New soundcard for Music

[FATALiiTYz]

So, the title pretty much states it. I'm looking for a new soundcard for music. I listen to techno/ electro, bass, and a bit of rock.

How does this look?

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium PCIe,

http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=32&bid=4&sid=58081

I don't have a budget, but don't want to spend more than I need to.

EDIT: I'm located in Australia and my main places of purchase are Umart, PCCasegear, eBay and any other reputable online shop (must support PayPal)

Thanks.

 

[Aastii]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211&products_id=13190

or

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211&products_id=16789

would be much, much better. They are both the same card, however the D1 is PCI, whilst the DX is PCE-e

 

[Shane]

I have ASUS Xonar D1,Best soundcard i have ever owned,Sound quality is great! :good:

 

[FATALiiTYz]

Okay, thanks. One other thing, every time I want to change audio sources will I have to do it directly through the soundcard?

Can I use the 3.5mm jack on the front of my Antec 900 case? Or will that be the standard inbuilt audio

Thanks

 

[Aastii]

Okay, thanks. One other thing, every time I want to change audio sources will I have to do it directly through the soundcard?

Can I use the 3.5mm jack on the front of my Antec 900 case? Or will that be the standard inbuilt audio

Thanks

They both have pins on them where you can plug the front panel into, so rather than using the onboard, the front panel would come from the sound card. It will be a hell of a lot better sound quality than the onboard was, however you will lose some quality over using the jacks on the soundcard, however how noticeable that is will depend on the speakers/headset you are using, and your own personal sense of hearing

 

[diduknowthat]

What speakers do you have? Often times it's better to upgrade speakers than to upgrade sound card.

 

[FATALiiTYz]

What speakers do you have? Often times it's better to upgrade speakers than to upgrade sound card.

I'm using some Logitech X-530's, which aren't the problem. WHen I listen to music I can only have these turned up to around 25%, because I people that get annoyed in the opposite room. Same goes with Music, I have to have the bass completely off, so that's why I mainly use headphones for Music and Movies. I'm using some Koss PortaPros which have decent sound reproduction, but i'm going to get something better soon.

Also the Far-left speaker died, from falling off the wall to many times ;D

Thanks,

 

[diduknowthat]

I'm using some Logitech X-530's, which aren't the problem. WHen I listen to music I can only have these turned up to around 25%, because I people that get annoyed in the opposite room. Same goes with Music, I have to have the bass completely off, so that's why I mainly use headphones for Music and Movies. I'm using some Koss PortaPros which have decent sound reproduction, but i'm going to get something better soon.

Also the Far-left speaker died, from falling off the wall to many times ;D

Thanks,

The sound card will probably benefit a good headphone more than your speakers. The x-530 is known to be better at being loud than accurate. What headphones are you looking to buy?

And as for soundcard, I would recommend the Xonar D1 or DX over X-fi anyday.

 

[FATALiiTYz]

The sound card will probably benefit a good headphone more than your speakers. The x-530 is known to be better at being loud than accurate. What headphones are you looking to buy?

And as for soundcard, I would recommend the Xonar D1 or DX over X-fi anyday.

Yeah, I definately agree with you on that. Now hears my problem - headphones. There are so many blimmin' choices! But I've been doing a lot of research, and I'm thinking about some Prodipe Pro 800's, or some MEElectronics HT21. I've been looking at a few head-fi threads, so i'm fairly confident. What would you recommend in the $40 - $100 range?

 

[FATALiiTYz]

EDIT: Apparently the Prodipe Pro 800 is a rebrand from a little chiness company called takstar

http://takstar-shop.com/viewitem.php?groupid=1&productid=166

They do look identical, and they're selling them for $33 + $20 postage which is handy since i'm located in australia. It's a REAL pain in the ass finding an amazon seller that posts to Australia without charging a ridiculous fee ;D

 

[Aastii]

Casing is one thing, components are another. Just because they LOOK the same does not make them the same. Make certain you are getting identical. I should think that the phrase you get what you pay for will come into play, and be it in build quality or components quality, something isn't up to scratch

 

[FATALiiTYz]

Yup they both look identical, in the specs, the included accessories and even the description is the same. I doubt they'd be fakes if they're using their own brand, and they have heaps of other products.

I'll let you know how it works out

 

[Aastii]

Done a little research, and apparently you are right, they are the same

 

[FATALiiTYz]

Thanks

I'll be ordering within a week, I'll let yous know how it goes.

- Jeremy

 

[FATALiiTYz]

Ordered from Takstar on Sunday. The company is good, however just to let you know they don't send you a confirmation email. But, the live chat is up from 12 - 7, and there is always someone available (Bill) who is always very helpful and he even upgraded the post to express (3 - 4 days)

I'll let you know what I think once I receive it

 

[yoyojoe]

get some akg's you can find a good pair around that much

 

[FATALiiTYz]

Oh my god these headphones sound amazing with my E7 AMP. They're so loud that the actual headphones start shaking ;D

I have to agree that these are probably the BEST sub- fifty dollar headphones out right now.