What sound card would you buy?

[tlemmon]

I would like to get a better sound card that the SB Live Value that I have now. I am not sure what card would be a better choice.

Any recommendations?


Thanks!


-t

 

[Pabster]

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. Still the best.

 

[ElFenix]

tbsc.

 

[Mem]

Depends what you will be using the sound card for,gaming wise Audigy is best IMHO,Santa Cruz is a good allrounder,the Philips AE has the better sound quality then either the Audigy or Santa Cruz IMHO,but sound quality is always subjective.

 

[tlemmon]

I would like to get the best sound quality, but I dont have decent speakers and likely wouldnt notice the difference. I do play alot of games though.

I hear Turtle Beach makes good cards, but what about compatibility? Do they still have the problems of SB compatibility, or does that not matter now?


Thanks!

-t

 

[Mavrick007]

If you don't have very good speakers, then how about upgrading them first? The SB Live value is not a terrible card and it might sound fairly decent with a good set of speakers. If you definitely want a new sound card, then the TBSC or Audigy should fit the bill nicely.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

Hercules Game Theater XP. it's the santa cruz with a breakout box like the SB platinumEX

 

[murphy55d]

I'd upgrade your speakers first. Try the Logitech Z540's coupled with a TBSC.

 

[CubicZirconia]

I'd probably get new speakers too, the difference would most likely be more noticable.

 

[Nick5324]

game theater XP with Klipsch Por Media's, top notch

 

[Thor86]

If you are on a budget, then the most improved sound for least money would be to get a SB Live 5.1 OEM. They're not terribly expensive, but you will notice the much improved sound for gaming and listening to mp3/cds, even from your current speakers, over your regular SB Live.

 

[paralazarguer]

The audigy is definitely a great step up from the live. They have improved the quality of the DAC and ADC greatly (the live uses a hardware codec instead) and the audigy has much less DC offset and noise. It also has EAX advanced HD which is great for newer games. Turtle beach only has EAX 2.0 but will catch up someday. I wrote an article here comparing the live to the audigy if you would like to see how much improvement you will see. I also did a pro-sumer card and you will see that the audigy did a pretty good job of keeping up with it.

 

[bjc112]

TBSC

 

[jdogg707]

I really like the Audigy, but if you need all the plugs without spending 200, check out the Hercules Game Theater XP...great sound!

 

[jaeger66]

The Herc GTXP is not just a Santa Cruz with a breakout box. The use the same controller, and that's it. The SC output amplifiers are of much higher quality, and the SC's drivers are more refined. I also was not pleased with the build quality of my GTXP's box, the knobs were loose and the headphone volume made static bursts when you adjusted it. I had one of the early ones though, so maybe those issues hav ebeen fixed. If so, it's a nice choice if you need a box. If you don't need the box, I'd get a Santa Cruz or a Philips Acoustic Edge.