Best soundcard for analogue headsets solely.

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oqvist

[H]F Junkie
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Dec 24, 2001
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Am getting the Plantroics A90 headset and am sitting on a soundstorm mainboard and we all know that the analogue on those aren´t all that good.

So what recently priced soundcard do these headphones justice? They are supposed to be really good for it´s price.

I am only going to use it with my headset never for my HT speakers.

Audigy?? what else? Audigy 2 is too expensive.
 
The A90's suck as a headset, I (and a few people I know) went through a couple of them because the mic kept dying after about a month or two.
 
Originally posted by Duck-BOT
The A90's suck as a headset, I (and a few people I know) went through a couple of them because the mic kept dying after about a month or two.
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I was getting them with "Voice buddy". A bit like a virtual co-pilot in FS 2004. If that´s true I hope the "Voice buddy" package got a longer warranty than Plantronics 1-year warranty :(

I mean dying after a month?? Are their fragile for punishment or what is it that breaks?

There is no return now anyway. It´s on it´s way over the Atlantic.

What do you recommend. A soundcard with headphone amplifier? Audigy? Cheap Audigy 2? What else are there?
 
When I mean dying, I mean it just stops working whether you take care of them or not. It really sucks, and I just invested in a mic + good set of cans, haven't had a problem since.

As for what to recommend, then yes, I do recommend an Audigy2 (not the ZS, the A2's can be had for pretty much the same price as a regular audigy if you shop around, doubt that many people still carry them though). For me, when playing CS with Irons, my mic and HD497's work just fine.
 
I have to disagree with the previous poster's claim that the Audio 90s suck.

Plantronics Audio 90s sound good to me, and I've never had a problem with the mic.

The A90s are the only headset out there that doesn't pinch the hell out of my ear. It has a foam cup around the earpieces, which feels a lot better, instead of that damn scrunchy vinyl-type crap that hurts like hell after you've had the phones on for an hour or more.

The only bad thing I can say about the A90s is that they don't hold up well to being slammed down on the table. As in getting frustrated while gaming :) The cup that holds the driver tends to separate from the plastic housing and the wires pull out.

But as long as you're not as hard on your equipment as I am, they should last just fine. And they fit a hell of a lot more comfortably than other phones.
 
Originally posted by csorrows
I have to disagree with the previous poster's claim that the Audio 90s suck.

Plantronics Audio 90s sound good to me, and I've never had a problem with the mic.

The A90s are the only headset out there that doesn't pinch the hell out of my ear. It has a foam cup around the earpieces, which feels a lot better, instead of that damn scrunchy vinyl-type crap that hurts like hell after you've had the phones on for an hour or more.

The only bad thing I can say about the A90s is that they don't hold up well to being slammed down on the table. As in getting frustrated while gaming :) The cup that holds the driver tends to separate from the plastic housing and the wires pull out.

But as long as you're not as hard on your equipment as I am, they should last just fine. And they fit a hell of a lot more comfortably than other phones.
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I have the .Audio 90, 2 of them that is. First one, mic died after a month for no apparent reason. Plantronic sent a replacement, mic died again after a month of normal use. I take care of my equipment well. I'm not the only one. Plantronics have huge reliability problem. You won't see me buying another Plantronics headset anytime soon.

As for the comfort of the .audio 90, you must have not used real headphones... It is the most uncomfortable headphone out of the 4 that I have (Sennheiser HD590, HD497, HD495 and a vintage studio-grade Pioneer). My ears get hot and itchy after 15 minutes of fraggin every time. The design is terrible. If I was to buy another headset right now, I would bite the bullet and get the Sennheiser PC150. (psstt....Provantage is having an awesome deal on them)

Back to the question of oqvist, any soundcard will do the Audio 90 justice ;). If you REALLY want to upgrade, I say the Santa Cruz should serve you well
 
Well, Irons, eCost.com has them for the same price as ProVantage.... except they can ship them Fedex NEXT DAY AIR for the same price. Link
 
Thanks, ordered too :D

Edit: You forgot to mention $4.95 handling fee :mad:. Total is $39.94, 10 left!!! :D
 
Oh, but Irons, you chose the UPS Ground option. So sad. I work for their Air system- which is generally more prisitne- and I still refuse to ship anything through them unless there are no alternatives. $8 for Fedex 2nd Day, or $10 and it's here Friday- not a bad deal, if I'm going to pay for Fedex.
 
Hmm have found a Santa Cruz for 30$. Is it better than Audigy for headphones? I see it quite old. Was it produced in 2000 or? How old is the Audigy?

What´s better Audigy vs Santa Cruz for headphones? There is a Audigy 2 for 70$ but that doesn´t got a coaxial or optical out spdif connection.

I may want to use that card for my tv tuner or music if it´s better than my soundstorm. In that case what´s better? Running in digital or analogue mode. If I choose the Audigy 2 I am limited to analogue only.
 
Originally posted by oqvist
There is a Audigy 2 for 70$ but that doesn´t got a coaxial or optical out spdif connection.
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Yes, it does. It just disguised as a proprietary minijack connector. All you need is a mono minijack to RCA adapter and you have a Coaxial digital interface. :D

Originally posted by oqvist
I may want to use that card for my tv tuner or music if it´s better than my soundstorm. In that case what´s better? Running in digital or analogue mode. If I choose the Audigy 2 I am limited to analogue only.
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Analog.
No, the Audigy2 can pass through a previously encoded DD signal to your decoder but it will not/cannot encode a DD stream on the fly the way your Nforce2 board can and as such you are forced to use the analog outputs for multichannel gaming.
Big deal, all the S/PDIF port on your motherboard is...... is a transport medium witch is there solely to make up for a horrendous analog stage. :D
Skip the Santa Crud and buy that Audigy 2.... 70$ is a good price for that card ;)
 
Originally posted by X86Dude
Yes, it does. It just disguised as a proprietary minijack connector. All you need is a mono minijack to RCA adapter and you have a Coaxial digital interface. :D

How can I get coaxial from a simple minijack? IS that even possible with that solution? I got home theater speakers and thus I need coaxial or optical for digital.


Analog.
No, the Audigy2 can pass through a previously encoded DD signal to your decoder but it will not/cannot encode a DD stream on the fly the way your Nforce2 board can and as such you are forced to use the analog outputs for multichannel gaming.
Big deal, all the S/PDIF port on your motherboard is...... is a transport medium witch is there solely to make up for a horrendous analog stage. :D
Skip the Santa Crud and buy that Audigy 2.... 70$ is a good price for that card ;)
Click to expand...

Yes analogue soundstorm is horrendous that we do agree on.

I ain´t using it for 5.1 gaming thus I don´t know if Audigy 2 is that much better. It´s for headphone gaming and not surround and music and I have heard good things about the Santa Cruz being better than Audigy for music.

So maybe I get more bang for the buck with a $30 Santa Cruz then a $70 Audigy 2? Plantronics A90 which are supposible good but hardly highend I would guess an Audigy 2 would perhaps be overkill. And is it that much better for music than the Santa Cruz?

Music is the least important issue on my list since I don´t listen much at all on it. Mostly on DVD and then I pass my audio through my Realmagic Xcard.
 
Originally posted by oqvist
How can I get coaxial from a simple minijack?
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Like I already said you need an adapter. ;)
Maybe a picture from the manual will help convince you that I am not a liar. :D
A2man.png

Note: this image is from the Audigy 2 ZS manual but it also applies to the Live 5.1 cards, The Audigy, and The Audigy2 as well.



Originally posted by oqvist
I ain´t using it for 5.1 gaming thus I don´t know if Audigy 2 is that much better. It´s for headphone gaming and not surround and music and I have heard good things about the Santa Cruz being better than Audigy for music.
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Yea, well I have owned both cards and I can tell you fist hand that "they" say a lot of stupid things that don't mesh with what I can hear with my own ears. IMHO the Audigy 2 cleans the floor with the Santa Cruz as far as sound quality goes. ;)
 
Originally posted by X86Dude
IMHO the Audigy 2 cleans the floor with the Santa Cruz as far as sound quality goes. ;)
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And I clean my floor with you!!

I kid, I kid :D
 
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