Warm? Hercules Game Theater XP for $75.50.

[jackwhitter]

Originally posted by: Chau
how does this card compare to the turtle beach santa cruz in both gaming and mp3s?

thanks

the gtxp and santa crux use the same dsp chip... so they are very close. the big diff is the huge amount of connectors and usb hub you get with the gtxp.

i bought this sound card when it first came out, and i love it! the sound quality is far superior to an creative card i've ever owned (sorry, haven't bought an audigy.) my card is now 6.1 .. all i had to do was update the drivers. i don't have a 6.1 setup .. just stereo and headphones, but i could have it, if i had enough speakers... hehe. i think it will be 7.1 capable whenever they finalize the standard... it has enough connectors, it just need to output them somewhere. the usb hub is no longer necessary since all the new boards have 4+ usb ports, but it was very nice when i first got it. never had an issue with this card. it's great, and $75 is an awesome price for a retail version!

 

[huesmann]

So this is the card with the breakout box? Can you install the box in a drive bay, or are you stuck with it being external?

 

[joecool]

this is a TOTALLY hot deal! i got the gtxp ~ a year ago and really love it (tho i paid a lot more than $75 for it! ) the sound is awesome and i really love the break-out box - it has everything you could possibly ask for, & personally i prefer the external unit - very handy to have all those ports on my desk rather than down at floor level on my case somewhere. the seperate volume controls for headphone and mic gain are sweet, too. plus i just upgraded my drivers & now i've got 7.1 sound (like you really need those middle speakers!).

 

[lundog22]

I got one of these way back, great sound card!!!

Should I use this instead of the Realtek 6-channel CODEC /South Bridge: VIA® VT8235 on my A7V8X?

Which has more CPU overhead?

Thanks

 

[ViperV990]

Originally posted by: jackwhitter

the gtxp and santa crux use the same dsp chip... so they are very close. the big diff is the huge amount of connectors and usb hub you get with the gtxp.

i bought this sound card when it first came out, and i love it! the sound quality is far superior to an creative card i've ever owned (sorry, haven't bought an audigy.) my card is now 6.1 .. all i had to do was update the drivers. i don't have a 6.1 setup .. just stereo and headphones, but i could have it, if i had enough speakers... hehe. i think it will be 7.1 capable whenever they finalize the standard... it has enough connectors, it just need to output them somewhere. the usb hub is no longer necessary since all the new boards have 4+ usb ports, but it was very nice when i first got it. never had an issue with this card. it's great, and $75 is an awesome price for a retail version!

Actually right now the GTXP is 7.1 capable, since I can select it in the control panel. Just use the headphone jack for the 6th and 7th channel.

I love this card's features, and it sounds good too. But I dunno, the external box and its mother trucking huge cable's slowly getting on my nerve. Since I only have a set of 4 channel speakers and a headset... I guess I will exchange the GTXP for the TBSC. Now that BB doesnt carry the TBSC, anyone knows where I can find one for cheap? (yes, I should have gotten one while ago in those deals...)

Oh yeah, one more tiny little thing: both the headphone and mic jacks on the GTXP rack are 1/4"... but Hercules only includes one 1/4" -> 3.5mm adapter.

 

[PING]

fry's has them for $50. if you live in bay area. no one haven't confirmed the price in other areas.

 

[slickdude50]

The only problem I've had is when using it with Cakewalk I always get a delay note. IF anyone knows why this happens or how to turn it off let me know. I use a keyboard through the line-in, not midi.

 

[nomatic]

Seems to be out of stock at bestbuy's website.

 

[nomatic]

Oh, and another thing. Why the price drop? Is there a notable defect on these cards? Is Hercules coming out with a better card soon (one with hardware-enabled 6-channel sound, for example)?

 

[Slickone]

Most of the games now are EAX. Does the GTXP do it as well as the SB cards? Also the GTXP doesn't do the EAX ADVANCED HD that the Audigy does. Are there many EAX ADVANCED HD only games?
Also I remember reading that the Audigy's 3D sound isn't as 'positional' and acurate/real sounding as the old Aureal 2 cards. How does the GTXP sound?

 

[Samwise]

These cards are sweet, better than any creative product, plus you don't have to worry about the squeal of death or compatibility issues I've heard Sound Blaster Audigy owners complain about. There are no EAX HD only games that I have ever heard of, and the regular EAX support is very similar with both Creative and the GTXP, the GTXP is better in other areas though. You can't beat all the input/output options of the GTXP and thank goodness I don't have to waste another drive bay on a sound card, also don't have to worry about tons of wires pouring out the front of my tower. The external box looks very cool IMO and $75 for one of these sound cards is a steal. Can't beat the 6.1 and now from what I've heard 7.1 connectivity either.

 

[MontyBurns]

Well, since everyone else is throwing blanket statements around, I'll add mine: This, just like the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, is a fantastic card. However, the Creative Audigy blows it away. Sorry. I hate creative more than anybody, but the Audigy rocks.

And, for what it's worth, I own all three. As I think was noted above, the GameTheater uses the same sound processor as the TB (though the GTXP has a MUCH nicer set of controls... but then again, you pay for it.)

HOwever, download the new unreal demo -- as I have -- and play it side by side on machines running both cards -- as I have -- and the difference is unmistakeable. You can also check out the user forums over on unreal's site to read all the GTXP people whining about the poor EAX compatibility.

So, there.

Just throwing in my "nuh-uh."

You can now get back to making blanket statements about companies based on your experience with them on compelely different products than the one in question.

 

[unclebud]

2
1
"Is Hercules coming out with a better card soon (one with hardware-enabled 6-channel sound, for example)?"
probably. they have upgraded the muse and the fortissimo II. this is probably next. and the $0.50 denotes clearance (afaik)
still thinking about buying one -- don't know about the quality of creative AUDIGY , just know about their drivers for sb 16 under win me

 

[ViperV990]

Mmmmh, I tend to stay away from Creative soundcards... Troubles with driver/software and incompatibilities are stuffs that I hear often. But then, maybe that's cuz everyone has SB cards. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: unclebud
2
1
"Is Hercules coming out with a better card soon (one with hardware-enabled 6-channel sound, for example)?"
probably. they have upgraded the muse and the fortissimo II. this is probably next. and the $0.50 denotes clearance (afaik)
still thinking about buying one -- don't know about the quality of creative AUDIGY , just know about their drivers for sb 16 under win me

From what I hear Audigy is fine. But Creative has ALWAYS sucked with drivers from my past several years of experiance with them. Keep in mind that despite what they claim on the box, Audigy is NOT 96hz capable.

 

[BlackNinja]

Does this sound card has firewire port like the Audigy?

 

[jackwhitter]

nope, no firewire, and i'm pretty sure this is an external only breakout box, unless you want to rig something up yourself (which would be a pretty big headache.) the big honkin' cable does get annoying if u move your comp alot, but it keeps the sound clean.

 

[MontyBurns]

Well, again, you're basing your review of the Audigy -- which you obviously don't own -- on your experience with previous creative products.

As I said, Creative, when evaluated through their entire history, sucks. They released a string of grossly incompatible hardware that didn't remotely live up to the hype. The SB Live was the kiss of death to most Win98 systems that were unlucky enough to receive it.

However:

They got it right with the Audigy. Absolutely no compatibility problems in Win98 or XP. Hey, I don't like it either, as this is one company I love to hate. But the Audigy does exactly as they claim, and I'm telling you, you really can hear a difference.

Anyways, if you REALLY care about getting the best sound, you shouldn't base your purchase on what I -- or anyone else -- says. Go to Best Buy, buy all three cards (or buy every card they have), put them in your system and listen for yourself. They have a very friendly return policy.

Then, and only then, you'll be able to make an educated decision.

 

[LawBeefaroni]

"Not available for delivery at this time
Not available for store pickup"

WTF does that mean? Out of stock? Can they just say "out of stock?"

 

[LawBeefaroni]

erp

 

[Slickone]

Any reason not to use an Aureal 2 card on an XP system? MontyBurns, have you A/B'd an Aureal 2 and an Audigy? How would you compare the sound placement and realism?

I have quite a few old games that support A3D 2.0 but would probably also support EAX. I'm trying to think if I have any old games that are A3D 2.0 only.
The Audigy converts A3D 1.0 to Directsound (and can't all the time) which I wouldnt think would sound too great.

On the Audigy, will the subwoofer output send a signal when your not playing a 5.1 source (ie. stereo or 4 channel games, mp3, etc)? I'll have the soundcard running to a regular A/V (Pioneer) Dolby Digital receiver.
Not sure if the GTXP has a sub out. How can you do the above on it?


The MX300 only had 2 outputs, front and rear (1/8" mini jacks). So I had to splice in my own Y connectors to run from MX300 to my cheapy PC speakers and also to run to the the Pioneer receiver, so I wouldnt have to have my electricity hog receiver on all the time just to have sound when piddling around in Windows.

I also had to splice in another Y to take one of those outputs (front I think) from the MX300 and go into the receiver's Sub In (and then of course the front and rear out from the MX300 went to the front and rear in on the receiver) , so the sub would play from stereo sources and not just 5.1 sources.

Anyone else ever have to do this?
Will I be able to do away with this mess with any of the above cards (with digital connectors and/or 5 separate outputs)?

 

[MontyBurns]

I have not used an Aureal 2 in XP (though I am a big fan of A3D). Check out http://www.vortexofsound.com, a great resource for Aureal/A3D. If there are any issues with the card and XP, I'm sure they've been addressed there.

 

[Squalish2357]

Shzt. I just went out for this and the 20$ burner(successful, bought 2) at compusa, right next to BB. On the shelf they had the 6.1 version, priced at 99, and when I asked the guy to pricecheck it, all he did was doublecheck that the product# on the box corresponded w/ the sticker. Now, I can't find it anywhere on the BB website. Comments?

 

[ViperV990]

Guess deal is dead.

 

[bockchow]

not dead just not online, deals still fine for B&M