[audiogamer]

Hi all,
 
Trying to decide between Xonar DG ($30) and Auzentech Forte ($110).
 
Xonar DG pros: Dolby 5.1 headphone with headphone amp, dirt cheap
 
Forte Pros: Overall better card, CMSS 3D, Better amp
 
Will be using Brainwavz hm5's with the card (65% gaming, 35% music) and had a few questions.
 
1. Is Dolby 5.1 significantly better than the CMSS for gaming?
 
2. Currently have soundblaster x-fi platinum with front bay. Is it worth getting one of these cards? (I really like the idea of having a built in headphone amp)
 
3. Which card has better drivers/more stable?
 
4. Any other card with a built in headphone amp around $110 or less?
 
5. which card will be a better solution to eventually hook up a decent set of 5.1/7.1 speakers to?
 
Any opinions/help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[NamelessPFG]

1: CMSS-3D Headphone wipes the floor with Dolby Headphone in games that use DirectSound3D or OpenAL, because it's not reducing the 3D sound space to virtual 5.1/7.1. Instead, it's closer to an actual binaural presentation, complete with height cues.
 
But in games with software audio engines that downmix the sound to 5.1/7.1 to begin with, they're about even. If those are the only games you play, then the X-Fi cards lose a lot of their gaming advantages since they're not using EAX 3/5 or exposing the actual 3D sound buffer.
 
2: Coming from an X-Fi Platinum, you'd probably get cleaner analog output, though it would be more practical just to add your own external headphone amp and get the adapter needed for S/PDIF to feed a DAC down the road. The only exception is if you're concerned about the longevity of the old PCI interface, in which case buying an X-Fi Forte or Titanium HD should keep you set for a while.
 
Still, while having a dedicated headphone amp built-in adds to the value proposition, think about this: do you match your headphones to your amp, or do you match your amp to your headphones?
 
3: From what I've heard, they both have their moments of suck, hence why both have modded driver packages (like this one for Xonar cards). In my experience, though, the X-Fi Prelude, Forte, and Titanium HD drivers work fine most of the time, except for some rare instances where I can't switch to the needed mode (either Game Mode for EAX 5 and CMSS-3D Headphone, or Audio Creation Mode for bit-matched playback and ASIO; I never use Entertainment Mode). In general, however, people report better driver experiences on the X-Fi side of things when they're using the newer PCI-Express-based cards, especially the Titanium HD.
 
4: There's Creative's new Recon3D cards, which are pitched to have dedicated headphone amp circuitry, but I'm skeptical if they're worth buying at current prices over an X-Fi Titanium HD without having one to review.
 
5: 5.1/7.1 speakers down the road, huh? That actually puts the X-Fi Forte above the X-Fi Titanium HD for convenience's sake. You can choose whether it mutes the speakers when headphones are plugged in or not via a driver checkbox.
 
The big thing that complicates things as far as recommending either sound card to you, though, is that you already happen to have one. Why do you want to replace it? Is a headphone amp the only reason?

 

[audiogamer]

Headphone amp is definitely a big part. I like the idea of switching to PCIe as it will be more convenient to me for the future (although this is not super necessary). I also saw that the X-fi forte is at a good price, probably is a lot better than my prior gen x-fi platinum and will last longer going forward.
 
The other option, as you stated nameless, is to buy an amp. Is there one that's reasonably priced that will fit in my situation? I don't like the idea of spending $100 on an amp when I can just spend $100 on a new card that's better than mine with an amp built in that will last me longer into the future.
 
By the way, thank you very much nameless for your response.
 
Edit: Also in consideration would be the recon3d although I just haven't heard anything about it. Which would be better? recon or forte?

 

[NamelessPFG]

Personally, I'm a bit more trusting of the higher-end X-Fi cards like the Forte over the new Recon3D cards, provided that the Forte's from a newer batch with heatsinks on the EMU20k2 DSP that has the notorious flaws from earlier batches fixed. The card I had did have a heatsink and worked fine, and was originally purchased in March 2011.
 
There's a chance I'll change my mind if I can get a Recon3D card to review (specifically, I need to put EAX 5 and whatever the replacement for CMSS-3D Headphone is to the test, not to mention ASIO and bit-matched playback and so forth), but I won't shell out that much money just to resell it after I'm done reviewing.