Soundcard - MAudio Revolution 7.1 vs HDA X-Mystique

[BenW]

I've currently got a soundblaster live 5.1 with some Logitech Z2200 speakers (THX/2.1/200W RMS/400W Peak).

Looking to get a new card and i'm looking at these 2:

M-Audio Revolution 7.1
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_g...on71-main.html

HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 GOLD
http://www.ihda.co.kr./skin/ihda/goo...e=010000027136


I might be able to get the M-Audio for £40 inc and the Mystique is £41 inc at OCUK.

So asume they're the same price, what should i get? From what i've read i'm tempted by the mystique

Many Thanks
Ben

[StoneNewt]

So asume they're the same price, what should i get? From what i've read i'm tempted by the mystique

I asked a similar question and ended up thinkin' that the Mystique was the better option due to support, M-Audio doesn't seem to be quite as good, driver updates are non-existent so if you have a driver issue you're stuffed & there seems to be a fair number of those.

[BenW]

Thanks

I've asked this on 2 other forums too. On AV Forums i've had 1 reply which said they should both be pretty much the same in quality and the other (Phone forum) they said they'd go for the m-audio because of the companys background but didn't know about the mystique

Still looking for suggestions, still leaning towards the mystique

[kempez]

What about the SB Audigy ZS OEM for around £40?

[oralpain]

Personally, I'm going with the Mistique. Creative has been going downhill since the AWE32.

[toolsong]

There's plenty of info about soundcards in the Computers-as-Source Components area on Head-Fi.

Also a massive thread about the Mystique here on OCAU but you'll need to register first

[GuruJockStrap]

What are your needs from the card?

Games? DVD's? Stereo music?

Also, what speakers will you be connecting up to them? A set of desktop speakers? To a stereo amplifier and Hi-Hi Speakers? Or an AV surround sound amp?

The main benefit of the X-Mystique is the ability for it to both decode and encode a Dolby Digital signal. You can then output it to an appropriate surround sound amp and have true Dolby Surround Sound in games, DVD's and Music that support it, just like the popular Nvidia Sound Storm was able to do.

The beauty of M-Audio products is they're superb sound quality due to the VIA Envy HT sound chip and excellent DAC's and components on the card.

Connect the card up to decent speakers and you'll experience the best sounding audio short of proffessional cards. And yes, much better than any of Creatives offerings.

The bad thing with both cards is sound processing in games (direct sound) is offloaded to the CPU as the cards sound processor are unable to do it in hardware, so it is completed on the main CPU in software.

What does this mean?

Absolutely nothing if you're running a high end CPU or are playing games where the graphics card is the limiting factor (high resolutions). You might experience a small drop in FPS, but we are only talking of a few FPS and not 20.

Another aspect with games is EAX.

Creative refuse to give out the license for this technology so as a result, the highest EAX level these cards will support is EAX 2 (think Creative are up to EAX 4).

Again, due to EAX not being supported in hardware, its done entirely in software and the main CPU and obviously doesn't sound as good as Creatives.

[BenW]

I won't be getting the audigy because it can't compete for sound quality.

Thanks for the links, will have a read!

It's going to be used for mainly music through the speakers in first post. Will do a bit of gaming on it but i'm happy with the fps i currently get with the soundblaster.

Thanks for the bits you just added. The output will just be a plain 3.5mm directly to the sub then off that to the speakers.

If sound cards are unlikely to get much better in the future then this could be the longest lasting component i ever buy meaning it could one day be used with a DD amp.

Is the extra quality of the m-audio going to be noticed in every day usage on mid range speakers?

Thanks
Ben

[GuruJockStrap]

Sorry, completely missed the speaker bit!

In that case, M-Audio all the way!

Music will sound superb and so will your games in stereo.

[BenW]

I'm not sure if i'll be able to get it for £40 or £80 though. Someone on this forum is selling it for £40 (Same price as mystique) but if i can't get that then its £80

[toolsong]

If you are looking for the best value 2 channel source mainly for music, you can't go past the Chaintech AV710 for ~US$24 using its switchable HQ 2.0 mode from the rear output.

[GuruJockStrap]

Theres nothing wrong with the M-Audio Revolution 5.1 version.

In fact, the 7.1 is complete overkill anyway as your only using stereo.

My Terratec DMX 6 Fire (Same Envy HT sound chip) is 5.1 also but I'm only using it more stereo as its connected to my Hi-Fi Amp and speakers.

The M-Audio Revolution 5.1 will fits your needs perfectly and be cheaper to boot.

[philb34]

Sorry to hi-jack,what about soundcard for connecting to a 5.1 home theatre system?

[GuruJockStrap]

Sorry to hi-jack,what about soundcard for connecting to a 5.1 home theatre system?

For the best results you need either an Nvidia Sound Storm (sadly no longer with us. Was found on NForce 2 motherboards but Nvidia ditched it for NForce 3 and 4. Rumours that Nvidia will release a Sound Storm card in PCI form) or the HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 GOLD.

[BenW]

So the revo 5.1 is £60 and the x-mystique is £40

I'm doubting my speakers will take advantage of either cards so i'll go for the mystique...good?

[GuruJockStrap]

I'd personally go with the Revo due to the better sound quality, but you might not be able to tell the difference between them with the speakers you have.

I'm sure you can find a Revo 5.1 cheaper than £60 anyway.

I've not used the X-Mystique but from the reviews I've seen of it, the Mystique wins and loses out to an Audigy in certain tests like Signal to Noise Ratio and RightMark Audio Analyser, but Revo cards have always been superior to the Creative cards in these tests.