[Roller]

Seems you forget that when going from GX 2 to 2.5, Asus was never allowed to support it, or you forget about the lawsuit they got because of false advertising?
And you better not put words on my mouth or actions whatsoever. Stop advising bad soundcards for gaming, when they are next to worthless. And that GX emulation is one of the worst sounding features I've heard on a so called gaming soundcard. Lol.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

 
My point is, for gaming go for Creative, for everything else, go for other brands, like Asus.

That depends on the games and less and less games are requiring EAX/OpenAL..etc.
If the game does not neeed these features then the games audio quality comes from the cards component quality alone. 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Quote:

 
My point is, for gaming go for Creative, for everything else, go for other brands, like Asus.

That depends on the games and less and less games are requiring EAX/OpenAL..etc.
If the game does not neeed these features then the games audio quality comes from the cards component quality alone. 

I agree that not every single game promotes EAX support, but OpenAL on the other hand is a very big thing, specially since it fully enables hardware acceleration.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

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I agree that not every single game promotes EAX support, but OpenAL on the other hand is a very big thing, specially since it fully enables hardware acceleration.

Very few games these days use EAX at all.  Some games still use the OpenAL API but many seem to think they are getting rare also.  Hardware acceleration was great back in the day but with the power of modern CPU's it is really of little consequence.
Compared the number games that are available these days, EAX and even OpenAL are a very small percentage. 

 

[Roller]

You're mixing things up. OpenAL is anything but old, more and more games use it. EAX support is declining, but OpenAL is far from that. I don't get what's so difficult to understand that Creative SQ is lower than virtually all audiophile solutions, but their hardware was indeed made for gaming, which can be easily spotted through the accuracy of the sound. The line of thought of having modern cpus, more than capable of handling the audio load, etc etc etc, is rubbish as having better fps is just one little thing, having more detail as well as having more sounds is essential for gaming. SQ wise, Creative is far from recommended, but for gaming is still the way to go.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

You're mixing things up. OpenAL is anything but old, more and more games use it. EAX support is declining, but OpenAL is far from that. I don't get what's so difficult to understand that Creative SQ is lower than virtually all audiophile solutions, but their hardware was indeed made for gaming, which can be easily spotted through the accuracy of the sound. The line of thought of having modern cpus, more than capable of handling the audio load, etc etc etc, is rubbish as having better fps is just one little thing, having more detail as well as having more sounds is essential for gaming. SQ wise, Creative is far from recommended, but for gaming is still the way to go.

I am mixing nothing up.  OpenAL is not brand new...far from it.  You need to check your facts..
Still the way to go for games that require the features....other then those games the cards with the best soudn quality wins out. 
 

 

[Roller]

Good luck with your quad and hexa computers that can handle just about anything you throw at them. Interesting how you bunch who speak against Creative didn't even bother asking the OP's computer specs, which are a rather important thing when considering an upgrade. I already said my piece, have fun.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Good luck with your quad and hexa computers that can handle just about anything you throw at them. Interesting how you bunch who speak against Creative didn't even bother asking the OP's computer specs, which are a rather important thing when considering an upgrade. I already said my piece, have fun.

I wasn't speaking out against any company just relaying some of the facts that you seem to forget about. 
What type of specs can he possibly have that a soundcard can make the difference between a playable and unplayable game.  Funny.
Just so you have the right information and don't go on thinking OpenAL is actually some new API, OpenAL libraries were first seen about 10 years ago.
BTW, it is " Peace" not "Piece"

 

 

[genclaymore]

Quote:

Seems you forget that when going from GX 2 to 2.5, Asus was never allowed to support it, or you forget about the lawsuit they got because of false advertising?
And you better not put words on my mouth or actions whatsoever. Stop advising bad soundcards for gaming, when they are next to worthless. And that GX emulation is one of the worst sounding features I've heard on a so called gaming soundcard. Lol.

The lawsuit didnt go thru because the Emulation is still in DSGX 2.5  I know because I use it. I not  advising bad sound cards for gaming. Other wise I would had told the op to use onboard audio. Xonars are not bad soundcards this just make you sound like a troll to even say their bad just because creative chipsets have actual EAX And not emulated. It was just creative trying to piss on asus DSGX 2.5 EAX5 emulation feature.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Im looking for an amp solution that would match an ER4 or an AD700.  I don't own the ad700 yet, but i'm strongly considering that or a DT880, depending on what amp solution I decide.
 
I would like something that has excellent positional qualities (for gaming) and will make a drastic improvement in sound quality.    
 
I'm mostly confused about all this X-Fi, EAX features.  I see a lot of rave for them, then I see posts that say not many games utilize them or that they are becoming obsolete.
 
I hear DACs are an expensive option (my budget is around $200ish) and they need to be married with a home theatre amplifier.  I also hear they aren't great for gaming.  It makes music sound nice but positional qualities are absent.
 
At the moment I am thinking of the Xonar STX for its sound capabilities and the Fatality X-fi, due to its front panel port and x-fi.
 
So, any help on what to get?
 
thanks in advance

Do you want just stereo output for headphones or would you want surround also?
Are you considering hooking this card to your HT amp/receiver?
There are only a few soundcards that have amplifiers. 
 
As for your DAC statement, there are a few around here that use a hardware gaming card to connect to a DAC with S/Pdif.
This way they have the gaming features if needed and the DAC/Amp features.  There are many ways to go here...

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Quote:

Im looking for an amp solution that would match an ER4 or an AD700.  I don't own the ad700 yet, but i'm strongly considering that or a DT880, depending on what amp solution I decide.
 
I would like something that has excellent positional qualities (for gaming) and will make a drastic improvement in sound quality.    
 
I'm mostly confused about all this X-Fi, EAX features.  I see a lot of rave for them, then I see posts that say not many games utilize them or that they are becoming obsolete.
 
I hear DACs are an expensive option (my budget is around $200ish) and they need to be married with a home theatre amplifier.  I also hear they aren't great for gaming.  It makes music sound nice but positional qualities are absent.
 
At the moment I am thinking of the Xonar STX for its sound capabilities and the Fatality X-fi, due to its front panel port and x-fi.
 
So, any help on what to get?
 
thanks in advance

Do you want just stereo output for headphones or would you want surround also?
Are you considering hooking this card to your HT amp/receiver?
There are only a few soundcards that have amplifiers. 
 
As for your DAC statement, there are a few around here that use a hardware gaming card to connect to a DAC with S/Pdif.
This way they have the gaming features if needed and the DAC/Amp features.  There are many ways to go here...

 
+1
 
@genclaymore: *facepalm*

 

[169273]

gaming = X-fi
 
everything else = asus/ht/whatever
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
im returning my asus essence st tomorrow because Dolby Headphones is not meant for gaming, nor will it ever be compatible with gaming (Counter-strike 1.6, the most sound dependent game on the PC, maybe for all time)
 

 

[roadcykler]

No idea about gaming usage but I have been very happy with the M-Audio 24/96 card for music. http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496.html