Windows 7 - Best Sound Card

[Fudd Rucker]

Id go for asus. Creative with win 7 has been crap at best so far for me. I bought my xfi titanium because of DTS and dolby digital support for my receiver which doesnt work at all with creatives software or drivers.

[jeremyofmany]

I'm just wondering - I don't think I really need a high-end card like this just to get my surround sound and TV hook-up. The extra cost seems to be for the bundled extras which I likely won't use.
For my current 7 year old SBL, I just install the drivers and then start listening to my music. No configuration whatsoever. This sound card is all I have ever known for sound. It has been in my last 3 PCs. Would I notice the audible difference between this sound card and the sound produced by a $200 card? A $50 card will give me my surround sound and TV hook-up, right?

Bottom line - is a high-end card worth it?

I found this comparison:
Auzentech, Inc. Sound Cards. Audio You Can Believe In. World First soundcards for Music, HTPC, and Gaming.

There are far too many details to compare but the main ones from what I can see are:

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is highest in the ASUS Xonar DX (116db) Higher is better, I take it.

The ASUS Xonar DX is the only one with its own audio processor. The others use "20K1" but I have no idea what that means. Does the fact that the Xonar DX has its own make it the better choice or the "outsider"?

They all have a max of 128 3D voices except for the AUZEN X-Studio 5.1 [Low Profile].

Most of them, including the ASUS Xonar DX, have a Max. Audio Resolution Playback & Quality of 24-bit/96kHz in 7.1ch.

The ASUS Xonar DX has a Max. Recording/Sampling Rate of 24-bit/192kHz. Is this for people to make their own music? I do not.

EAX2.0
AUZEN X-Studio 5.1 [Low Profile]
ASUS Xonar DX (Low Profile)

EAX5.0
AUZEN X-Fi Forte 7.1 [Low Profile]
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Gamer FATAL1TY Pro
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Titanium FATAL1TY Pro

I looked this up on Wikipedia:
Environmental audio extensions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EAX 2.0

EAX 2.0 was used in Sound Blaster Live! sound cards.

• 32 simultaneous voices processable in hardware
• Occlusion Effects
• Material-specific reverb parameters

EAX 5.0

EAX 5.0 is present in Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards.

• 128 simultaneous voices processable in hardware and up to 4 effects on each
• EAX Voice (processing of microphone input signal)
• EAX PurePath (EAX Sound effects can originate from one speaker only)
• Environment FlexiFX (four available effects slots per channel)
• EAX MacroFX (realistic positional effects at close range)
• Environment Occlusion (sound from adjacent environments can pass through walls)

All but the AUZEN X-Studio 5.1 [Low Profile] have 7.1 which is fine for me because I just use 5.1 headphones.

Obviously, they all have pros and cons.

I just someone to level with me on this one.

Edit -
Buy the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE at TigerDirect.ca

$40.00

• 7.1 surround output
• 24-bit/96kHz audio resolution.
• 100dB signal to noise ratio.
• 64-Voice polyphony and multi-timbral capability
• EAX ADVANCED HD 3.0 support for gaming.

You guys see what I am getting at?

[JD]

NCIX.com - Buy ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 Channel PCI Sound Card 24BIT DTS SPDIF W/ Low Profile Bracket - Xonar DS In Canada.

There you go. Should do everything you want, only $55, and has Windows 7 drivers.

[kendallcschm]

i personally like:
Newegg.ca - ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Audio/Video Enhancement Combo Card - Sound Cards
or
Newegg.ca - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional 70SB088600002 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

[Sushi Warrior]

You can't just look at a sound cards spec sheets, there's a fair bit more than that.

The question is, does it work with Windows 7 x86, x64 or both?
It is interesting that you recommend Asus for music/media and Auzentech for those plus games.
The review on the ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 shows that it works good for gaming.
I suppose that is based on personal experience?

I played around with both all-be-it I didn't try the asus on win7. Currently I am using the prelude 7.1 extreme on win7 and it is rock solid sounds fine. Keep in mind that even though it is an xfi chip the drivers are not provided by creative. For me this is important as I will never spend money on creative cards so help me god.

When i played around with the asus card it was great for media but was HORRIBLE in games. I had to play a game like bf2 in software mode due to the horrible problems I was having. Also vegas 2 rainbow six has amazing eax5.0 which will not work with asus cards. In fact the game crashed several times with "their" version of eax. I used the asus in XPpro32bit if a card can't run for shit in a 32 bit environment it won't be any better in 64bit.

The auzentech has been the best all round card for me and I'll always recommend it. Jake_HT just bought one and loves it. I am a bit of an audiophile even though admittedly I don't know every last thing about audio I can absolutely attest to the difference in quality. If i could afford 1000 dollar headphones... i would buy them tomorrow. Besides the auzentech has dual opticals.

I was thinking about this today... if other people here are saying the asus is good for win7 and you are interested in trying it out by all means. Please don't take my post as the the word of god especially when it comes to win7. New operating systems respond differently with different hardware configs.

[Snarl]

Auzentech Forte for me on Windows 7 64 Bit, works fantastic.

[jeremyofmany]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=46389&vpn=Xonar%20DS&manufacture=ASU S

There you go. Should do everything you want, only $55, and has Windows 7 drivers.

I'm leaning more towards a PCI-E sound card. Thank you, though.

Originally Posted by Sushi Warrior

You can't just look at a sound cards spec sheets, there's a fair bit more than that.

I realize that. That is why I read this review, among others:
Asus' Xonar DX sound card - The Tech Report - Page 1

Originally Posted by HaDeS

I played around with both all-be-it I didn't try the asus on win7. Currently I am using the prelude 7.1 extreme on win7 and it is rock solid sounds fine. Keep in mind that even though it is an xfi chip the drivers are not provided by creative. For me this is important as I will never spend money on creative cards so help me god.

When i played around with the asus card it was great for media but was HORRIBLE in games. I had to play a game like bf2 in software mode due to the horrible problems I was having. Also vegas 2 rainbow six has amazing eax5.0 which will not work with asus cards. In fact the game crashed several times with "their" version of eax. I used the asus in XPpro32bit if a card can't run for shit in a 32 bit environment it won't be any better in 64bit.

I find it interesting how you have had such poor performance with the ASUS sound card with regards to PC gaming.
Have you read this review?

Asus' Xonar DX sound card - The Tech Report - Page 1

More specifically:

Asus' Xonar DX sound card - The Tech Report - Page 4

"Bioshock
Bioshock uses Unreal technology, delivering native support for OpenAL in Windows Vista. DS3D GX didn't work properly with Bioshock at first, and the game would fail to run with EAX enabled. However, Asus was able to quickly get us an updated .dll for the Xonar's drivers that resolved the issue."

Asus' Xonar DX sound card - The Tech Report - Page 6

"Game time: DS3D GX under the microscope
Asus claims that the Xonar's DirectSound 3D GX's EAX 5.0 emulation produces output comparable to true EAX implementations, so we just had to take it for a spin. We even contacted Creative to see if they could suggest some games that might highlight DS3D GX's limitations, but the company's few suggestions were dominated by games based on the older Doom 3 engine. EAX support just isn't what it used to be, I guess.

Creative did suggest that we try Bioshock, and since we had a few initial DS3D GX problems with the game, it made the cut. We also decided to throw a little Battlefield 2 into the mix. The game has a special X-Fi audio mode, and we were curious to see how that would pan out with the Xonar.

I spent a couple of hours playing each game on the X-Fi XtremeMusic and Xonar DX with configured for 5.1-channel analog output with in-game EAX effects enabled. Surprisingly, Battlefield 2 let me invoke the X-Fi audio mode with the Xonar DX.

After an afternoon of gaming, I came away quite impressed with DirectSound 3D GX. Creative may be correct in saying that it doesn't deliver a genuine EAX 5.0 experience, and I wouldn't be surprised if its emulation isn't an exact 1:1 replica of EAX effects. But that didn't diminish my gaming experience in the least. Bioshock is packed with aural ambiance, and the underwater city of Rapture was every bit as creepy with the Xonar as it was with the X-Fi. I couldn't detect any difference between the cards in Battlefield 2, either, even in intense firefights loaded with explosions, gunfire, and frantic cries for a medic."

Originally Posted by Snarl

Auzentech Forte for me on Windows 7 64 Bit, works fantastic.

For PC Gaming as well?

dude... don't read the reviews of that card goto the ASUS forum on that card and read all the pissed off posts. That's what made my decision... asus doesn't quickly release any fixes for anything ever imo. All the reviews I read on the asus card were perfect the GX (openAL) failed for me in multiple games.

The people on their forums were chomping at the bit for a new driver fix and reviews don't mean a thing if thousands of actual users are complaining about the same hardware.

As for the pci-e sound card I would totally do that... especially with all the layouts i've seen coming down the pipe.