[oshox]

I am looking to upgrade from on-board sound and I wanted some advice on what card to get.
My primary uses are Gaming, Music, and Movies; in that order. My phones are Grado SR-125. I plan on building a CMoy amp in the near future, and I may upgrade to a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-880's.

The X-Fi XtremeMusic is a very attractive offering because of it's sub-$100 price tag, killer gaming support, and the "X-Fi CMSS®-3D" feature. So you don't have to read: That emulates a 9-speaker environment through headphones; similar to Dolby Headphone, but its driver-controlled so it will work with any application.

I have heard from many sources that the X-Fi's have poor audio quality for music and are overpriced. The Chaintech card looks like a stellar deal, but it seems to lack any kind of EAX support or a 3D-Headphone feature.

I am hoping someone could recommend a good card with similar features in the same price range that's NOT made by Creative. I have experience with their awful drivers and inadequate support. I'm looking for something with some EAX support (EAX HD is redundant since I don't know of a single game that supports it) and a 3D Headphone option. If the 3D Headphone feature can be achieved through software (besides Vista) I would absolutely love to hear about it.

Thanks Audiophiles!

 

[touchzen]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102190
Free shipping with code EMC109FREESHPPLT
I don't think any card can beat it at this price.

 

[Graphicism]

Don't waste your money: $21.99

 

[oshox]

The X-Fi Plat looks like an awesome deal, but mail-in rebates suck. I used to work for BBY, so I have experience... Plus, it's from Creative. Definatley better than the XtremeMusic, though, thanks.

Now, for the Chaintech:
I did a little digging, and I can't find much information about EAX support. A newegg customer comment says it can be "emulated," but that sounds like it'd be performance-draining during gaming. I know this isn't a gaming forum, but it is a concern.
And can I get emulated surround with the VIA chipset?

 

[K31TH3R]

if you're looking for EAX 2+ support you're basically forced to purchase a creative product.

if you're more of a gamer than a person that listens to music, the x-fi platinum w/ rebate is definitely the better choice. great price.

if you're looking for high quality music, and care less about EAX/games then the chaintech is perfect.

 

[oshox]

Damn them and their monopoly.
Where's the open 3D audio specification?!

 

[K31TH3R]

the only one i can think of is miles 3d position audio. and it's meh at best.


you kind of have to sacrifice one thing or another when making this decision, either sacrifice EAX, or sacrifice your sanity dealing with creatives drivers.

i'm kind of exaggerating the problems with the drivers, but they definitely do happen more often than most.

 

[Ahriman4891]

Chaintech is not really "better" than X-fi for music quality. It's a very good card for the money, but don't expect miracles for $20. I should put it back into my machine one day for an A/B comparison...

If your primary use is gaming, get an x-fi. If you absolutely require something else, look into auzentech x-meridian/x-plosion etc. that use C-Media chip IIRC. Bluegears also uses the same chip, and their cards are cheaper. X-meridian definitely supports dolby headphone (and DDL encoding, so it can output DDL to your receiver via digital out). Sound quality is said to be very good (I didn't hear the card though), and opamps are socketed so you can upgrade them.

 

[Azultra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ahriman4891 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you absolutely require something else, look into auzentech x-meridian/x-plosion etc. that use C-Media chip IIRC. Bluegears also uses the same chip, and their cards are cheaper.

Hell no, only the latest CMI8788-based cards are drinkable, ban older C-Medias

My recommendations :
- Hercules Fortissimo IV @35€
- M-Audio Revolution 5.1 @70$ ( a little less good for gaming than Bluegears b-Enspirer @95$, only for a driver matter, but has a solid headphone amp )
- Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 HiFi @110$

They of course haven't EAX HD (3/4/5), but someday justice will be made..

Quote:

Originally Posted by oshox /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn them and their monopoly. Where's the open 3D audio specification?!

There may be patent problems ( as usual ), and another problem is that the OpenAL maintainers are paid by CL

 

[oshox]

The bluegears card really caught my eye, thanks. Too bad it's a bit pricey; I'll just watch for a deal. I really appreciate the advice, though.

 

[Ahriman4891]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azultra /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hell no, only the latest CMI8788-based cards are drinkable, ban older C-Medias

If you say so

I'm definitely not an expert on that line of cards. I just heard a lot of accolades for X-Meridian. Oshox, you may want to check if any bluegears card uses the latest C-media chip.

 

[oshox]

Bluegears B-Enspirer:
CMI8788-based
Supports EAX2, D3D, & A3D
Hardware DTS & AC3 Support
Dolby Headphone Support

We have a winner. Should be perfect as a general-use soundcard. Once I get it, I'll let you all know how it sounds.

 

[Redo]

If you play games, get the X-Fi. The only complaints of the audio quality is from the onboard DAC, which still has great sound (could be better for the price though). You can always go with an external DAC down the line and get bit-perfect playback.

 

[Metaphysical]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oshox /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bluegears B-Enspirer: CMI8788-based Supports EAX2, D3D, & A3D Hardware DTS & AC3 Support Dolby Headphone Support We have a winner. Should be perfect as a general-use soundcard. Once I get it, I'll let you all know how it sounds.

how good is the sound compared to the x-fi sound wise?

 

[Alucard]

If you are planning to get a separate dac then X-Fi will be the best choice I think as you get ALL gaming effects available and killer sound quality at the same time. If you don't plan to get a separate dac then the more expensive CMI cards will probably be a better choice as they will most likely sound better than the X-Fi using the analog out (the X-meridian do at lest according to reviews, and the people that bought it).

Note that the CMI cards do not support OpenAL atm so there will be no hardware acceleration in Vista for them. Bad for gaming. And you will lose some effects from newer games like Quake 4.
OpenAL compatible drivers are under development for the X-Meridian though.

One more thing about the CMI cards is that they use more cpu time than the X-Fi, thus you will get a bit lower frame rates, 5-10 fps maybe.

Here is a review on the X-Meridian vs X-Fi: http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound/399/1/
It blows away the X-Fi in sound quality but puts more stress on the system.
Even though they do not test the B-Enspirer, the system performance will probably be very similar to the X-Meridian.

If you are planning to use surround sound, then the CMI cards (X-Meridian at least) will be much better than the X-Fi from what I have read.