best Soundcard for headphone listening |
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best Soundcard for headphone listening |
 Jan 9 2008, 06:14
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#1
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Group: Members Posts: 56 Joined: 28-September 06 Member No.: 35719  |
Could somebody recommend me the best soundcard for headphone listening under $200? I'm looking to replace my Audigy 4 card.
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Jan 9 2008, 07:01
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#2
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Group: Members Posts: 7 Joined: 4-January 08 Member No.: 50139 |
Try Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, it has excellent headphone support.
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Jan 9 2008, 14:22
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#3
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 Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 2372 Joined: 22-September 01 Member No.: 3 |
QUOTE (Jeni @ Jan 9 2008, 07:01)  Try Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, it has excellent headphone support. Can't speak about the headphone output quality, but at least it's well under $200. More like $5 (seriously). Check ebay... |
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Jan 9 2008, 14:39
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#4
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Group: Members Posts: 56 Joined: 28-September 06 Member No.: 35719 |
I should add that the soundcard will be for music listening, not gaming. I plan on combining it with my Sennheiser 280 Pro headphones and a headphone amp. A main concern other than the actual sound quality is the quality of the drivers, which absolutely suck with the Audigy 4. They are extremely outdated and just install other crap that I never will use.
-------------------- [url=http://filesharingpiracy.blogspot.com/][/url]
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Jan 9 2008, 14:47
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#5
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 2372 Joined: 22-September 01 Member No.: 3 |
The TBSC has final XP drivers, and they stopped driver development, so you won't see Vista drivers for it. See here. But the XP drivers are supposed to be ok.
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Jan 9 2008, 14:59
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#6
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 Group: Members Posts: 538 Joined: 20-December 05 From: Springfield, VA Member No.: 26522 |
E-mu 0202?
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Jan 9 2008, 15:32
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#7
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 Group: Members Posts: 1494 Joined: 31-January 04 Member No.: 11664 |
santa cruz is awesome. cirrus 4630 drivers should work.
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Jan 15 2008, 09:12
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#8
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Group: Members Posts: 1 Joined: 15-January 08 Member No.: 50502 |
If you are going to use a decent headphone like the HD280 with an external amp then I would recommend you get any EMU card. Pick the one within your budget. They are all excellent and get exponentially better as you go up the line.
This post has been edited by Yorgi: Jan 15 2008, 09:13 |
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Jan 15 2008, 09:40
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#9
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 Group: Members Posts: 157 Joined: 29-July 06 Member No.: 33427 |
Quite honestly, I'd be amazed if any of the current crop of sound cards were in fact 'crap' as far as actual sound reproduction. One might find differences in drivers / ease of install, etc., but as far as the actual hardware...
As a PC technician with years of experience in the field, I'd have to say, any of the dozen or so modern cards I see on daily basis are all of outstanding quality. Most issues with regards to drivers come from inexperienced users attempting to install drivers (not generally an ‘easy as you might’ think task for the uninitiated), and other applications (nefarious spyware etc.), buggering with the operating systems control of said drivers. I would suggest that even the most basic of the new Creative Labs ‘X-Fi’ cards would do the trick for you. Check out the ‘X-Fi Extreme Music’ series here: http://us.creative.com/products/product.as...p;product=14066 You’ll likely be able to pick it up from Ncix.com, TigerDirect.ca or eBay for much less. Andrew D. www.cdnav.com This post has been edited by digital: Jan 15 2008, 09:46 |
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Jan 15 2008, 14:56
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#10
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 Group: Members Posts: 44 Joined: 9-October 05 Member No.: 25008 |
QUOTE (digital @ Jan 15 2008, 10:40) I would suggest that even the most basic of the new Creative Labs ‘X-Fi’ cards would do the trick for you. Check out the ‘X-Fi Extreme Music’ series here: http://us.creative.com/products/product.as...p;product=14066 You’ll likely be able to pick it up from Ncix.com, TigerDirect.ca or eBay for much less. Andrew D. www.cdnav.com That or a headphone amp if it is mainly for music and headphones. Get something with optional crossfeed. Makes a difference with the 70-80s music when they went mad on stereo panning. On my X-Fi I use CMSS 3D option to blur Left and Right together a bit. I have it off for anything recorded in the 90's or later. |
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Jan 15 2008, 17:26
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#11
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 Group: Members Posts: 151 Joined: 6-October 06 Member No.: 36033 |
QUOTE (footballking3420 @ Jan 9 2008, 00:14) Could somebody recommend me the best soundcard for headphone listening under $200? I'm looking to replace my Audigy 4 card. I know some people who swear by the ESI Juli@ and the emu1212 in that price range, with the Juli@ getting a slight nod for ease of set up. |
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Jan 15 2008, 21:40
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#12
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 Group: Members Posts: 125 Joined: 15-July 06 From: Germany Member No.: 32930 |
I can recommend a Terratec Aureon 7.1 Space, very good sound quality and a headphone amplifier on-board (can be enabled per software). Probably only available used.
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Jan 15 2008, 22:06
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#13
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Group: Members Posts: 174 Joined: 10-October 03 From: Florida, USA Member No.: 9235 |
I've got the HD280 Pros and a Total Airhead in line with a Turtle Beach
This post has been edited by tev777: Jan 17 2008, 00:52 -------------------- --
Eric |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 19th May 2013 - 02:53 |
