Best Sound Card for Vista x64?

[defy.ex]

THe Xonar D2 isnt bad at all. IMO, it is the better choice, esp. if you put more emphasis on music playback... Although both the Xonar and the Prelude are very good and difficult to distinguish in real-word listening session. But as pointed out, both would be a waste of money, if you dont have good amp / speakers to go with them.

As far as stability and compatibility of the Xonar - very good, no problems so far. Havent used the Prelude extensively to comment on it.

btw, here a review i found recently, could be useful - Remixed audio cards in Windows Vista - The Tech Report - Page 1

 

[WildEagle]

I'm not in to drugs, alcohol, and I don't have a woman, and I figured I would treat myself to a decent gaming system.

Now thats heaven!

You got that right.

 

[cryoknight]

Yay, a forum with actual audiophiles!

I've got vista 64 + Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music.
The audio separation is terrible, while it sounds fantastic in XP
(when listening to the same CD, or playing games).
Have you guys encountered this?

 

[WildEagle]

What I encountered with the X-Fi I tried, and it's the same with an Audigy 2 card. Popping and crackling, and not being able to handle two audio sources at the same time. I ended up taking the card back to the store I bought it from, and stuck my HT OMEGA CLARO back in, and this was last week.

 

[coolchris]

Well I got the Prelude last week and have had no problems with it at all. The high end DACS make all the difference..although I did, and still do, have the Auzentech XMeridian card..now thats a true audiophile card. I missed the full EAX when playing the few games I do play, so got the Prelude. Superb sound in all aspects..movies, music, gaming..the lot. An absolute must buy IMO.
Of course you have to have the setup to get the full benefit of what this card is capable of. Having crappy speakers and/or headphones is a waste of money.
Best place to find out more is the Guru3d forums, under soundcards. There are dedicated threads just for the Prelude etc, and there are loads of people that are VERY knowledeable about audio.

 

[cryoknight]

I'm using some Sennheiser PX100 headphones, and really, the sound with the X-Fi XtremeMusic, under Vista, just doesn't compare to XP. These posts have reassured me that it's probably a driver issue, and not common to all sound cards under Vista.

Thanks! I'll probably try out the Prelude, although the Xonar was sounding very interesting as well.

 

[WildEagle]

I say try the Prelude or one of the CMEDIA 8788HD cards, there are problems with Creative cards/drivers on Vista, haven't heard anything bad about the Prelude and Vista.

 

[cryoknight]

I went down to the local NCIX and picked up a Prelude. They were even $20 off! Now my audio in Vista sounds so much better, and my Barracuda Razer headphones are actually worth using now. I'm wondering if what I thought was the center channel (the one labeled '2') on the XtremeMusic wasn't that at all, since those particular headphones sounded terrible in said card. They sound great on the Prelude though.

My Vista audio problem is finally solved (been using Vista 64 since day 1)!

Thanks everyone!

 

[RellikZephyr]

i dont use a sound card at all

i have Bose Companion 5 Speakers has built-in sound decoders etc

and the sound is well... amazing ... Bose need i say more

RellikZephyr

 

[coolchris]

Really it all comes down to what you want to use your PC for. Games and all round superb sound...Prelude. EAX5 is "the" standard for gaming and the Prelude is the top dog for that. Combine that with the audiophile quality, hot swappable DACS and you have got a winner. Also Auzen are introducting a HDMI addon for the card, see here:

Auzentech, Inc. Sound Cards. Audio You Can Believe In. World First soundcards for Music, HTPC, and Gaming.

If you aint bothered about sound that much....anything else, lol.
But each to his own and sound is a very subjective subject and differs from person to person. What sounds "good" to someone may sound crap to someone else.

 

[ltwally]

i dont use a sound card at all

i have Bose Companion 5 Speakers has built-in sound decoders etc

and the sound is well... amazing ... Bose need i say more

RellikZephyr

Not to turn this into a flame-war, but no audiophile has polite things to say about Bose speakers, other than their small form-factor. Bose is a prime example of a great marketing department coupled with engineers that got D's in mathematics.

 

[Iskevosi]

I have an Sound Blaster X-Fi, but this was added after I had been running my system for a while. The sound is better I believe than the on-board Realtk HD, I still don't believe it is as good as it should be. I've used SoundBlaster products under XP and they were great. I really do believe that this is a driver issue and Sound Blaster need to get ontop of this.


One good point from it all, it has help with my online gaming, removing some of the load on the MoBo & CPU and letting the X-Fi do the work. My FPS are a lot better.

 

[ingeborgdot]

i dont use a sound card at all

i have Bose Companion 5 Speakers has built-in sound decoders etc

and the sound is well... amazing ... Bose need i say more

RellikZephyr

Not to turn this into a flame-war, but no audiophile has polite things to say about Bose speakers, other than their small form-factor. Bose is a prime example of a great marketing department coupled with engineers that got D's in mathematics.

Isn't that the truth. I feel bad for people when they think that Bose are good speakers. I am the residential expert (so they think) about electronics and when people ask me about things like this I tell them to stay away from Bose because they are way over priced for what you get.

 

[ltwally]

Not to turn this into a flame-war, but no audiophile has polite things to say about Bose speakers, other than their small form-factor. Bose is a prime example of a great marketing department coupled with engineers that got D's in mathematics.

Isn't that the truth. I feel bad for people when they think that Bose are good speakers. I am the residential expert (so they think) about electronics and when people ask me about things like this I tell them to stay away from Bose because they are way over priced for what you get.

Very true. As long as you get them for a cheap price and know that they might be suitable for FM radio but not for high quality audio, I see nothing wrong with 'em.

Still, it's important to know they have serious caveats, including:

• Extremely low efficiency. Those little speakers and rather low-quality bass drivers require way more power to achieve the same volume. It's important to understand that it's not all about wattage.
• Poor crossovers. Little speakers don't make for good midranges, and the crossover performance is rather ugly.
• Price. The retail price on them is comparitively high, thanks mainly to their marketing folks and the drones at Circuit City and Best Buy pushing their products to those who haven't been educated better. Unless you got them at half price, you simply did not get what you paid for. Sorry, but trusting a 21yo guy that works for $7-10/hr at some retail chain for advice isn't the brightest thing to do. If he actually knew what he was talking about, he'd be working elsewhere. Think about it.

 

[RellikZephyr]

well if that is true and bose isnt the best please do tell me who makes better because i have played and testing quite a few sets of speakers

and i found Bose to be the best quality BY FAR there werent any other speakers that could keep the real nice and clean quality when stuff like dance was cranked RIGHT UP all others distorted some horribly

i dont go for names i go for whats good and i didnt find better

but if there is better out there DO TELL !!! because im going to buy a new home theatre sound package soon i was going to go bose cause i thought it sounded the best

so again whats better???? and i will definately look into it

RellikZephyr

 

[coolchris]

If you are after an amp for your new hometheatre, then have a look at the Onkyo 605. I have one and am really impressed with the features for the price. Only been out a few months.
Speakers...well Im not getting into this. Its so subjective to the individual as can be seen by the replys. Whatever you do, dont start arguing..i know from personal experience that there are certain people on this board who just love to join the flaming bandwagon.

 

[Iskevosi]

well if that is true and bose isnt the best please do tell me who makes better because i have played and testing quite a few sets of speakers

and i found Bose to be the best quality BY FAR there werent any other speakers that could keep the real nice and clean quality when stuff like dance was cranked RIGHT UP all others distorted some horribly

i dont go for names i go for whats good and i didnt find better

but if there is better out there DO TELL !!! because im going to buy a new home theatre sound package soon i was going to go bose cause i thought it sounded the best

so again whats better???? and i will definately look into it

RellikZephyr

You only have to buy any one of the Home Cinema Magazines and read the reviews. Each one normally has a listing at the back listing all the units they have tested and what stars they that product. They only test gear that is worth testing and worth mentioning. Most of the time Bose is no where to be seen and if it is does not socre very highly.

Buy a mag and check it out.

 

[ingeborgdot]

well if that is true and bose isnt the best please do tell me who makes better because i have played and testing quite a few sets of speakers

and i found Bose to be the best quality BY FAR there werent any other speakers that could keep the real nice and clean quality when stuff like dance was cranked RIGHT UP all others distorted some horribly

i dont go for names i go for whats good and i didnt find better

but if there is better out there DO TELL !!! because im going to buy a new home theatre sound package soon i was going to go bose cause i thought it sounded the best

so again whats better???? and i will definately look into it

RellikZephyr

What speakers have you compared them too? That makes a difference also.

 

[ltwally]

please do tell me who makes better

This is highly dependant on a number of factors. Two of the most important factors being:

• Price Range - How much are you looking to spend?
• Intended Media - What are you looking to do with them?

Now the price factor is obvious - a $400 all-in-one "system" is going to have a really (read: impossible) time competing with a several thousand dollar system.

The second factor might be less obvious. A little piece of knowledge that I've picked up from the audiophiles I know is that different types of Amps and Speakers (and combinations there-of) have different types of audio in mind. Klipschorns with a tube-driven amp are incredible at reproducing horns, but less so at an electric guitar. Electrostats are quite spiffy at jazz, but are less apt with heavy metal. Definitives are great for hard rock, less so for a symphony. It all depends upon what you want to pump through them.

-wally

 

[ltwally]

You only have to buy any one of the Home Cinema Magazines and read the reviews. Each one normally has a listing at the back listing all the units they have tested and what stars they that product. They only test gear that is worth testing and worth mentioning. Most of the time Bose is no where to be seen and if it is does not socre very highly.

Buy a mag and check it out.

If you're in the budget for a serious audio system, I would also find an audio expert store in you area. I'm not talking about someplace that does car audio. I'm not talking about a place where the employees wear rayon company shirts and clip-on ties. Find a place where they have dozens of floor-standing loudspeakers and employees that know what they're doing. Tell them what your price range is and what you'll be doing with the speakers. See what they have to say.