Help with sound card choice

why do you guys keep saying that the Xtrememusic was so entry level like it is a Xtreme audio or something, I paid $129 for my Xtrememusic when I bought it years ago, and it is bascially the same card as the top of the line $200-$300 X-fi cards but without the extra crap like the front panel etc., it is still using the X-fi chipset and has the gold connectors, capacitators etc. as the top of the line X-fi soundcards

I dont even know why Creative discontinued the Xtrememusic in the first place because the cards they replaced it with are not better in any way, it seemed like it was more of a cost effective measure if anything

 

Simple, because the X-Fi X-Music 7.1 is/was the entry level X-fi.

As far as the other cards being just a bit better but costing more and having front bays etc, that is standard Creative Marketing. However you look at it the XM was the entry level X-fi when they were first released. The E-Pro was the top of the line and is the best sounding Creative X-fi.

 

true it was the entry level card but is was not cheap for a reason, it was still a top quality entry level hardware based soundcard, not some cheap software based entry level cards that they have now such as the Xtreme audio

the Xtrememusic was pretty much better than the Audigy 2/Audigy 4/Audigy zs, and that is considered a damn well good entry level card, I have both

its just that u make it sound like the Xtrememusic is in the same league as the Xtremeaudio by stressing how just because it was the entry level card

 

The X-Audio came out long after the original X-fi line-up.

I never suggested no implied the X-Music is in the same leauge as the X-Audio. In fact I never even mentioned that card you did.

When I say it is a entry level card, that just means it is the base card of the line-up and designed more with price in mind over sound quality. More to the point, not the best X-fi in the line-up.
I would not say a X-music is top quality because it wasn't, The Elite Pro was the top quality X-fi.

To note, I don't really consider a X-audio to be a X-fi seeing how it does not have a X-fi processor.

 

for one I never said you brought up the X-Audio I know I did, and for you to say that the Xtrememusic is not top quality makes me question ur opinion, are u also anti Creative

could you please explain why the Xtrememusic was not a top audio soundcard when it was released, it had the same audio X-fi chipset as all the other TOP X-fi cards in the entire line up including the Elite Pro

seriously you are dissing the Xtrememusic why I dont know

 

You seem to be missing what I am saying. The X-Music was not the TOP card in the line up. The Elite pro was the top quality card for that lineup.

I am not "dissing" anything and I am not Anti anything....

 

Whats up with people calling other people anti this and that because they dont like or under stood what was posted.

 

Rob I know its not the top card in the line up since it was the entry level card, but read ur previous post you did say the Xtrememusic was not a top quality card, and that just wouldnt be true if you think about it, simply because its guts were the same as the TOP of the line cards

 

well I got that from someone calling you that earlier in the thread, since you wanna reply, my anti creative friend

 

If I was anti creative I sure I wouldnt be recommaning forte or prelude to any one because both of those uses the X-FI chipset. if they wanted actual EAX3-5 that bady.I cant be anti creative if I went thru the work of taking my dad's Xtreme gamer from his other computer to put it in my other gaming comp. Otherwise I would had kept it on onboard. Put two to two together.

I recommand forte and prelude to people because those two cards offer higher quailty audio and componets over creative line of X-Fi's.So people get more with there money.

If creative X-Fi had the same audio quailty and components as auzentech cards which it doesnt,Then I would be suggestion that over forte and prelude. Me suggestion them over creative dont make me anti. But call me all the anti you want.

 

I know exactly what I said.

IIRC, the X-Music does NOT have the same parts as the E-Pro. The only similarity is the DSP processor.

 

i've been with Creative for quite awhile myself, i'm still debating which soundcard I want next I heard alot of good things about the Omega soundcards, all the customers who have bought them had alot of nice things to say, the Asus cards are the other options and with the cards from Auzentech its a hard decision for me to make as I want the best soundcard for music and gaming, I use Sennheiser HD-380 headphones I just got, retired the tried and true HD-280's that I have been using for the last 3 years

 

In my last post i in up changing it so much and it became something totally diffent as I love to edit and edit til i get it right,instead of doing all of that right then.


I actual went thru what you are now,I asked all types of questions before I settled on what I had now. For you maybe the forte is for you or stx. only way to know is to ask around to get all of the info you need before you make your choice. You just have to pick based on what you needs.

When I made my choice I knew I was gonna loose actual eax3-5 for gaming but I saw DSGX and went ok and asked more questions before I hit the order button.For my self I put Audio quailty first then features last.

 

and I know exactly what u said

that alone would make it the same as the TOP of the line card, describe what parts are not the same

the soundcard the E-pro and the Xtrememusic are the SAME exact card, we are not talking about the extra crap that comes with the E-pro such as the breakout box etc.

please explain what parts of the soundcards itself are not the same because ur info about the Xtrememusic if very misleading

 

the main games I play are Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty 5, and some Crysis, please tell me these games dont rely on EAX because if not i'll easily skip the Azunetech cards all together and get me the Asus or the Omega

that is the most important question for me what sound does COD4&5 use

 

Crysis uses its own sound engine, I think both Cod4 and cod5 uses openGl if not fmod ex. I actualy play Cod5 on my Xonar but with dsgx enabled.

 

No that doesn't make them the same. just because thy have the same DSP that does NOT mean they sound the same at all or mean they are the same quality.

The E-pro uses a different DAC and Opamps then the X-Music which is basically the entire output section.

 

This thread has gone way off topic.

Back on topic, If your looking for a new soudncard put together your max budget and a list of features you want. Do some research, talk with people that own the cards your thinking about. Some research and time before hand will save you from getting a card that isn't right for you.

Good luck on your gear hunt.

 

are u serious since when, the only difference and I mean the only difference was the Xram and that is it

after all this misleading info about the Xtrememusic your creditability went south with me, but hey i'm just gonna leave it at that no point to keep this debate up

 

I think you need to do some research as you have zero clue what your talking about.
The X-Music uses the Cirrus Logic CS4382 DAC chip and generic ST 4558 opamps with a SNR of about 109dB

The Elite pro Uses the Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chip and various generic opamps for each output
Here is the list:

NJM 2114 Front L/R Channels
NJM 2608 Rear L/R Channels
NJM2608 Side L/R Channels
NJM2608 Center and Sub Channels


The Elite Pro has a SNR of about ~117dB and the X-Music has a SNR of about ~109dB
Since the decibel scale is a log scale, there is quite a bit of different between 109 and 117
So how do you consider these two cards are the same as I said twice now, they have totally different output
sections.

This is not really a debate, You have just been misinformed.

Please go and do some research before you come back as it is not my credibility that is in question here.