5.1 live or Audigy 2?

Sharky Forums


Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 16

Thread: 5.1 live or Audigy 2?

  1. #1
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399

    5.1 live or Audigy 2?

    I have a soundblaster 5.1 live! Should I upgrade to the Audigy 2 pci card?
    I listen to music and play occasional games. I have Z-680 speakers.
    No More Tears

  2. #2
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399
    Will the sound quality increase or will I not notice it moving from the 5.1 live?

    What type of cable would you use for the digital out on the card?
    No More Tears

  3. #3
    Zoom-Zoom! soupnazi's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    15,097
    I currently have an Sblive 5.1 with Z560's. If you're happy with the sound, I'd just stick with the Sblive. I'm short on cash and couldn't see the benefits with spending more money on a soundcard for a slight increase in sound quality. The prices will go down.

    My friend has the Altec Lansing 641's and upgraded from onboard sound to an Audigy 2. He noticed a BIG difference.
    Spoiler

  4. #4
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399
    I got a huge bump in sound quality from the onboard to the 5.1live. The money isnt a concern, I think the card cost about $100.00, right? I just want a little comfort in knowing that there will be a noticable quality change.
    No More Tears

  5. #5
    Zoom-Zoom! soupnazi's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    15,097
    Oh, there will be a sizeable difference.
    Spoiler

  6. #6
    Hammerhead Shark natgun's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2001
    Location
    Boston, Ma
    Posts
    2,332
    there is an immediate noticeable difference between the live and audigy2. the highs are crisper and the lows are less distorted at high volume. i run klipsch promedias, so maybe with crappier speakers the difference will be less noticable. just some thoughts from someone who has switched from the live to the audigy2 within the last 2 weeks.
    P4 2.4C @ 3.3Ghz 275FSB 1.62v|Abit IC7-G|2x512MB Corsair PC3500 @ 440mhz 2-3-2-6|Saphire Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB|SLK-900u w/ 90mm Enermax adjustable fan|Hitachi DeskStar 180GXP 120GB w/8MB Cache|Antec TruePower 430w|SB Audigy 2|Klipsch PM v.2-400 w/SWS|Logitech MX510|Trinitron 21"

    HTPC:
    P4 2.8C(stock)|Abit IS7|2x512mb Corsair PC3200|MSI Geforce4 4200 128mb|2x180gb Hitachi 180gxp|SB Audigy 2 zs|Klipsch PM 5.1 Ultras|NetGear 802.11g Wi-Fi|Hauppauge PVR-250|Logitech cordless desktop MX for bluetooth (mx900)|Enermax 350w|ATI Remote Wonder

    Old Faithfull:
    P3 1ghz @ 1.1 147fsb|Asus CUSL2-C|512MB Crucial CAS2 PC133|Creative Geforce2 GTS 32MB|IBM DeskStar 60GXP 60GB|SB LIVE! 5.1|Creative Desktop Theater 5.1|Enlight 300w PSU

  7. #7
    Hammerhead Shark Kill-Switch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,195
    I reckon you'd notice a sunstantial difference switching from the Live 5.1 to the Audigy 2 ... I noticed a difference when I switched from the Audigy 1 to the Audigy 2!!

    Intel i7 7700K (Kaby Lake)
    NZXT Kraken X62 AIO CPU Cooler
    Asus ROG Maximus IX Hero Z270 Motherboard
    32Gig G.Skill Trident X Series DDR4 (4 x 8gig @3200)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming
    256Gig Samsung 850 Pro SSD
    3TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
    Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 750watt PSU
    27" Acer Predator XB271HU
    Razor DeathAdder Chroma
    Razor Blackwidow Chroma V2
    BeQuiet Dark Base 900 Pro

  8. #8
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399
    Thanks for the input. I ordered the card from newegg.com
    No More Tears

  9. #9
    Zoom-Zoom! soupnazi's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    15,097
    When you get the A2, make a new thread and let us know what you think of it.
    Last edited by soupnazi; 06-16-2003 at 08:58 PM.
    Spoiler

  10. #10
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399
    I will. Ill test it with digital out and regular RCA out also.
    No More Tears

  11. #11
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399

    life with Audigy 2

    I got the card and installed it. I use monster digital optical cables so there are no weak links in the system. I think there is a slight improvment in sound quality. DVD movies sound the same to me. Games are better. For the money I spent I feel I got good value. Is it a knockout - no. But it is great.
    No More Tears

  12. #12
    Zoom-Zoom! soupnazi's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    15,097
    Is there a noticeable difference in music quality?
    Spoiler

  13. #13
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399
    Yes. But If I had to do it again, I'd look to pay $40.00 for the card. I think the upgrade from a Live 5.1 to Audigy2 is surely worth that.
    No More Tears

  14. #14
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Kentucky
    Posts
    2,064
    Why not get an M-Audio Revolution if you mainly use the card for music?

  15. #15
    Reef Shark
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    399
    I dont know. Impulse purchase? Maybe that would have been better, there are a lot of features on the Audigy2 that I have no use for.
    No More Tears

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •