabag123]

it would be 129$ in my country
i can afford it

 

[NamelessPFG]

Ouch, $130 in the US would be Titanium HD money.
 
How much does the X-Fi Titanium HD (not to be confused with all the other Titanium models) cost there?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

It would be 129$ in my country
I can afford it

Your can list your location in your community profile.