which sound card for this setup ??

[JAMES.k]

hi every 1
ive been doin abit of reaserchin on some audio gear recently. ive finally decided on these 2 things >>
1 - turtle beach hpx headset
2 - edifier s530 2.1 speakers setup
ok now im runnin onboard ...... for some reason i really wanna say plastic fantastic lol anyway my question is which sound card would suit this setup the most. ive also looked into a few cards but havent completely decided yet.
not in order or preference
1 - asus xonar essence stx
2 - auzentech forte 7.1
i can get both of these cards in australia
3 - ht omega claro halo or xt
i be listenin to music, watchin movies and gamin.
an advance thanks to all. i be very interested in knowin what u think and other recommendations would be great. ^.^

[go flames go]

well forte is currently the best sound card on the market so...

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by go flames go

well forte is currently the best sound card on the market so...

that definitely isn't true. But what he is looking for, then likely yes. The Essence is a headphone card however it is meant for 2 channel headphones.

[go flames go]

Originally Posted by lowfat

that definitely isn't true. But what he is looking for, then likely yes. The Essence is a headphone card however it is meant for 2 channel headphones.

other then proffesional audio cards yes it is the best card on the market

[Dave510]

Originally Posted by go flames go

other then proffesional audio cards yes it is the best card on the market

Subjective testing places the Prelude, D2X and STX in essentially the same calibur.

Benchmarks place the Forte lower than quite a few sound cards.

And if you look at the hardware components, you'll realize the Forte also doesn't have the best components either:
? ??

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by go flames go

other then proffesional audio cards yes it is the best card on the market

no, it still isn't the best when it comes to consumer cards.

Originally Posted by Dave510

Subjective testing places the Prelude, D2X and STX in essentially the same calibur.

Benchmarks place the Forte lower than quite a few sound cards.

And if you look at the hardware components, you'll realize the Forte also doesn't have the best components either:
? ??

That is a great chart.

[go flames go]

Listen im not fightning with you on this. Ive had a prelude and a sonar, this beats both + it has a headphone amp.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by go flames go

Listen im not fightning with you on this. Ive had a prelude and a sonar, this beats both + it has a headphone amp.

Its because the Forte has a dedicated headphone amp unlike most cards.

Personally HT Omega Striker or Auzentech Xplosion are two great cards with a decent price tag that will work fine for most people.

[go flames go]

exactly + it has VERY good drivers is good for music,movies,gaming, and audio creation as as has all the latest technologies unlike the predlude it is also pci express instead of pci. It is the best consumer card period. I picked up mine last week at ncix for 139.99 on sale xD

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by go flames go

exactly + it has VERY good drivers is good for music,movies,gaming, and audio creation as as has all the latest technologies unlike the predlude it is also pci express instead of pci. It is the best consumer card period. I picked up mine last week at ncix for 139.99 on sale xD

PCI-E doesn't give any benefit over PCI.

Prelude can do the exact same thing as the Forte as the Forte is an updated Prelude with just a dedicated headphone amp.

You can BUY a dedicated headphone amp for the price of a Forte and keep the onboard :P