SoundBlaster Live

[SKD_Tech]

I am buying the Altec Lansing 5100 series speakers. I've got 2 questions and I would be very thankful if they were answered....

1. Will my SoundBlaster Live have the capability of 5.1 Surround?

2. Does anyone have these speakers? If so can I please have some feedback on how they proform..

Thanks
Jake
Here is the site for the speakers

[The Maynard]

I would avoid Sound Blaster like it was the plague, if I were you. They have the most horrible driver issues, expecially if you have a motherboard with a VIA chipset. They are resource hogs and cause many IRQ conflicts.
I've used one in 3 different systems with 3 different chipsets and there were nothing but problems. Don't buy one.

[Enchanter]

Consider the Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1 instead. They should be priced close to the Live! 5.1, perform and sound far better.

Worth considering is the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz as well, though you may have trouble finding it since they have reached the end-of-life product cycle.

[SKD_Tech]

Hey where can I find information on the Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1?? I am guessing it is 7.1 capable... I am also assuming it is a 24 bit card.

SKD_Tech

[Enchanter]

The Hercules website will have info on the card. I'm kind enough to do a search for you and provide the relevant link.

I am also assuming it is a 24 bit card

Please don't expect too much at this kind of price . . .

The Audigy 1 is a 24-bit card, but its DACs are inferior to even the Fort III and hence its sound quality will not really please (the only reason to get an A1 is for its superior EAX gaming support. Otherwise, there are better alternatives out there).

[techno]

what u said about the VIA chipset is correct! VIA SUCK!

It's best if u buy a motherboard with an Intel Chipset, especially from ASUS, number one in the world!

The soundblaster live will not have the same compatability as the soundblaster live 5.1!

they made 2 different cards, I was selling them for the same price about 3-4 months ago, since I got it for nearly nothing from my distributer.

O, and the audigy live retail, with live drive SUX!

it wrecked my PC completly, I had 2 HDD's and 4 OS's on them, never worked on any of them! AT ALL, even using the web drivers!
it got so serious on XP that it produced a stop error!

Spent 2 hours on an international phone call, and they couldn't even solve it! stupid creative

I feel sorry for the ppl who are gonna buy the audigy 2, *silence*

I wanted a good soundcard after 5 years with my Creative 128PCI, does me good! so I bought that, and I was after the remote control, hehehe, but it was a disaster!

So now, I have my trusty PCI128 in the machine, removed the SB LIVE I put in once since it doesn't like my music creation software!

Sorry for this long post just giving input

[Enchanter]

I feel sorry for the ppl who are gonna buy the audigy 2

Just clarifying a few things. The A2 is a marked improvement over the A1, especially on sound quality issues (now that un-Creative has decided to use better DACs). Finally the new 24-bit card deserves to be a rival to the 2-year-old 16-bit Santa Cruz (took CL that long to raise their sound quality standard to the competition, despite what the ads keep saying).

[techno]

lol. hmm, not after the experience I had with the first version/card, I rather spit on that box everytime I see it

[Enchanter]

Have you actually tried using the Audigy 2 card and the updated driver yet?

[techno]

yeh bud, been there done that at my workshop (the PC shop) customers wanted it so I put in what they want, I only got one card working out of 12! And they ain't dodgy either, I have even bought the cards from local shops and also internet companies, like jungle.com but had no success, I guess I have to be on the fone for double the amount as last time then.....

Techno

[Enchanter]

I am currently waiting to get my hands on the M-audio Revolution. I hope it performs and sounds as good as it has been touted to be.

[SKD_Tech]

OK I am thinking about buying the A1 what are the pro's and con's about it?? Thanks for the help so far guys

SKD_Tech

[Enchanter]

The pros and cons of A1 . . . I can name a few:
Pro:
-. EAX 3.0 support (no other cards support this gaming API)
-. Price should be going down now that the A2 is out
-. Firewire port included (don't know how this differs from normal firewire cards)

Cons :
-. Inferior DAC (sound quality is not up there, despite what the ads say)
-. Inferior resampler (its 44.1KHz -> 48KHz resampling algorithm remains as bad as that of Live!)
-. PCI Bus Hog
-. Drivers full of bloatware

[SKD_Tech]

OK enough about the soundcard I just went out and bought it... Haven't had the time to stick it in yet though. What about the speakers guys..

[Enchanter]

Originally posted by SKD_Tech
OK enough about the soundcard I just went out and bought it... Haven't had the time to stick it in yet though. What about the speakers guys..

Ask the people over at 3DSS. They are the ones to ask regarding computer soundcards and speakers. State your budget and the main usage of the speakers.