Poor SoundBlaster reviews have me concerned.

[David M]

I am building my first computer, which is an Athlon FX-51 on an Asus SK8N "mobo". I am looking for not just a good, but an excellent sound card since I am going to use the computer for gaming, listening to music and grinding numbers...(I do science)

I went into PriceGrabber to read the reviews on sound cards and make a decision as to what card would be best. The only cards I saw are Creative Labs Soundblaster cards. Many of the Soundblaster cards received poor reviews yet many seemed to be good. To be scientific here.... a few of the reviews were by one or two people..., which is statistically insignificant. The cards that received poor reviews received as many as 11 reviews...which is statistically significant. Most of the negative comments related to quality, rude customer service, driver upgrade nightmares and a disorganized site. On the other hand, the good reviews mentioned sound quality.

I am not slamming Creative Labs...honestly. I don’t know much about Creative Labs and their products in the first place. All I know about them are the significant number of poor reviews and the relatively few positive reviews. Is Creative Labs the only manufacturer of high-end sound cards? I hope this is not a case of lack of competition causing a poor product.

The SK8N mobo I am purchasing comes with its own sound chip according to Asus. Asus describes the chip as a ADI AD1985, 6-channel CODEC S/PDIF out interface. Does this chip produce excellent sound quality? I plan on purchasing a Logitec Z-680 speaker system...therefore, I would imagine that it would be easy to tell the difference between an okay sound card and an excellent card.

In order to create a larger "sampling field", I am asking what the hundreds of readers of this forum think. I would imagine the readers of this forum have far more experience with SoundBlaster cards than the people who wrote the reviews in PriceGrabber. What do guys and gals think?

BTW, this is an EXCELLENT forum! It is fair, polite and has a wealth of knowledge that I have used, and will be using, to build my computer. I got a kick out of the guy who was banned for linking to a site with a Trojan horse...good for you!

Thanks so much,

David M

[Mr N8]

Welcome to PCMech!

Creative makes a wide range of cards, all under the name of soundblaster. I recently installed a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum soundcard, and it is top of the line. The sound quality is excellent, the setup was fairly simple, and I've had no problems with the software.

I've also installed a lot of Soundblaster Live! 5.1 cards, which is their current low range 5.1 sound card. The cards seem to be reliable, but they are lacking in the sound quality of some of their near competitors. The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and the M-Audio Revolution are both excellent sound cards.

[David M]

Mr N8,
Thanks...It's nice to know there is an alternative like Turtle Beach and to hear of your positive experience with Soundblaster.

David M

[Surge1243]

You may also want to consider the M-Audio Revolution.

EDIT: Opps, sorry didn't this was already suggested.

[Hi Ho]

I have never had a problem with any Soundblaster card or the drivers.

[nocturnx]

I had a soundblaster in my old PC and constantly had troubles with it, especially with it being compatible with some games. My friend has a turtle beach and it sounds good and he has not had any problems with it but i personaly do not have experience with them.

[Hi Ho]

Soundblaster has basicly been the standard for years. If a game isn't compatible than I don't know what to say. I'm using onboard sound right now but several of my games use EAX which is only found on Soudblaster sound cards.

[Surge1243]

Originally posted by Hi Ho I'm using onboard sound right now but several of my games use EAX which is only found on Soudblaster sound cards.

Is that right? I've used several non-Soundblaster cards that all run a game with EAX enabled just fine.

[Hi Ho]

EAX is a Creative tradmark and is only available on Creative cards. Some other cards may be compatible but in the case of many, such as my onboard sound, you can't hear everything and some things come out of the wrong speaker.

[SonicVanguard]

M-Audio still doesn't have their driver's up to snuff on the Windows platform, otherwise the Revolution is a great card.

The Santa Cruz doesn't compare to the Audigy much less the Audigy2. It's comparable to the Live! cards. I'm not saying it's a bad card, it's just not an Audigy.

If you want top of the line sound, the Audigy2 is the way to go unless you want something like the Audiophile 24/96.

Dave.

[glc]

I'd build it with the onboard sound and try it - if it's not good enough for you, then look for a card. That AD1985 is actually a pretty good chip.

[David M]

Thanks so much for your replies everyone! I like the idea of seeing how the onboard chip sounds first and then going out and buying an Audigy 2 if the onboard chip is not good enough. It appears that games and other applications that utilize sound are written for SoundBlaster cards since they are the most common cards.

BTW...What does an "x" bit member mean? I am now listed as a 2 bit member for example.

David M

[glc]

Number of bits it takes to express your post count in binary.