Sound blaster recon 3d or sound blaster Z

[saiken122]

Hello, i would like to ask which sound card is better? has anyone tried sound blaster Z? because i plan to get a good sound card i have been thinking of getting sound blaster Z, well because of reviews they just said that the recon 3d is more suited for gaming. but i am looking for a sound card that is more suited for watching movies and maybe some music.

which of the two cards you can recommend and maybe if there are other cards that you want to recommend please do try to post them.

thank you

 

[gamerk316]

The Z, spec wise, is vastly superior. Waiting for reviews though.

I can not, under any circumstances, recommend the Recon3D.

 

[saiken122]

what makes the recon3d not recommendable?

 

[Lutfij]

@ saiken - have you Google'd reviews of the recon 3D? Before I mention anything further, mind telling us what your system specs are? to understand where you are now sound card wise.

 

[sykozis]

what makes the recon3d not recommendable?

Nothing. Unless you're using high-end speaker systems. If you're using PC speakers, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the Recon3D cards. Some people just put too much faith in sound card reviews....a lot of which are objective "reviews" to begin with.

 

[saiken122]

well right now i am using a gigabyte mobo, its quite old now. p31-ds3l model, and i am currently using an on-board sound card. sometimes i use the on-board opticla out sadly the optical output works kinda weird. every time i use it audio only comes out to my home theater's center speaker. oh and my speakers, i use the bundled speakers of samsung ht-x250 (it is a 600W home theater system, i dont know if it is RMS though and i think this is considered to be one of the high end models of samsung before).

so right now i am just using a 3.5mm jack connected from my computer going to the auxiliary input of my home theater.

now i invested a creative recon3d (bu i still haven't recieved my sound card), one of the practical sound cards i saw in amazon during the black friday sale. what i aim to use my recon3d is for watching blu-ray movies. i dont know if this sound card is capable enough to do the job.

 

[sykozis]

It will play any audio that's fed to it regardless of source.

 

[gamerk316]

what makes the recon3d not recommendable?

Removed features compared to other cards on the market, a horrid digital to analog converter, lack of ASIO support, no OpenAL H/W acceleration, and price.

 

[sykozis]

Creative's new cards won't support ASIO either. Creative moved to software based EAX so OpenAL is a moot point for the most part. The audio quality of Recon3D cards is just fine if you're using computer speakers or headphones. Hell, my Recon3D USB actually has better audio quality than my X-Fi Titanium....

 

[Lutfij]

huh, you serious, better audio from a USB device instead of a card with swappable OP amps? i mean that recon3D usb ain't a audio DAC...

 

[sykozis]

X-Fi Titanium doesn't have swappable opamps...that's the X-Fi Titanium HD....

All sound cards have DAC's if they support analog output....

 

[iceclock]

to be honest do yourself a favour and get a xfi-titanium hd since its very good quality and sounds probably better than the new recons, i have one and wouldnt think of going to a recon, the titanium was creatives last best sound-card imo, the recons arent very good at all.

 

[timmy121]

what makes the recon3d not recommendable?

Removed features compared to other cards on the market, a horrid digital to analog converter, lack of ASIO support, no OpenAL H/W acceleration, and price.

I know this is a bit old of a Thread but i must add that Creative Z, Zx and ZxR now support ASIO from Creative them self with their new driver update, Look Below......

Creative Z - Once you load the Link Click ''show details''
Creative Zx - Once you load the Link Click ''show details''
Creative ZxR - Once you load the Link Click ''show details''


File Name : SBZR_PC_CD_LD_1_00_11.exe

This download contains the software(s) and application(s) for Sound Blaster® Z-Series. For more details, read the rest of this Web release note.

This download supports and is applicable for the following models:

- Sound Blaster Z (SB1500, SB1502)
- Sound Blaster Zx (SB1506)
- Sound Blaster ZxR (SB1510)

Added Enhancement / Features:

- Multiple fixes that improve the driver's overall stability and performance
- Added support for ASIO playback in SB Z and SB Zx. (SB ZxR already supports ASIO playback via its bundled driver. )

Requirements:

- Microsoft® Windows® 8 32-bit or 64-bit, Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit
- Sound Blaster Z or Sound Blaster Zx or Sound Blaster ZxR

 

[strangesteve]

Hello, i would like to ask which sound card is better? has anyone tried sound blaster Z? because i plan to get a good sound card i have been thinking of getting sound blaster Z, well because of reviews they just said that the recon 3d is more suited for gaming. but i am looking for a sound card that is more suited for watching movies and maybe some music.

which of the two cards you can recommend and maybe if there are other cards that you want to recommend please do try to post them.

thank you

I have the Soundblaster Z (OEM) Cheapest model and I am surprised at how good it sounds. I thought I could live with my new motherboard on board audio. But there is no comparison and it is fully compatible with Windows 7 64bit, What u Hear recording which is nice.

 

[genz]

Is everyone here seriously talking about the need for ASIO on soundblaster cards? That's like talking about the need for a giant rear spoiler on a Ford Focus. I've never seen a game that needs or uses ASIO. I most likely never will as it's exclusive and locks devs out of a lot of APIs that use Windows' mixer and summing. WASAPI was made specifically for this reason and kills off every reason to use ASIO except audio production.

And if you have the money to buy an X-Fi HD you should spend it on a AKAI EIE or something.

 

[gamerk316]

Is everyone here seriously talking about the need for ASIO on soundblaster cards? That's like talking about the need for a giant rear spoiler on a Ford Focus. I've never seen a game that needs or uses ASIO. I most likely never will as it's exclusive and locks devs out of a lot of APIs that use Windows' mixer and summing. WASAPI was made specifically for this reason and kills off every reason to use ASIO except audio production.

Helps with audio latency, especially since the soundcard does a better job at audio mixing then Windows does. Secondly, it doesn't lock out devs, since it simply bypasses WASAPI, without breaking anything along the way.

 

[genz]

Is everyone here seriously talking about the need for ASIO on soundblaster cards? That's like talking about the need for a giant rear spoiler on a Ford Focus. I've never seen a game that needs or uses ASIO. I most likely never will as it's exclusive and locks devs out of a lot of APIs that use Windows' mixer and summing. WASAPI was made specifically for this reason and kills off every reason to use ASIO except audio production.

Helps with audio latency, especially since the soundcard does a better job at audio mixing then Windows does. Secondly, it doesn't lock out devs, since it simply bypasses WASAPI, without breaking anything along the way.

I think you're mixing WASAPI WaveRT with Shared mode or MME/DX. IMO with my 4 cards WASAPI is almost identical to ASIO4ALL latency and only just loses to my developer provided ASIO. WASAPI IS ASIO, but with a Windows wrapped emulation of another device so that other audio devices work

Plus, ASIO locks out devs more than WASAPI, as WASAPI allows multi-mode sound, and a lot of Windows control that ASIO doesn't (like basic volume attenuation via the keyboard, if not the full Windows Mixer).

 

[Enoch Elijoua]

Is everyone here seriously talking about the need for ASIO on soundblaster cards? That's like talking about the need for a giant rear spoiler on a Ford Focus. I've never seen a game that needs or uses ASIO. I most likely never will as it's exclusive and locks devs out of a lot of APIs that use Windows' mixer and summing. WASAPI was made specifically for this reason and kills off every reason to use ASIO except audio production.

And if you have the money to buy an X-Fi HD you should spend it on a AKAI EIE or something.

Did you just call my PC a FORD?!?!!?