Audigy 2/4 or X-fi?

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fredgiblet

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Jul 8, 2006
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I'm currently running onboard sound on my mobo and I'm thinking of putting in a discrete sound card. I want a Creative Labs (because they are kind of a standard), and I want to know if the price difference between the following cards is worth it:

Audigy 4 $68
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102004

Audigy 2 ZS $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102178

X-fi Xmusic $122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102188

I'm not a huge audiophile so price is as important as audio quality to me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
You didn't mention which motherboard you are using...Tom's did a comparo of motherboard sound versus add in card, ie Audigy. Guess what, motherboards didn't hurt gaming performance enough to make a difference and the sound quality was indistinguishable. The Creative Extreme boards have a lot of fluff, unless you are seriuosly into your music, record your own, or watch DVDs primarily on your desktop, I would use the on board sound, assuming it is a recent board, two years old at the max I think would be a good place to cap it.
 
i dont see any other reason not to buy one... unless you have really crappy speakers.
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Too lazy for rebates, so the question comes down to does the X-fi perform/sound enough better than the Audigy 2/4 to justify the cost?
 
In terms of true sound output, the audigy 2 zs is either better or just as good as the Xfi, they added several software type upgrades, but the internal amplification, and cleanliness of the signal is no better. And Ironically enough the Sudigy 2 zs platinum actually has onboard home theater reciever output capability. WHICH THEY REMOVED for the xfi series so that you have to purchase a near 100 dollar addon. If you are not searching for "the best that possilbly exists" buy the 2zs but stay away from the 4 series, If I recall they kind of sucked, and were more developer cards, like an Nvidia Quadro compared to a 7900 gtx. I could be wrong, but i've certainly never heard anything good about em.
 
In terms of true sound output, the audigy 2 zs is either better or just as good as the Xfi,
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Whoa. I think you MAY have your models criss-crossed.

Double check, but I believe you are referring to the 4 series when you speak of the Xfi series not being much of an improvement. The 4 series was not much of an upgrade to the 2 series, but I would say the Xfi is a MAJOR upgrade, especially if I am speaking to audiophiles. Here is the review on Tom's:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/08/18/creative_x/

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the 2 series, i use one in my laptop. I have an X-fi in my desktop that I use for recording and mixing, however, my main desktop, I use the onboard sound (MSI 915G) and it works great for any game that I have, Oblivion, Thief3 (unable to use EAX), HalfLife2

I would say not to get the Xfi if price is an issue, it is more card than MOST people will ever use.
 
You didn't mention which motherboard you are using...Tom's did a comparo of motherboard sound versus add in card, ie Audigy. Guess what, motherboards didn't hurt gaming performance enough to make a difference and the sound quality was indistinguishable.
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I missed that article. Where is the link? But here's my answer to that.

Would onbarod sound hurt gaming performance? No.
Would a nice x-fi give you some boosted framerates? Yes

And how could the sound quality be indistinguishable? That's BS. Maybe the person listening had a tin ear. Or the speakers/headphones they used stunk. Or maybe pilot is blowing smoke or smoked something. I know for a fact onbard sound "IS NOT" the same. And its not indistinguishable to my ears.
 
if you play games get a soundcard and get a x-fi if you can afford it. if not then the audigy 2 is an excellent choice.

you won't regret it.
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Total agreement here. I went from an Audugy 2 to a X-Fi and found a very nice upgrade in sound. But, I also have good speakers. If your speakers are average or worse, you might not notice the difference as much. If you don't have good speakers, or notice sound differences all that much, the Audigy 2 is a good card for sure.

Gameplay (FPS) often does get better by going to a separate card over on board sound, as the cpu is not having to handle the added load of the sound. How much better depends on your cpu and the rest of the system, but it still will be better.
 
I have an Audigy 2xs platinum, if you can pick one up for 70 bucks you can't do better.

The last pc I built has an Xfi Platinum in it, I directly compared it using the same software settings, and the same cd to see if the sound quality improved (also on the same speakers; a pair of paradigm phantom floorstanders) and there was literally no difference that I could pick up. I've been a musician for 8 years and an Audiophile for almost as long. Don't get me wrong, an xfi is a better card than an Audigy 2 zs, but as of now they can both use the same level of EAX and all that jazz so if I could get an Audigy 2 zs platinum for less than an Xfi stand alone I sure as hell would.
 
Would onbarod sound hurt gaming performance? No.
Would a nice x-fi give you some boosted framerates? Yes

And how could the sound quality be indistinguishable? That's BS. Maybe the person listening had a tin ear. Or the speakers/headphones they used stunk. Or maybe pilot is blowing smoke or smoked something. I know for a fact onbard sound "IS NOT" the same. And its not indistinguishable to my ears.
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onboard sound can hurt gaming performance in certain situations... i mean, imagine running onboard w/ FEAR or Quake 4. as soon as you start using EAX and such, the fps drop.

X-Fi does not give framerate boosts in current games... even w/ the 64MB onboard ram on the higher end models... it's like 2fps maybe.

X-Fi doesnt sound better on stock. as soon as you enable the crystalizer... WOW it's amazing. im using Klipsch speakers btw.
 
If your buying a sound card to increase your FPS your either super hardcore or retarded....

Buy the sond card based on what you want it for, whether thats for awesome sound effects or music etc.

I reccommend X-Fi.
 
That's kinda what I was saying about the soudn difference. The Audigy 2 zs outputs the same quality signal. Then when you enable the "crystalizer" which is not a piece of hardware at all, it will sound better. The thing is, if I'm playing coltrane I want it to sound good because the signal is high quality and my speakers are reproducing accurately, not because some software app is altering the sound to pop the highs and extend the lows, most things like that are actually just meant to make shitty computer speakers sound more like good speakers. the fact that you are saying that using Klipschs is sort of proof in itself.
 
I actually think there is a beta patch available on the creative website that lets me run Eax 5, but it's not really advertised since otherwise they would have to admit that the hardware diff between the cards is minimal, and they want to sell xfi's.
 
The thing is, if I'm playing coltrane I want it to sound good because the signal is high quality and my speakers are reproducing accurately, not because some software app is altering the sound to pop the highs and extend the lows, most things like that are actually just meant to make shitty computer speakers sound more like good speakers. the fact that you are saying that using Klipschs is sort of proof in itself.
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are you saying Klipsch are shitty speakers? 8O ive never heard anyone say that... Klipsch is an awesome company...

i dont care whether the crystalizer is software or hardware... either way, it works. my music and dvds sound better than ever. i had these speakers for over a year before i got my X-Fi. they were awesome before... and w/ the crystalizer and CMSS-3D they sound even better than ever.
 
It would be interesting to find out how much is marketing vs. how much the hardare actually changed. I remember when the 2 zs first came out and people were just softmodding there audigy 2's to 2zs's and then installing the 2 zs drivers and everthing worked perfectly lol.

And yes I am saying they are shitty.

I actually recommend the Klipsch pro media 2.1 regularily to people looking for compact decent computer speakers, out of the brands that regularily make self powered computer speakers Klipsch does stand out. BUT just because they are good for computer speakers does not equate into good speakers at all. Klipsch and Bose have both managed to cling to the world of high end audio equipment like Dingleberries on my asshole. This comparison is quite accurate because noone wants them there. They do this through marketing and trendiness, cool new technology, sweet ipod docks. But the reality is when you place them next to even similarily priced brands that belong in the high end audio market, they pale, hardcore.

"I would rather listen to a tweeter mounted in my asshole than a Klipschorn" A local high-fidelity dealership owner.
 
I've read that blurb quite a number of times, but I can't really imagine it being completely true, there kinda has to be some sort of bs going on in there. Maybe they are just assuming 1 transistor equals 1 "unit of power" and the xfi has 24 times as many transistors. I can't be certain, like I said it would be interesting to see how much is marketing.
 
And yes I am saying they are shitty.

I actually recommend the Klipsch pro media 2.1 regularily to people looking for compact decent computer speakers, out of the brands that regularily make self powered computer speakers Klipsch does stand out. BUT just because they are good for computer speakers does not equate into good speakers at all. Klipsch and Bose have both managed to cling to the world of high end audio equipment like Dingleberries on my *******. This comparison is quite accurate because noone wants them there. They do this through marketing and trendiness, cool new technology, sweet ipod docks. But the reality is when you place them next to even similarily priced brands that belong in the high end audio market, they pale, hardcore.
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WOW you must have ears like a hawk! i have the promedia 2.1 set and theyre amazing... for computer speakers i suppose. if you think bose and klipsch are so shitty, then what are "good" speakers in your opinion? this simply astounds me... apparently im a speaker nub 8O :roll:
 
The thing is, if I'm playing coltrane I want it to sound good because the signal is high quality and my speakers are reproducing accurately, not because some software app is altering the sound to pop the highs and extend the lows, most things like that are actually just meant to make shitty computer speakers sound more like good speakers. the fact that you are saying that using Klipschs is sort of proof in itself.
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I would agree that good computer speakers can't really be compared to what would be considered good speakers outside of the personal computer space, but I believe good computer speakers are what people are talking about. It would certainly be possible to connect an audigy 1/2/4 or an x-fi to a pre-amp, amp, receiver, etc. and then out to larger speakers with titanium clad tweeters, but I seriously doubt that would be a practical solution for most people. I have Klipsch promedia 4.1 speakers and they're great for my purposes and sound fantastic. I have worked with larger Klipsch speakers, JBL's (and no, not JBL computer speakers), Bose and many others as well as Denon, Yamaha, and Harmon-Kardon amps and receivers.
 
for the record I did start out by mentioning that I regularily suggest Klipsch FOR computer speakers, and that they stood out.

THEN I went on to mention how they do not meet my definition of good speakers, if you are used to listening to better speakers than it makes sense that your perspective of what constitutes a good speaker would be skewed compared to someone who is used to computer speakers and see's the klipsch promedia as "good" speakers it's all relative.

Anyway Jdawg, I really suggest you listen to a pair of paradigms, or Bowers and Wilkins aka B&0 even listening to a high end pair of bostons as long as you are into rock music will change your outlook completely. Even better, if you can listen to a pair of magneplanars (which are just plain cool technology) listening to truly great speakers is an insanely visceral experience, I used to go and just listen to them all the time. It's really cool. I bet there is a high fidelity store near you, try to listen to a pair of Paradigm Titans. The best price performance speakers I have ever heard. Check in the yellow pages or something.

Imagine every time you play a song, it's like going to a concert, the music just like fills your room it's incredible.
 
And yes I am saying they are shitty.

I actually recommend the Klipsch pro media 2.1 regularily to people looking for compact decent computer speakers, out of the brands that regularily make self powered computer speakers Klipsch does stand out. BUT just because they are good for computer speakers does not equate into good speakers at all. Klipsch and Bose have both managed to cling to the world of high end audio equipment like Dingleberries on my *******. This comparison is quite accurate because noone wants them there. They do this through marketing and trendiness, cool new technology, sweet ipod docks. But the reality is when you place them next to even similarily priced brands that belong in the high end audio market, they pale, hardcore.
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I have a set of Klipsch 5.1 THX speakers that are anything but bad. They put out great sound, as good as anything I've heard. Don't know what's wrong with your ears if you think they're shi**y.
 
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