Soundcard Question?

[DebojitGotBadDVD]

Hi friends, which is best soundcard within rupees 5000 range? and best 2.1 speakers in the market? (i can spend upto rupees 10,000 for the speakers, but they have to be 2.1 or 2.0)

[ravi_9793]

r U sick........
U want to invest 10K for a 2.1 or 2.0 speaker.

A high end 2.1 speaker from logitech/ altec lancing will cost around 3-4K

And I dont think you need any sound card for a 2.1 speaker.Because a dedicated sound card is needed for surround effect..and in 2.1 speaker you won't get surround effect.

[littlegoku]

I'd suggest tht you go for a 5.1 of 7.1(which I think is useless) speaker system.

[dOm1naTOr]

Even for 2.1 a sound card makes much difference. The only purpose of sound card is not only to provide gud surround, but also to decode and sample the sound at best. But inorder to notice that u need a speaker that is capable of producing it as its meant to be.
So better get THX certified speakers. Get XFi Xtreme Musik if in budget or else get Audigy 4 ZS.

I suggest u somehow go and listen for urself on any showrooms etc. The speakers that come below 10k and can be relially counted are:
Altec Lansing MX 5021 for 7.5k, Creative PC Works 2.1 for 9k.
Also u can consider Bose, Clipsch, Crell etc but may come upto 20k[high end].

[DebojitGotBadDVD]

But 5.1s and 7.1s are for movie buffs and gamers, not for audio enthusiasts like me. (The best studios in the world have 2.0 reference units, also called reference monitors) So I guess the Altec Lansing will be my choice. But I hate uncontrolled low end booms, which is so fashionable these days. The moronic consumer wants more low-end rumble, and the even worse manufacturers provide plenty of it. Bose and others are excellent in this department, as they do not tailor their speakers around Himesh Reshammiya's music.........but they are beyond my budget. There's nothing like a tight and well defined bass response.

[[xubz]]

^ Agreed! I always keep saying these days most speakers have too much bass. But people just WANT bass.. Forget listening to Jazz and Classic music with them. Lows virtually take over the entire song

There are many good sound cards from Creative! AFAIK, You can get a X-Fi Xtreme Music which costs around 6-7k or a Audigy 4 Series (which is cheaper)

For the speakers, its better if you go for a THX and Dolby Certified Speakers, Which will be easily available for your price range.

I'd suggest you see Logitech Z-2300, A Whopping 200w RMS and it's THX Certified

[DebojitGotBadDVD]

Thx. I'll check out that one. X-Fi Xtreme music......all these tags scare me. God knows if that card is designed to just punch out more boom than a bomb and glissy highs to slash through the eardrum....... I listen to a lot of ambient and orchestral music......I just hope I find something well suited for that. (Natural sound without low-end/hi-freq coloring.)

Another thing I find funny is: 99% of available music is encoded in stereo (audio cds, limewire rip-offs etc.). Other than movie and game dvds, what are surround speakers good for? I feel its more for bragging rights than anything else. At the end of the day, every song on the billboard was produced in stereo, and is delivered in stereo.

[dOm1naTOr]

@DebojitGotBadDVD
Yup, XFi Xtreme Music is what u are lookin for. It has 24 bit sounf crystallizer which greatly improves high frequency sounds.
And the bass dun get overlapped. Each beats are punchy and not irritating.
In case of onboard sound[even the best HD audios] the bass is faded out and there is huge sound of air movement and irritating air vibration.

Look for speakers with neodimium drivers or titanium drivers[found in Creative PC worx, Mega nd giga worx]. They pruduce some of the best treble effects without strain to ears.

[DebojitGotBadDVD]

Arvind, thanks for the precise information. Looks like I finally found a true audiophile friend....... I'm going for demos tomorrow (shopkeepers are sooooooo reluctant to let consumers try stuff.....they like outright blind purchases). Altec Lansing FX-6021 + Creative XFi Xtreme Music........sounds good?

[VideoEditingIndia]

Have you bought the X-Fi? Its good for Gamers, but not for audiophiles.

I have it and I never like any of its features like CMSS & 24 Cryst. They color the sound very badly. The card tries to remaster every audio I am playing in it. I turned off them permanently.

But I highly recommend them for anybody those know nothing about Sound mastering. X-Fi is the next best card which uses less CPU after Digis. And even they have the Cirrus Logic CS4382 D/A Converters which is used in High end marantz.

If you dont trust me, buy it and post your opinion about it here.. (I hope you heard from M-Audio 1010 & EMU 1616)