[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeri Wise words, hyrbidamp. I think it's very strange that i read tons of reviews all over the web, and this is the only place where (allmost ) everybody agrees the Audigy 2 ZS is crap. I've ordered it, and i will decide for myself

I have an Audigy2 ZS Platinum myself, replacing a Revo. I've had issues with the Revo, such as popping when the sound card is powered on and off and when the drivers initialized. Besides, the Revo's available drivers are crappy - I had the beginning of even Windows sounds cut off (i.e. "You Got Mail" sounded more like "Doo Got Mail"). Worst of all, some gaming sounds got cut off early instead of playing all the way through (a common problem with many of my games when run on any system which has Sensaura support).

The Audigy2 ZS may have been a step downwards from the Revo in terms of absolute sound quality, but at least my Windows sound troubles have disappeared. I have yet to play the very games which had caused issues with the Revo and other Sensaura-supported cards.

Oh, well... You can't win everything. In fact, I'd rather take a technically inferior-sounding soundcard which has relatively few issues than a great-sounding card which has a lot of annoyances. (The Revo turned out to be much closer to the latter - a good-sounding card which has a lot of annoying bugs with the sound; the A2 ZS does have buggy software but otherwise has few issues with the sound other than the sound cutting out on certain newer games like Doom 3.)

 

[CingKrab]

Eagle_Driver, why don't you use the Audigy 2 ZS as the default card in Windows to play all your normal windows noises and the Revo for music exclusively?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CingKrab Eagle_Driver, why don't you use the Audigy 2 ZS as the default card in Windows to play all your normal windows noises and the Revo for music exclusively?

Because I have always had very bad luck running two soundcards in every one of my systems. And using two soundcards will always force IRQ sharing with a device which is extremely allergic to IRQ sharing. (In my case, when I had the Revo, every one of the IRQs are used up by different devices, and the only IRQ available for additional sharing belongs to my AGP videocard, which absolutely hates IRQ sharing.) And that will cause constant crashes and lock-ups. The only way that I could get two soundcards working correctly is if I disconnect my DSL modem, disable the NIC, and remove the dial-up modem and mouse from all of my systems. Which means settling for a seriously crippled Windows installation with absolutely no Internet access at all whatsoever.

By the way, the Revo's sound quality even with music is way overhyped. I've found it to sound bland and lifeless, even after extensive experience. And my experience with it is not so good even with music: It delivers a weird seashore whooshing sound in the background no matter what, even with the latest drivers. Worse, the Revo's drivers have not been updated in nearly six months - and the latest drivers still sucked. And it cuts off the opening part of the music, as well, especially when played from a hard drive.

Also, I cannot use headphones at all on the computer, no matter which soundcard I would have used. This is because I live under very strict rules at home - they want me to hear all of the outside noises, not overpowered by any music at all whatsoever.

 

[MikoLayer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeri Wise words, hyrbidamp. I think it's very strange that i read tons of reviews all over the web, and this is the only place where (allmost ) everybody agrees the Audigy 2 ZS is crap. I've ordered it, and i will decide for myself

where else on the web do the users enjoy the sound of high fidelity headphones and amp to power them? i hate to generalize, but in this case the chances are those users raving about audigy are using something along the line of logitech z-680 or klipsch promedia 5.1 and using winamp and dfx for bloated bass.

 

[veruvius]

30% usage is pretty absurd, so I assume that's with an application open and an older computer.

Computers have become multi-media centers because they are cheaper and convenient than going the dedicated route. Of course Head-fiers will bash the Audigy, they are audiophiles.

Mikolayer: When you refer to the Z-680's and the ProMedia's, what would be your listening choice? I'm guessing HT setup, or something expensive in general. I'm planning on getting the 680's down the road, and just wondering if you know something better around the price point (I'm on the road to being an audiophile, but no where close, too poor for that). Also, seeing how I don't have any good audio equipment, I don't know about any good media players. What do you recommend (and it better be free)?

As for the original topic, I think it comes down to the fact that the other higher fidelity options are intended for people who don't game much, or at the very least, assumes that if you're getting a product like theirs, you won't have a problem spending for an Audigy just for gaming.

 

[MikoLayer]

z-680s do seem to get good feedback for what they are meant for, basic pc gaming and decent HT. with some more budget i would urge you to spring for cambridge megaworks 5.1. unfortunately i am not big into holleywood movies, and 99% of stuff i watch is 2d (anime) so i dont really need or have a 5.1 setup

right now i am using midiland s2-4100 and i like them a lot for animes i watch.
a good basic media player would be wmp classic, has low cpu utilization with best image quality (vmr9/yv12) and built-in subtitle display capability. many have reported when playing newer high definition WMV clips, zoomplayer is the smoothest one of the bunch, a good player loaded with features. the one i am using is gomplayer, high customizable, comes with most of the codecs and plays incomplete files without buffering, best subtitle features and etc.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Being specific, the Audigy2 ZS series, as a single solution which tries to do everything well, turned out to be the jack of all trades - and the master of few (if anything). Other soundcards do better than the Audigy2 ZS in a few key areas - but not all at once.