Help Me Decide on a New Sound Card

[tgxiii]

Which sound card would you suggest in the $100 to $150 range? I was thinking between the Santa Cruz, the Audigy 2, and the Revolution. If you guys could list pros and cons about each one, that would be great; it would make my decision easier. Also, what is DSP? I heard the Revolution doesn't have a DSP so it reduces frame rates in games. Thank you for your time.

[MD1032]

M-audio Revolution gets my vote, it's awesome for music. If you're a heavy gamer go with the Audigy 2. I'm happy with my Santa Cruz, but if I had the money I would have gotten something better.

[nukes]

If your on an AMD processor, look at an NForce2 board with onboard sound. good quality and much lower CPU overhead than any other sound card, onboard or PCI. In fact, the likes of the Audigy2 can drop your framerates in games as much as a 20mhz decrement in graphics card clock speed.
that said, I would definatley recommend the Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo cards. (I think they're up to 3 or 4 now) IMO they can't be beaten in terms of price or performance. The audigys don't cut it anymore, unless you want the audigydrive! thing specifically.

[Ubik]

The Santa Cruz is down to $66 for the retail version at mwave.com. Just a heads up It's a great card for just general use if you're not a major audiophile or professional musician.

[jmebonner]

I agree with nukes on the NForce2 suggestion. I previously had a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I've gotten rid of that computer and gotten an ASUS A7N8X which has the onboard soundstorm decoder. I can not tell a dime's worth of difference. I'm very impressed with it.

[tgxiii]

Seems a lot of people REALLY like the Revolution.... I know that the Fortissimo III and the Revolution have 7.1 speaker support and the Audigy 2 has extra I/O interfaces, but other than that how are they different? I'm new and it would really help if explanations are included. Thanks!

[dr_roberts49]

Let's answer a question with a question. What are you looking for in a sound card? I have an extensive music and DVD collection. I also like to play games. I found the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz to be the card for me. It offers excellent DVD sound on my 5.1 speakers. Same goes for my music, which is both CD and mp3. It does a great job on the games I play. Finally, it has a "true" digital sound processor (DSP) and does not rely heavily on the cpu. It is a card unto itself. Throw in the low price, and there are very few (if any) reasons not to buy this card.

Robert

[dr_roberts49]

One more thing. It also has excellent headphone support and drivers specifically for headphones, which you can tailor to your own needs. The versajack output on the card, allows you to enjoy this function, without having to unplug your speakers. Selection of speakers or headphones, is done through the cards software, which is top grade! The card supports both digital and analog speakers, in a range of configurations.


Robert

[MD1032]

That versajack has got to be the best jack ever. Why doesn't every sound card have one?!

My vote goes to either the Audigy 2 Platinum or the M-audio Revolution.

[nukes]

The problem with creative cards is that they do tend to hog resources a bit and the drivers also tend to be fairly crap. On top of it ll, you're paying for a name that doesn't really mean anything anymore.
dr_roberts49:
The NForce audio has been tested and shown to have the lowest CPU overhead of all the leading cards of today. (Incedentally, with the audigy ranking the lowest/worst)