Info: new computer coming(so don’t look at profile): CPU(i7930), mobo (asus rampage3 Extreme),GPU(evga gtx260 ftw), HDD(crucial realSSD & velociraptor), ram(corsair xms 6GB triple), (no bluray player yet, but may get one soon) OS: win7 Ult 64 & xp pro I will be purchasing a receiver and running the card to it (7.1). I am primarily a gamer but also enjoy quality music and watch movies on my computer. I play a lot of “legacy” games, hence the xp patrician. I also use headphones a lot. In general, I find that low end (and many high end) gamer oriented sound products are way too bass biased and sound lousy. I much prefer clarity and tend to lower my music until the volume is just above where I start missing sounds. I would be very disappointed if bands such as portishead, massive attack, linkin park, sneaker pimps, etc sounded muffled, fuzzy (unclear), or weak, (it should sound vibrant without losing ambiance). My budget has a lot of wiggle room, though I plan about $250 for s-card and about $400-600 for receiver w/ speakers (whether purchased separately or as a bundle). 1. I believe that openAL/eax will hang around in Win7 until a cross-console compatible standard is popular enough to finally kill it. With that in mind, I’ve settled on a auzentec HT HD ($200)for it’s x-fi, knowing that the asus cards have a little better sound quality (minus x-fi). Should I just wait a while longer for the next series of cards/ how soon is the next series expected (are we talking December or next july)? 2. In my current understanding, the highest quality connection to the receiver is: 8channel analog > hdmi >spdif Is that correct? (specifically 8analog vs hdmi) 3. What happens if I use bluray HD audio (I understand I need a drive and a special player): can it still run to receiver via 8xanalog without significant downgrading (or does it need to run through HDMI)? What happens if I use something with DTS audio? 4. What receiver and speakers are recommended to accomplish this (long term and multi-use compatibility in mind)? (note: I am inclined toward an onkyo, as I’ve really liked the ones I’ve messed with) 5. Should I plug my headphones into my receiver or into my front panel jack? What if I bought some surround headphones? 6. What (inexpensive) opamps would best compliment my music preferences on this card? (quick answer with a small description of the effect from someone familiar, without going into a multipage debate) Please refrain from uninformative "do a search" posts (links to efficient info are appreciated). I've spent about 14 hours of reading through tech and reviews just to narrow down to the HTHD and a lot more time trying to sort out some of the other questions.
The HTHD 7.1 is a great sounding card offering very balanced sound and amazing clarity. OpenAL/EAX is available for any game that uses it in Win7 and would be fully hardware accelerated with the OpenAL API. Yes, both analog and HDMI would be considered the best options right now. Normal digital S/Pdif is limited in bandwidth so it cannot handle the higher resolution standards available through HDMI or normal analog. I suggest a receiver with both options. Make sure the units can process the hig res audio standards not just pass them through. You can use either analog or HDMI with that card. Which is better depends mainly on the components used in the receiver. I would think would wouldn't notice a big downgrade using either one. You would need to compare both yourself using your gear and your ears. I like Onkyos myself also, they have great features and sound quality for the price points. I would say the front panel, why add more electronics between the signal and cans if you don't have to. That really depends as peoples tastes vary quite a bit. A conversation probably better suited to the opamps and modding thread. If you have more questions ask.
Thanks, Robscix. That helped smooth out the jumble in my mind a whole lot. Ok, so it's a little above my original budget, but I convinced myself to get an Onkyo TX-NR708. Since I'm getting that, I can't afford to spend more than $200 on speakers and would like to spend less if it doesn't sacrifice a lot of audio quality. Would someone be kind enough to recommend a 7.1 set for me? I would consider getting a 5.1 and adding speakers later if I get much better quality sound for it. I currently have almost no knowledge about speaker specs, so an exact set/model numbers would be nice, thanks. Also, what gauge wire should I use? Do I need a "Sub-woofer cable"? (and a cheap place to get high quality of these)
why the 708? There are other models that are cheaper and you can get refurbs also if budget is the concern. $200 for an entire surround set and subwoofer is just not enough....not even close.
I can get a 708 for $20 more than a 608. It seems to have a lot more that would future proof what I will be wanting in the next year and for a long time. You are right, $200 just isn't even close enough. I do have a bag of smaller speakers friends gave me when they upgraded their systems. They are from other receiver systems and are quite small; how do I tell if they are too small to run on 708? I don't get crazy with the volume. (they are pack in a box somewhere so I have to go find them to see specs) (I'd rather put up with them for a while and then get better speakers than get a lesser receiver and moderate speakers)
If you use small sats then you will need a subwoofer also. I agree to get the best receiver you can for future proofing but you need speakers and a subwoofer also. Buy them in stages if you have low budget. Buy the fronts....then subwoofer then rears..then sides if you want them. Is that a Prologic IIZ receiver? If so then you need 4 speakers for front channels. IIZ has elevation in the front soundstage. 2 for high, 2 for low...
But I can run it in normal 7.1 mode without PIIZ height right? (until i get a better set of speakers) Also, I can't seem to find a definite answer, when this says it is 7.1 (well 7.2 actually) that means that I can run it in normal 7.1 + 2 Prologic IIZ channels right? or is it only 5.1 in PIIZ mode?
Alright, all my questions clearly answered! Thanks a lot. You guys are awesome So I'm getting the auzen HT HD + onkyo TX-NR708, using my little speakers/sub for now so that I can buy real speakers later (into a 7.1 PIIZ setup) because I simply can afford to get the best of everything right now.
