Whats a decent pci-e soundcard with a front panel?

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Kirika

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Whats a decent pci-e soundcard with a front panel?

Still on a Soundblaster Audigy 2zs platinum. It has some issues with Vista 64 and the sound cuts out and I have problems with my mic doesn't work properly after awhile. Probably just going bad.

I like the front panel for hooking up my mic to it and the line in and line out as well as my dv cam.
 
Do you mean a front panel connector that allows you to connect to inputs/outputs on your chassis? If so, the Asus Xonar series is the way to go. I'm not familiar with the lower end like the DG, but the DX (NOT D2X, surprisingly), ST/X and Xense all have front panel connectors. If you mean a 5.25 bay breakout box, that's something entirely different and has mostly gone the way of the dodo aside from some very specialized expensive cards and Creative.
 
I think the only cards that offer the front I/O panel are of the Creative variety. Believe me I checked high and low during my builds. According to sources on this forum and elsewhere the Recon 3D is basically aimed at gamers and may in fact be a bit of a downgrade from the previous X-Fi Titanium Fatality Champion which also has the front I/O panel. Depending on your needs, it might work for you.

I am surprised that many (none?) of the high-end sound cards advertising audiophile-quality specs do not offer any I/O panels. My first systems were HP home entertainment computers which had all those jacks and things on the front and I got very spoiled to that set-up. When I decided to build my own systems the only card at the time with the front panel was the X-Fi Fatality Champion which is what I decided to use. Having learned the miseries of Creative cards and drivers I kept looking at soundcards with a front panel and decided to go again with the older Creative card for my last build as I had read the Recon 3D wasn't really an improvement for sound and listening to music which was my goal. So once again, I am hooked to Creative and their off/on drivers! Even the last versions of the X-Fi Fatality Champion were not as good as the earlier versions--no longer THX certified and not a complete software suite. They are now pretty much discontinued from Creative but can still be found for sale. I had high hopes for the Recon 3D but ended up not being what I expected.

I have read that Asus might be coming out with an uber-sound card before long but don't know if it will have a front panel. I just didn't have time to fiddle around under/behind the computer looking for jacks and ports and absolutely enjoy having those things right up front with easy access; perhaps we are the only two people left who are concerned about such things.
 
Or most people just realized that a $2 extension does the same thing (and probably sounds cleaner too). Just unplug your headphones and plug in the speakers when needed, keep the cables at the edge of a desk with a hook/clip/whatever... Unless you need multiple inputs for recording etc, but it sounds like you mostly care about ports for a headphone/mic and maybe Firewire (which most mobos now integrate).

Some cards like the Xonar STX actually have discrete headphone ports and a hardware based switch that's controlled in software, allowing you to go from headphones to speakers with one mouse click without disconnecting anything. Those propietary Creative bays really didn't add much value if you look at the alternatives hard enough.
 
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