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Which sound card?

S

Shorehn

Gawd
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Messages
715
The CMI8788-based Razer AC-1 I had been using gave up the ghost recently and I'm looking for something better to replace it with. It wasn't a bad card compared to onboard audio, don't get me wrong, but I think I can probably do better than trying to hunt down another one as a replacement. I've got a set of 2.1 Klipsch iFi speakers and a sweet pair of Beyerdynamic DT-880 headphones. I listen to music and game and it's important that whatever I get can do both. I'm not looking for the best sound card money can buy - I'm looking for the best value. I like to buy whatever product is right on the point of diminishing returns.

I've taken a quick look around what's on the market these days and it looks like the Auzentech Forte is a pretty good value. In fact, NCIXUS is selling the Auzentech Forte for $87.34 AR. Would that be a good choice? It uses an X-fi chip, but I imagine it would sound much better than the Xtrememusic I used once upon a time. I've never used a headphone amp before and I'd love to see how my DT880s would sound with one.

The only real downside I can see is potential incompatibility with my motherboard, the GA-965p-DQ6. The top PCIx-1 slot is blocked by the northbridge heatsink. The middle two PCIx-1 slots are blocked by my 4830. That leaves the full-size 4x PCIx slot. Would the Forte work if I stuck it in there?
 
the auzentech forte will be my next audio card, never buying creative anything again lol
 
The Forte will work in x1, x4, x8 or x16 slots.

Highly recommended card. For $87 it's a steal.
 
Thanks for the confirmation, OldScotch.

EDIT: Nevermind. I was thinking of putting a CMoy amp together with my old Xtrememusic, but I forgot that it can't connect to the front panel connectors because of Creative's stupid proprietary design. I think I'm probably just going to go with the Forte.
 
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I paid $125 for the Forte a few months ago. It's a great sound card, especially if you're a gamer; does music very well, too. At $87 from NCIX, it's damn near a felony. Get it while that price lasts!
 
King of Heroes said:
Yet you buy a soundcard that uses a Creative X-Fi chip and uses Creative drivers....

:confused:
Click to expand...

minus creative bloated software packages, i had no end of issues and waited ages for proper drivers to become available for the xfi titanium and when you email support they tell you to buy a driver cd from the store, that i wasn't happy with, at least auzentech seems to be able to make their stuff work better than they can
 
Plus Creative Labs makes less money than they would if you had bought a card directly from them (I guess).
 
Does the Forte's amp work with the front panel headphone connector? If it doesn't, reaching around to plug in my headphones all the time would be a pain in the ass.
 
the AC-1 is/was a great board, it shares its chipset with the Auzen X-Meridian and the Asus Xonar D2's, no comment on the software package though (I don't know what Razer themselves changed with the software, although the hardware itself was solid), if you wanted to keep with the C-Media chipset and its features, Auzen has brought back a few C-Media products, such as the new X-Raider

the Forte for ~$87 isn't a bad deal, it will support normal FP audio connections, as well as the Creative front bay for X-Fi Titanium, from Auzen's website and the product manual, the onboard headphone amplifier will connect via the front panel headphone output, or rear HP connection
 
Shorehn said:
Does the Forte's amp work with the front panel headphone connector? If it doesn't, reaching around to plug in my headphones all the time would be a pain in the ass.
Click to expand...

Yes it does. I have tried the front and rear headphone jacks, the rear seems slightly better but I am not sure if I would have noticed if I had not read it somewhere. The front does auto mute and switch from 5.1 to headphone mode when you plug in your headphone as long as you have it selected the options to allow it to in the console panel. The rear does not. Only way to turn the rear off is to unplug your headphones. If you use the rear you have to manually turn you amp/speakers off. The software is just a tad laggy, sound is great. Those are pretty much the only negatives I have found other than paying over $50 but I am definitely not an audiophile.

Here is a review of the ASUS Xonar Essence STX with comparisons to the Forte: http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=696&Itemid=27

I have only had my forte a couple of days. My ears say it beats out my old Audigy2 by a lot. Much more bang for the buck than I thought I would get even after reading the reviews. If I had been coming from an XFi there probably would not of been as big of difference except for maybe the headphone. I have not heard any of Asus' offerings or any of the Creative XFi cards in person. I wish we could listen to them all before choosing as sound is very subjective. There are lots of online reviews about the Auzentech Forte you might want to read. According to http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=35596&promoid=1190&vpn=AZTXFF7102550&manufacture=AuzenTech they still have 18 left at the sale price.

I live about 200 miles from ncix and I paid about $11.50 for FedEx Express saver. It was the cheapest option. Someone else who said they are in New York said shipping cost almost $15.
 
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Looks like I won't be needing a new sound card after all! My AC-1 has somehow started working again. Thanks for the advice anyway, but I think I'm sticking with my ol' faithful.
 
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