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Thread: Is this a good mid ranged sound card.

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    Is this a good mid ranged sound card.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/Auzentech-X-Plos...QQcmdZViewItem

    I don't have the knowledge in this area but I think that has more features than the Creative X-Fi Xtreme music card. Any feed back would be great.
    I can't understand why those of us who know the least, think of themselves to know the most!

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    Moderator chuckskull's Avatar
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    It's a bit above midrange i'd say. Lot of people like those cards. I went for the X-fi personally, purely because I've used Audigy cards for years with no problems.

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    I think there's a big thread on this card in the anandtech forums which might be worth a gander.

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    Not sure what you want your card for but if its for gaming then experience tells me you will probably get better compatibility and overall performance from a Creative card.

    This is simply because of their broad user base and the fact that most games are written with them in mind.

    Personally, I have made the mistake in the past of seeking better value / more features by buying other cards (Terratec, Turtle beach) only to be hurt later on by compatibility or performance issues.

    If its for editing music or surround sound playback then I can't really comment. I mainly play games and edit video and currently have an X-fi Extreme music (which sounds fantastic in BF2!).

    Cheers

    Chnks

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    Flat cap, Whippets, Cave. Clunk's Avatar
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    I have that card and if you are connecting it directly to an amplifier via optical/coaxial digital cable, it is awesome. Regarding what Chunkers said about compatibility, I've yet to come accross a game that wouldnt work in glorious DTS 5.1 and it sounds awesome. MP3 sound as they should, without being overblown in the bass department, if you want that kind of sound, you can use the on board EQ. The analog ins and outs admittedly arent the best sounding from stock, but you can upgrade the opamps relatively cheaply to some decent ones and have spectacular analog as well as digital sound

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    Quote Originally Posted by Clunk View Post
    I have that card and if you are connecting it directly to an amplifier via optical/coaxial digital cable, it is awesome. Regarding what Chunkers said about compatibility, I've yet to come accross a game that wouldnt work in glorious DTS 5.1 and it sounds awesome. MP3 sound as they should, without being overblown in the bass department, if you want that kind of sound, you can use the on board EQ. The analog ins and outs admittedly arent the best sounding from stock, but you can upgrade the opamps relatively cheaply to some decent ones and have spectacular analog as well as digital sound
    I've read where you can convert any source to 5.1 digital from any analog source, which is very appealing to me. I will be getting the Logitech 5.1 mid ranged system to go along with it (priced at $114 us dollars). I has the sub amplifier, but does it also amplify the satellites as well? NOt sure, ut are you saying that to get a good sound I would need a audio reciever to amplify it just to get a good sound? If this is the case then would need that same set-up for any sound card including the creative X-fi ,or does it have a onboard amplifier?
    I can't understand why those of us who know the least, think of themselves to know the most!

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    radix lecti dave87's Avatar
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    Yup, it is one of the few sound processors to be able to do it - NVidias Soundstorm is the only other one that can

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    Flat cap, Whippets, Cave. Clunk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by manne_29 View Post
    I've read where you can convert any source to 5.1 digital from any analog source, which is very appealing to me. I will be getting the Logitech 5.1 mid ranged system to go along with it (priced at $114 us dollars). I has the sub amplifier, but does it also amplify the satellites as well? NOt sure, ut are you saying that to get a good sound I would need a audio receiver to amplify it just to get a good sound? If this is the case then would need that same set-up for any sound card including the creative X-fi ,or does it have a onboard amplifier?
    I'm not sure what you mean. I was saying that the X-plosion works well with an AV receiver/amp, and you just hook it up with a single cable, much like the way that you would connect a stand alone dvd player. From the Auzentech panel, you can choose what kind of sound it outputs to the amp.

    If you are going the mid range logitech route, you might not see all the benefits of the x-plosion as far as sound quality goes and you might be better off having a look at the x-mystique which is about half the price and has most of the features apart from DTS encoding on the fly.

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    radix lecti dave87's Avatar
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    Clunk - the Auzentech has the ability to 'create' 5.1/6.1/7.1 encoded digital audio from any 2/4/6 channel source - something the Creative cards cannot do. The only other one to be able to do it, was, as I said, Soundstorm (only available on some top end SoA boards)

    The midrange Logitechs are surprisingly good, I'm not sure which ones he means, but the ones I've listentened to have been pretty good. It also gives him the opportunity to upgrade to a better surround sound set with external amp/processor when/if he wants to

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    actually, the x-fi can create 5.1 from any source using it's cmss-3d setting. I have no soundcards to compare it too but it seems to work pretty well with my logitech 5.1 system

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    i had nforce soundstorm (a7n9x-e mobo) and used to use a audigy 2 zs. the audigy 2 zs did sound better and if i remember righthly all the nforce did was play the 2 speaker channel accross the other speakers. just repeating it really. so it was echoed but not delayed if you get what i mean hard to explain in writing.

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    radix lecti dave87's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pmanington View Post
    actually, the x-fi can create 5.1 from any source using it's cmss-3d setting. I have no soundcards to compare it too but it seems to work pretty well with my logitech 5.1 system
    There be a difference - X-Fi just uses ProLogic, where as Soundstorm & X-Plosion turn it into true Dolby Encoded Sound - ProLogic (even v2) sounds terrible in comparison

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    Flat cap, Whippets, Cave. Clunk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dave87 View Post
    Clunk - the Auzentech has the ability to 'create' 5.1/6.1/7.1 encoded digital audio from any 2/4/6 channel source - something the Creative cards cannot do. The only other one to be able to do it, was, as I said, Soundstorm (only available on some top end SoA boards)

    The midrange Logitechs are surprisingly good, I'm not sure which ones he means, but the ones I've listentened to have been pretty good. It also gives him the opportunity to upgrade to a better surround sound set with external amp/processor when/if he wants to
    Crossed wires here i think mate. I have the X-plosion (and the Mystique)

    As far as the speakers go, the logitechs are always going to be PC speakers and the Auzentech cards really do like to be played through their optical connection through a half decent AV amp and speakers. I'm saying that the extra cost of the x-plosion over the mystique, when using the digital connection for everything, will be minimal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Clunk View Post
    Crossed wires here i think mate. I have the X-plosion (and the Mystique)
    Yup, think so - Lack of sleep is really catching up with me

    Quote Originally Posted by Clunk View Post
    As far as the speakers go, the logitechs are always going to be PC speakers and the Auzentech cards really do like to be played through their optical connection through a half decent AV amp and speakers. I'm saying that the extra cost of the x-plosion over the mystique, when using the digital connection for everything, will be minimal.
    Yup, thats true. I have always thought I'd buy the best I could afford at the time to save trouble later - which worked well when I bought my motherboard (NF7-Sv2) and later a surround sound set (Panasonic SCHT900)

    Dave

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    Quote Originally Posted by cougarslam View Post
    i had nforce soundstorm (a7n9x-e mobo) and used to use a audigy 2 zs. the audigy 2 zs did sound better and if i remember righthly all the nforce did was play the 2 speaker channel accross the other speakers. just repeating it really. so it was echoed but not delayed if you get what i mean hard to explain in writing.
    Quote Originally Posted by Clunk View Post
    I'm not sure what you mean. I was saying that the X-plosion works well with an AV receiver/amp, and you just hook it up with a single cable, much like the way that you would connect a stand alone dvd player. From the Auzentech panel, you can choose what kind of sound it outputs to the amp.

    If you are going the mid range logitech route, you might not see all the benefits of the x-plosion as far as sound quality goes and you might be better off having a look at the x-mystique which is about half the price and has most of the features apart from DTS encoding on the fly.
    I did understand the way it is hooked up, I just thought the sound card could project the sound that I needed without having to invest in a reciever or amp in luei of the card and speakers. It seems like too much of an investment for me.
    I can't understand why those of us who know the least, think of themselves to know the most!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Clunk View Post
    Crossed wires here i think mate. I have the X-plosion (and the Mystique)

    As far as the speakers go, the logitechs are always going to be PC speakers and the Auzentech cards really do like to be played through their optical connection through a half decent AV amp and speakers. I'm saying that the extra cost of the x-plosion over the mystique, when using the digital connection for everything, will be minimal.
    So I take it that you mean it's better to use standard home surround sound set-up than the use of PC media speakers, hince the option to go with external amp/reciever to push out more sound. Am I on the same page as you?
    I can't understand why those of us who know the least, think of themselves to know the most!

    P4 2.66ghz.,1Ghz 400mhz Corsair,Maxtor 160GB Sata,
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