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Of course, the main reason i brought the point of the 4562's is that they should be compatible with the stereo OpAmps already on the audigy 2, and national semiconductor will allow a sample of up to 5 of the 4562MA's on one sample "order" (other options that are also available as samples from national that come to mind are the 49860 and 49720, which are nearly identical to the 4562MA's), and between that and spending a few dollars on even something as cheap as a panasonic cap to replace the main filtering capacitor on the audigy 2, your talking less than $5 to vastly improve the quality of the audio coming from the card(the OpAmps used on creative cards are quite simply horrid). Or if you prefer OpAmps from analog devices, the AD8599 is a pin compatible narrow soic OpAmp that i have yet to try in a creative card(planning on picking some up over the summer to try on the X-fi i have here, supposedly much less susceptible to EMI than the 4562MA's that i currently have on it, and from googling on it, it appears that others have had success with the 8599 on the X-fi, which uses the same type of OpAmps in its stock configuration as an audigy 2).
And if you think they're "fine" in that regard... well... that depends entirely on how you define "fine", how good your ears and how good the rest of your audio system is. ]).I'm not quite sure you understood my meaning; I wasn't talking about software issues, I was talking about their sound quality on the analog outputs.
If you're deaf and/or using a pair of $29.95 computer speakers, you're absolutely right. They're "fine". "Fine," so long as you don't mind audio that sounds like it's coming through a tin can telephone with a loose string (of course, if you did mind, you wouldn't be using a pair of $30 speakers [or a $300 5.1 system...
If, on the other hand, your speakers/headphones/amps don't cause me to turn around and walk out of the room laughing on sight (and there are quite a few people around here besides myself who DO have decent-and in many cases, damn good systems), that uses analog inputs, the only place an unmodified Creative card belongs is in the trash can with the rest of the garbage.
).I agree with you to an extent. However, there are a whole host of variables-some of which are difficult if not impossible to control for-at play here. The quality of whatever is being played back, be it a MP3, a CD or whatever else. The quality of your preamps and amps, the quality of your speakers and/or headphones, listener preferences, etc. With the garbage equipment that a lot of people use, you're absolutely, 110% right: the difference between one source device and another is negligible at best.
However, I have done blind testing of my own and with decent equipment there is a noticeable difference between various cards and between various opamps on the same card. It is not a night and day difference by any means, as you said, but it is distinguishable, and if you're going to (or already have) spent the money for solid speakers and amps, you might as well squeeze that last 1% out of them, especially when the cards and opamps are so cheap.
Yes. Absolutely. You can spend all the money you want on a sound card or DAC but if your speakers are garbage the output is going to be garbage, period.
You seem to consider speaker count and THX certification to be somehow indicative of sound quality. I could be misunderstanding your post, and if I am I apologize, but that's what it sounds like from here. Neither one is a measure of anything except consumer gullibility, and if the home theater systems you've heard are comparable to the Creative speakers there's not much I can tell you other than that you really, really, really need to hear a real sound system (and you need to stop listening to Blows-er, Bose-garbage
My speakers are 4 feet tall and weigh nearly 100lbs apiece. They're powered by an amplifier that has a continuous power output rating of 270 watts per channel into 8 ohms at a THD of less than 0.03% with both channels driven. The subwoofer consists of 2 12" drivers with a Fs of 23Hz and a sensitivity of 97dB, powered by a separate 1000w amp; they'll do 130dB+ at 30Hz. Total system power is 1540w continuous with enough headroom to accommodate transient spikes of comfortably over 2000 watts without frying the amps. Creative what, now?
If you're using analog outputs and you're at all serious about sound quality (and if you're running a $300 5.1 anything, you're probably not; you'd have spent significantly more than that on a 5.1 system or bought a $300 pair of headphones or 2.0/2.1 system if you were), Creative's cards belong in the round file.
If, on the other hand, you have a "THX Certified" 5.1 system with a shipping weight of 40lbs, that has a frequency response graph resembling something drawn by an unmedicated parkinson's patient with a crayon, whose satellites consist of 3" "full range" drivers (*snerk*) inside plastic boxes with resonance issues and the structural integrity of wet newspaper, and an amp that's very likely rated with only one channel driven at a time, then yes, you might as well stick with the Audigy2. No sound card can fix that system.
And hey, if you're happy with that, more power to you. I've got a set of Logitech Z-680s in my office at work, and a set of Altec ADA-890s in my workroom. Both are THX certified, neither one sounds good. They're tolerable though, and that's all I need for what I use them for, and all I expect out of a bunch of cheap plastic boxes and a low quality sub with a craptacular amp.
I agree with you to an extent. However, there are a whole host of variables-some of which are difficult if not impossible to control for-at play here. The quality of whatever is being played back, be it a MP3, a CD or whatever else. The quality of your preamps and amps, the quality of your speakers and/or headphones, listener preferences, etc. With the garbage equipment that a lot of people use, you're absolutely, 110% right: the difference between one source device and another is negligible at best.
However, I have done blind testing of my own and with decent equipment there is a noticeable difference between various cards and between various opamps on the same card. It is not a night and day difference by any means, as you said, but it is distinguishable, and if you're going to (or already have) spent the money for solid speakers and amps, you might as well squeeze that last 1% out of them, especially when the cards and opamps are so cheap.
Yes. Absolutely. You can spend all the money you want on a sound card or DAC but if your speakers are garbage the output is going to be garbage, period.
You seem to consider speaker count and THX certification to be somehow indicative of sound quality. I could be misunderstanding your post, and if I am I apologize, but that's what it sounds like from here. Neither one is a measure of anything except consumer gullibility, and if the home theater systems you've heard are comparable to the Creative speakers there's not much I can tell you other than that you really, really, really need to hear a real sound system (and you need to stop listening to Blows-er, Bose-garbage
My speakers are 4 feet tall and weigh nearly 100lbs apiece. They're powered by an amplifier that has a continuous power output rating of 270 watts per channel into 8 ohms at a THD of less than 0.03% with both channels driven. The subwoofer consists of 2 12" drivers with a Fs of 23Hz and a sensitivity of 97dB, powered by a separate 1000w amp; they'll do 130dB+ at 30Hz. Total system power is 1540w continuous with enough headroom to accommodate transient spikes of comfortably over 2000 watts without frying the amps. Creative what, now?
If you're using analog outputs and you're at all serious about sound quality (and if you're running a $300 5.1 anything, you're probably not; you'd have spent significantly more than that on a 5.1 system or bought a $300 pair of headphones or 2.0/2.1 system if you were), Creative's cards belong in the round file.
If, on the other hand, you have a "THX Certified" 5.1 system with a shipping weight of 40lbs, that has a frequency response graph resembling something drawn by an unmedicated parkinson's patient with a crayon, whose satellites consist of 3" "full range" drivers (*snerk*) inside plastic boxes with resonance issues and the structural integrity of wet newspaper, and an amp that's very likely rated with only one channel driven at a time, then yes, you might as well stick with the Audigy2. No sound card can fix that system.
And hey, if you're happy with that, more power to you. I've got a set of Logitech Z-680s in my office at work, and a set of Altec ADA-890s in my workroom. Both are THX certified, neither one sounds good. They're tolerable though, and that's all I need for what I use them for, and all I expect out of a bunch of cheap plastic boxes and a low quality sub with a craptacular amp.