[KC101]

hi guys, i need a new sound card/dac
 
they dont seem to make the auzen x-fi prelude anymore and im not sure what sound card to get
 
or should i be looking at an external dac?
 
i have some audioegine a5 speakers but may upgrade in the near future, thanks

 

[Kuze]

Auzentech sucks with support and driver updates, Asus sucks also, best to go with external DAC with good SNR.

 

[KC101]

im thinking about just getting one of these...
 
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211&products_id=10940
 
anything else i should be looking at?

 

[Kuze]

Get the ST version, reviews claim its noticeably better than STX, there are a few used on ebay, but i wouldn't pay more than $150 anything over and i would go external DAC.

 

[KC101]

can u recommend some external dac's?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Quote:

can u recommend some external dac's?

Key factor in that is your price range. Am I wrong in assuming you don't have an amp either, so you'd want a DAC/amp combo?
 
Also, what uses are you planning? If you do much gaming you might want to go for a sound card aimed at that. Any other things you need (mic input? digital output?) could help with recommendations as well.

 

[KC101]

my speakers (audioengine a5's) have a built in amp
 
the price range im willing to stretch for a quality product, like i said i may be upgrading my speakers in the near future (and buy an amp if needed)

 

[Lubanja]

Quote:

Auzentech sucks with support and driver updates, Asus sucks also, best to go with external DAC with good SNR.

Sorry, why do you say auzen sucks with driver updates? I've never had an issue with my Auz Prelude. Works perfect with win7 64 and win vista 64. The replacement for the prelude is the Auzentech Forte but they are nearly impossible to find.
 
Asus Xonars are top tier competitor to the Forte so good choice there.
 
Good external DACs cost $300-400 from what i've been reading lately.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Most of the top soundcards have excellent measurment in many cases better then equally priced external units.
The idea that one is always better is false, there are good and bad units.

 

[Kuze]

Quote:

Sorry, why do you say auzen sucks with driver updates? I've never had an issue with my Auz Prelude. Works perfect with win7 64 and win vista 64. The replacement for the prelude is the Auzentech Forte but they are nearly impossible to find.
 
Asus Xonars are top tier competitor to the Forte so good choice there.
 
Good external DACs cost $300-400 from what i've been reading lately.

 
I don't know if you're one of the lucky ones but there has been a few complaints with the Forte and other creative based cards, for starters the infamous "pop crackle snap", i personally had "pop crackle snap" with the prelude but this was back in the days when i played Battlefield 2 and 2142, other wise it was a good card.
 
I didn't own the Forte but considered it, after reading some comments on Newegg i decided against it, i'm holdout for newer cards to hit the market, however if i do get back into the gaming scene I'd most likely go with Auzentech.

 

[masqlchris]

I recently got a Prelude and the ONLY pop or crack is when I'm switching from modes or something similar.  It's running great here under Win7 x64

 

[ear8dmg]

I'm using recent DanielK drivers with my Prelude in Windows 7.  The card is an utter pleasure to listen to and has been pretty much problem free in W7 since installing the DanielK drivers.  I initially installed them as CMSS-3D wasn't working in W7 but I understand that's been rectified in the official drivers now.
 
In vista I had an issue with game audio cutting out occasionally - even with DanK drivers.