sound card suggestions?

[jrmints]

I have Logitech speakers, a link to the exact ones is below, but am not getting everything i can out of them. Only the 2 front speakers produce sound and I would like to get the whole system in action. Right now I am just using the sound card on my motherboard and I feel this is why all the speakers are not working. Could someone give me some suggestions for good, but affordable, sound cards.
Thanks

Logitech Speakers
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2177,CONTENTID=9067

 

[bigstanklo]

Turtle Beach 5.1 channel:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829118103

Go to newegg and search 5.1 channel sound card and read reviews. Wide range of prices on these things

 

[Nukem]

it's DEFINATELY worth the price. I have one myself and love it.

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=290240

 

[Crysalis]

My two choices:

For general usage, medium gaming, and some recording:

Audigy 2 ZS

For up to date gaming technologies, and better SNR:

X-fi Music or above (FPS is worthless)

IF you decide X-Fi, you should disable CMSS-3D options and the Crystalizer function. IF you like distortion and bad quality, leave them on.

I recently bought the X-fi Platinum so that I could personally evaluate it in person and compare to my Audigy 2 ZS. I'm sure this will lead to "OMGZ11!!1!... I thought you hated it!?!?". What I hated was the crystallizer and CMSS-3D. These cause distortion and defficiencies in the sound. This is not only bad for your card, speakers and or headphones, it also causes ear fatigue. Ear fatigue leads people to turn things up louder because things start to sound quieter than they did initially. Then you start to caused damage.

I'm going to post a thread about my thoughts on the X-fi. So far, I'm not impressed. I'm not unhappy about it, but i'm not happy either.

 

[DarkMortar]

i dont like crystalizer either, but i do like the cmss3d

 

[EricB]

I was working on a friend of mine computer (the young rapper, streetpastor). he had a presonus firebox with it. I was amazed. this was like the first time that I heard a difference between soundcards.

with the 1812 overture dts dvd, the quiet sounds were, well, quiet (you will hear a little hiss on most equipment ). that just one instance

I went to go buy one, but 400 is a lot for a soundcard. I end up buying a M-audio Firewire solo. it doesn't sound as good as the presonus, but since it has an electonically seperate power supply from the computer, I don't hear that little noise that is alway there with the volume all the way down, whenever I turn my dining room light on on my other soundcard. the noise got alotworse when I hook my hdtv input into it.
this is not a problem with the m-audio

I'm thinking about trading it in back at the store for the presonus one, which cost a 100 more dollars

 

[ncjimn]

funny, I have an x-fi, (not really into audio, but specs sounded good enough).
So the funny part is that these are the only speakers hooked up to the x-fi!

So no comment on what difference the sound card makes lol!

 

[RalliArt882]

Not much at all for you

 

[Crysalis]

Eric - wow... you're really starting to get into my world now... presonus, m-audio.... whats next? SSL? Neve?

 

[EricB]

SSL? Neve?

What that's

I went to take the m-audio back for the presonus firebox. the guy there convince me to take the m-audio audiophile 192 pci card (because it does 7.1). now I know why people here say that it sound better than the creative. it has 4 volts output

4 volts output on a sound card. dam, that's a lot.

I think creative output is only 1 volts (on a good day). it still beat the 300-800mv that on board sound give.

to anybody that doesn't know any better, louder is better. that said

this m-audio card is still a **** of a card. with so much voltage on the outputs you can turn your speaker amp gains down low, which will automatically raise the signal to noise ratio of your system (I don't have that noise issue that I did with on board sound and it doesn't conflict with my mobo like the sound blaster did)