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Well all of them also use latest high quality SMD just like that card...

I have an Auzentech Forte 7.1 PCIexpress and it also uses high quality smd's and u can also upgrade them, so you can upgrade the sound card quality without even having to solder...

Creative used to be good on the cpu and effects, but then the conversion to the music used bad components and therefore it sucked, but not anymore. Now they also use high quality components, and i think their latest is the one with bigger SNR (I think I saw 128db or 129)...

ps: oh and creative has 64MB RAM and it's good Sound processor XF-I.
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Well all of them also use latest high quality SMD just like that card...

I have an Auzentech Forte 7.1 PCIexpress and it also uses high quality smd's and u can also upgrade them, so you can upgrade the sound card quality without even having to solder...

You mean OPAMPs, not SMDs. A SMD is just a surface mounted (soldered) device, it could be a capacitor, resistor or semiconductor.

OPAMPs aren't good for audio. There are higher quality ones that cost about $30 a piece but they're not really worth it. OPAMPs were designed as part of the semiconductor revolution, where things were constantly getting smaller. OPAMPs are great in that they are smaller than 0.5x0.5" when compared to a circuit board full of discrete components that might be several square inches in surface area. They also use less voltage and can operate in extreme environments. But, for audio quality, they just can't compare to a fully discrete circuit. Which is why high end audio devices don't have them at all.

I won't even get into the crappy power supplies in computers (even the $200 ones, they're still of the switching variety), grounding issues and EMI/RFI. An external discrete DAC will blow any sound card out of the water.

For sound processing (including onboard memory), it's really not necessary these days. It was a neat idea back for Pentium 4's in 2005 or so when you needed every extra bit of CPU power possible so X-Fi offloaded that to the sound card and it did help but these days, I don't think any modern game made in the last 2-3 years takes advantage of X-Fi moreso than old games like BF2 or AA (which didn't take full advantage of it anyway). Modern games just use the CPU and a little bit of system RAM because it's a lot more flexible (everybody has them) of a system and with multiple CPU cores, 10% load on one core for sound doesn't really matter.

/rant

Anyway the consequence of having a complete good amplifier or sound card is having a good system to listen it through. You might hear the difference even with budget equipment but you won't make great use of it.

Using 3rd party code and card memory to create a 3D sound environment when you can use system memory avoiding messing with Creative poor drivers ...how can that sound not overcomplicated. Are they calling theirselves Creative for the way they plan and design products? xD

Hahaha yeah. I have pondered going to optical, but I can deal with random laptop parts squealing occasionally. It's not too bad if I shove all the equipment on the same tap.

Yes they are the opmpap's, and they are pretty expansive too. Auzentech have a single one that cost 244.99$, and probably something like 260€ here...

That's just an example of a top one from auzentech built by Texas Instruments.

I have the "X-Fiâ„¢ Forte 7.1 PCI express". Auzentech used to have the best of 2 worlds. Oxygen audio+creative XF-I for games. But nowadays I think that the Creative with it's upgraded better components are better than auzentech (That's what lot's of ppl say, no idea).

But I would prefer if they only used the following type of capcitors:


ps: Well even in 2009 the Creative sound card still made a difference in some tests they won 1fps or so, but the CPU had less usage 4 real. It may not seem much, but winning 1+5 from a better ram, + ...... at the end you will have 10 fps, so everything counts!

Anyway the consequence of having a complete good amplifier or sound card is having a good system to listen it through. You might hear the difference even with budget equipment but you won't make great use of it.

Using 3rd party code and card memory to create a 3D sound environment when you can use system memory avoiding messing with Creative poor drivers ...how can that sound not overcomplicated. Are they calling theirselves Creative for the way they plan and design products? xD

Well I don't know if they continue the same with their newer cards. Creative sound cards used to have good processing power and that kind of shit, but then the awesome sound would get killed on the final output, since it passed by bad quality components, but they improved finally.

About their poor driver software I have no idea if they also have improved them. But I never had much problem with their drivers on the Creative Live 24bits that I bought 4 dirt cheap, I still have it here working, and it still kicks the crap I'm using at the moment (Asus Saberthooth P67 onboard "realtek" sound card).

Gosh, All I know is I HATE this sound card, I can only play AA until a little higher than half of the full volume, or it starts making some huge scratches grrr... Also I can't activate hardware 3D in any game, it will have millions of glitches... Bloody Realtek onboard soundcards >.

ps: I'm gonna get amazed when I can test my auzentech some day when I finish the case project first . But I still won't hear much of his quality, because I have LogitechZ5500 Digital, and therefore I don't really need that much higher quality soundcard, as the thing that will be amplifying the sound will be the Z5500 amplifier, so I don't really need much of opamp qualities (I'm happy in just being able to use 3D in everything without glitches).
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Yeah I know that, but I would be happy to own one of the new creative sound cards...

They really have improved it...


I do believe I would be happy with the original opamp's from this card, all I need to pay is the price of the card...

I also love the music played in the creative cards, even the older ones with pretty bad components, weren't bad.

I was happy with the creative live 24 bits (or some crap like that, that I have somewhere around). And with the New improved XF-I CPU musics will always sound crystal clear.


Using good components increase the quality output, but having special CPU's and special software, you can control the music more and make it sound very crystal clear.


They also say:

"EAX® and 3D audio restoration for Windows Vista®
Using Windows Vista? Creative ALchemy restores the surround sound effect for the same great gaming experience as on Windows XPâ„¢."


And yes the one u shown looks badass, but I still wouldn't buy it, It's the difference between something intended for gaming and not for having the best SNR, the best impendance, but something to have a lot of hardware processing effects that will make you hear them before they hear you .

ps: And I bet they have improved the software, because they say "Optimized 4 wind7" and also they say now you just need a click or so to increase the quality thanks to their progressive new functions, X-Fi Cmss-3d & X-Fi Crystalizer, now fully wind7 compatible...
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What do you have hooked up to the sound card Guily? I'm curious...

I guess I'm a purist because I don't want to have things messing with audio to make it "crystal clear" like you say. It's all about getting the file from your hard drive to your speakers with as little processing and alteration as possible.