Vista - Creative X-Fi Audio Console

Hey guys,

Prior to formatting my computer my soundcard and its software worked perfectly however after i formatted, my creative audio console doesnt really work properly. For example. Before if i adjusted the master volume in the audio console, it would synronise and adjust the volume in the default windows sound mixer now it doesnt. Secondly before if i plugged in headphones the sound would autmatically go through the headphones and mute the speakers. Now if i open the console and go to the headphones section, I have mute speakers checked and automatically enable headphone settings checked and if i plug in my headphones, sound still comes out of speakers but if i press test in the audio console, the test lady voice comes through the headphones whilst other sounds still continues through the speakers. I have reinstalled the drivers twice now and updated the drivers. Please help.

If you can afford it I would suggest changing your sound card to a HT Omega Claro.

I am re-posting my old thread from several months ago about it here.

I had a Creative Audigy Platinum EX sound card which worked great for the 6-7 years I have owned it. (running Win XP)
BUT when I re-built my PC about 6 months ago I lost a lot of the bells and whistles, I did manage to get it to "work" with the 4.1 Logitech speakers I have and it was "sufficient".
Recently I found out that one of those bells and whistles was I could no longer use head phones.

I found this out after buying a nice Sennheiser PC350 Headset (which btw is outstanding for anyone looking an all around head phone Gaming, Music, VOIP).

After researching sound cards for Vista 64 pretty extensively I came up with a sound card that works flawless with Vista 64 plus sounds superb in every way.

HT Omega - Claro halo

With the headset I seriously doubt there is another sound card that can touch it.
It makes these Sennheiser's really stand out and milks every last drop of performance from them.
When I hook these up to my wife's PC (standard Dell Dimension 9150 with some SigmaTel audio which must be just a sound chip) they sound a bit ordinary at best, nothing is as crisp, the bass is no where close to as booming, actually they are disappointing.
I hook them up to the HT Omega Halo and BAM its like they are a different set of head phones.
This is because of 2 things the Sennheisers are a mid range "impedance" headphone (150ohm) so they require an amplifier to get them to sound their best.
The HT Omega Halo has a dedicated headphone amplifier built in.

This card also has a "Dolby Headphone" setting that makes these stereo headphones sound like they are 5.1.
In gaming I can hear every little sound, every stick snap, every leaf rustle, every creak & groan and sound that I rarely heard just playing through my speakers.

As far as how my regular old 4.1 speakers sound, once I got the adapter I needed in order to hook them up they sound great.

However to take advantage of this sound card I really need to invest in a set of Logitech Z-5500 some day and hook them up through the optical connection.

I have no problems with anything, drivers work fine, the card has the highest grade components that you will find in ANY sound card.
Pair it with Logitech Z-5500 speakers or better & Sennheiser PC350 headphones or better and you have the perfect Vista 64 sound set up.

I just got a new soundcard...My issue is software not hardware.

Well one begats the other.

If your new sound card is a "Creative" sound card then you must use "Creative drivers" (software).
Most of the problems I have seen with creative sound cards for Vista 64 has been the "software".

That was the problem with mine.

also might want to supply a bit more info about what sound card and drivers etc that you have.

This might help you possibly.

http://digiex.net/drivers/164-creati...-daniel_k.html

Might want to try an use a link with his most recent version,

SB X-Fi Series Support Pack 2.0 (05/15/2009) - Creative Labs

which works just fine in Vista and 7.