Which is a better Soundcard?

[95Cobra]

Creative Audigy or Hercules Game Theater XP 6.1.


I am thinking of using this with my Asus A7V266E motherboard. Any Pros and Cons would be appreciated.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

Hercules Game Theater XP 6.1

my brother has the audigy x-gamer. i hate it. i think he does too.

 

[Mem]

my brother has the audigy x-gamer. i hate it. i think he does too.

Nothing wrong with the SB Audigy ,I really like mine a lot,it`s an excellent card for gaming and the sound quality has improved over the SB Live,however both sound cards (Hercules & Audigy) are great choices so it really is down to you.

 

[FatBurger]

I've had both in my box, and the GTXP is clearly better. Get the $85? version from Newegg.

The only advantages the Audigy has are EAX3 and Firewire. EAX3 sounds great in GTA3 and terrible in JKII (haven't listened to it in SOFII). Other companies will pick up the technology in future products (Hercules and Turtle Beach could both use a new sound card on the market anyway).

The GTXP has better strict sound quality, drivers and 3D positioning. Of course there's also the awesome external rack.

You may look at the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. Discounting the external rack it's a slightly better (but very similar) card than the GTXP. If you don't want to pay quite that much, and/or don't want the external rack, go for that.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

Originally posted by: Mem

my brother has the audigy x-gamer. i hate it. i think he does too.

Nothing wrong with the SB Audigy ,I really like mine a lot,it`s an excellent card for gaming and the sound quality has improved over the SB Live,however both sound cards (Hercules & Audigy) are great choices so it really is down to you.

i didn't say there was anything wrong with it. i just like the sound output of my game theater xp better than his audigy. i have the hercules game theater xp - Klipsch Promedia 5.1 combination and he has the audigy x-gamer - logitech z560 combination. so obviously mine should sound better because of the speakers. but the sound card with the same Altec Lansing ATP3 speakers, mine sounded better for some reason.

 

[Mem]

NeoMadHatter sound quality is always different to most people,I`ve heard lots of cards and the Phillips AE actually sounds best to me,my point is simple, there`re lots of good sounds cards and no sound card is the best for everyone,I did say both are great choices since it really does depend on your earing and what sounds best to you & what you will be using the card for.I`m actually using my Audigy on an amp worth about $500 without bringing the speakers and speaker cable into the price tag.

If anyone was after a gaming sound card I would put Audigy at the top,that`s my opinion.

 

[MainFramed]

Hercules Game Theater XP 6.1.....

i had the Creative Audigy one in my old computer and it was horrible....the Hercules Game Theater XP 6.1 is clearly much much better

 

[dobehap]

I've had both in my box, and the GTXP is clearly better. Get the $85? version from Newegg.

your name is no longer in green

 

[Heinrich]

Hercules

not only is it a better card, but you will be casting a vote for competition verses monopolies.

After seeing how Creative has suddenly and quickly dropped decent support for the LIVE! series after marketing them exclusively for YEARS and YEARS that's just another reason for me never to put a Creative product into my system.

I love their name too. Creative. How much new soundcard technology have we seen over the past 5 years compared to CPU or Video? What were Creative's video cards? Reference boards. How Creative are they truly? Not very...

 

[hobcat1]

For this soundcard, what would the OEM version from Newegg leave out? Also, to decode the optical output from my Xbox and put it into the op. input of this card, what would I need to decode it? I want to use my Z560s.

 

[Goi]

The Audigy is actually not much more than a Live! with the Philips 24bit/96KHz DAC and EAX2 additions. Though it claims 2496 support, that's actually not the case. However, if you're into gaming with EAX, that's the card to get. If not, the Hercules GTXP will be better. It uses the same Crystal DSP as the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, so sound quality is similar, but not identical. From what I've read, the SC sounds a bit better due to implementation differences, but you'll probably be hard pressed to spot the difference. The Philips AE is another contender.