Soundcard suggestions please

[Golem]

I moved to an entirely new PC rig just over a year ago and still have yet to move the sound card over, Creative's Audigy 2 Ex Platinum, bought shortly after its release in 2002. It has to be the oldest component I own but has done me rather well till... well, a year ago. I'm sure it will still function nicely if I actually installed it.

But now I'm considering picking up a brand new sound card as I'm sure significant advances have been made in the last six years. I've not kept up with the latest on sound boards all that much and if it's still just Creative I should be concerning myself with.

I'm getting myself a new headset as the cable on mine is chewed through (cats, not me) and the left speaker has snapped off. I am taking this opportunity to nab a 5.1 set because it may make pinpointing sounds that bit more accurate, and games like FEAR 2 that bit more immersive. So, yes, I would want a card capable of delivering 5.1, but as even motherboards come with 5.1 onboard sound, I'm sure this doesn't need saying.

So, game-and/or-music-heads, I'd appreciate any advice based on your own experience of what's on offer! Ta.

[evilgangsta]

I love my Razer Headset and Soundcard combo.
But have also heard good things about the new asus soundcard.

[Dragon]

I've been fairly satisfied with my x-fi prelude, though they're not exactly cheap, especially now it seems.

I tried a 5.1 headset, and have since dumped it and gone back to a pair of high quality stereo cans and let the sound card produce pseudo surround with CMSS for directionality.

[CyberDrac]

The Xonar Range by ASUS have been very well received by gamers and audiophiles alike, some of them are very high end kit i.e. 127dBa SNR

[Golem]

Thanks for the Xonar leads - I checked reviews (and prices) for both the Xonar D2X and the Xonar DX 7.1 card. They are very highly rated indeed, except the biggest stumbling block with the D2X is no support for an AC97 front panel connection.

Which is why I then looked at the Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-e, Asus' 'budget' version of the previous. Against Creative products, this stands up really well actually - seems the ratio of cost to performance is not 1:1 at all, judging by this reviewer's enthusiasm. More crucially, it supports front panel jacks.

I think I've reached a decision - ta.

[RoundUp]

I had a Terratec DM 6 Fire once.. still got but the drivers are a bitch, so not in current PC, came with a frount panel box thing, with jacks and midis, and the such, and btw this is me thick and lazy, but the frount palenl jack you mention, supported by the Xonar, would this mean I could plug my panel box thing back in and have it working? Only I love pluging my Guitar through my PC, and would be nice to do this for a reanobable price, not couching up annother 200 fir a sound card, where basically, even an ok sound card sounds good through the right speakers! I think the diffrence between some of it is rediculous, you would have to compare the two to notice the improvement!

Lost the thread of question.. but what the hell!

[Golem]

If the front panel uses an AC97 connection - then yes!

[RoundUp]

oh cool, yea!

umm... thats the cable resembling an ide with a few distinctions?

[CyberDrac]

it tends to only have about 6 connections so a very short IDE ... you're probably thinking of a custom Creative type connection if it's any longer

[RoundUp]

ah well looked it up. no i dont have an AC97 in it, its infact very much like an IDE... If i had a spare one i would see if it fits... and if my manual wasn't in french I would consult it! oh well, I may have to loose this box
Any one know someone who wants a Terratec DMX 6fire? very good, just out dated. and I have no luck with the drivers, think it sonflicts with something! no? oh well

[Golem]

Well, I got a Xonar 7.1 PCI-e card and a Speedlink Medusa NX headset. Not bad at all! The sound card driver interface is easy to use and has some cool features. The HD audio front panel connector works fine with my case, which was a relief. I had to shunt things about inside though because the nvidia cards were covering both PCI-e 1x slots.

Talking of which, anyone actually put in a PCI-e 1x card before? It feels flimsier than a SATA interface, especially when it would unseat slightly when screwing it in against the case slot. Works though, so I think I'm safe.

I haven't got a 5.1 speaker setup never mind 7.1. But the headset is supposed to be 5.1 (which I thought was an odd concept at first.) Still, this 5.1 headset actually works well in movies! I tried it with FEAR 2. The game doesn't seem to use sound brilliantly in all cases and the directional stuff is a LITTLE sensitive, in that talking characters sounded more off to the left or right than they appeared to be on screen. But when guards and such enemies were moving in from other directions and trod on glass or moved a chair, I could immediately tell where they were and do something about it, which is a good feeling in a game like this. I think I still have some adjustments to make because it feels like there's not enough bass. I'm turning it up for sound effects and music but the dialogue is sounding a tad harsh on my ears!

I also didn't know this headset has a vibration feature. I'm guessing it's activated based on the amount of bass? I don't know, but when the game starts and I'm in the APC (and when certain mega-explosive events take place), the effect is incredibly immersive!

Talking of volume, the headset is extremely loud. I have windows' sound turned down to 50%, in game down to about 20% and the volume dials on the headset down to about 3.5/10, and that sounds about right!

Short version: Happy with my new kit.