Creative Gaming Audio & the EAX2 R

Question

Partially as a response to this thread about "Onboard sound versus X-Fi review/shootout?"...?http://forums.creative.com/creativel...message.id=430?... this post further expands the subject of on-board sound on to gaming & continues deeper into the needs/wants of a "gameaudiophile".
[color="#ff6600">- GG's!?Even though the link below points to an old article / review from 2005 03 07, it might give people here some guidance in finding their temporary way back to the still not so old HDA on-board sound until Creative's driver technologies see a brighter day. Intel High Definition Audio Aricle on the C-Media CMI-9880 & Realtek AL C880
http://www.behardware.com/articles/5...ition-dio.html?-------------------------------------------------------------- - Now I'm a pretty frequent gamer who have come to rely heavily on Creatives post EAX2 systems in regards to great positonal audio, doppler effects etc. As we all know, EAX on the higher notes is TBA & ETA unknown for the time being. This gives us time to fool around with eventual on-board stuff. So I did & let me tell you that the Sensaura 3DPA, which is implemented on the CMI-9880 (on my ASUS P5AD2 Premium MOBO) does not come close to a love affair. Setups for up to 7.CH is at your disposal, virtual modes as well. 6 Ds3D voices , EAX-2 & Jack Sensing... It's all working as in runnig but just doesn't reach any particular high.
[color="#ff6600">Gaming Audio & the EAX2 Roof?Some of you might wonder what my nit-picking about EAX is about. You might not be a gamer. The regular mp3-cowboy regards EAX to be merely a bug. You simply have to hear it in a game, preferably an online-shooter where picking up enemy footsteps & sounds etc are the difference between knowing where to turn your sights or getting it in the back. It's about anticipation as well as immersion. The EAX3+ modes make a huge difference in those regards. For many gamers, the importance of audio quality & positioning might not be clear when first starting out with a game. But as they grow into it, get accustomed with their surroundings, they start to notice & realize how important audio really is. Many of my friends who I have lured into gaming over the years have often been astonished by the difference between on-board audio solutions & the Creative addon cards. Then amazed about what miracles a good headphone setup can do. The real jaw-droppers were the higer EAX modes. EAX became their "eyes on their back". To put it bluntly: Gamers are a new but different breed of audiophiles. We are not content with movie-style directional audio alone, we also demand depth, distance, elevational sound possibilities. True 3D audio. EAX has been the best answer so far as to keep us somewhat happy. No EAX, no satisfaction. Part of the problem is that we have always been trusting Creative to keep deli'vering, and they probably will. But what if, just if, we would like to step out & try something different for a change. Just to know that some other company might do it just as good for us? Well, the options aren't many & they're limited.
[color="#ff6600">Other Cards, Other Technologies
Thats why it would be very refreshing to catch some reflections from someone about positional audio in different high-end gaming setu
ps.
Anyone running the AuzenTech X-Meridian 7. card for instance? I understand the X-Mer being very high quality as far as everything besides gaming is concerned. Reading a lot of reviews, primary concern would be the "higher than X-Fi" FPS hit - what is your real-world experience outside of the constructed RightMark 3D tests? Audio positioning / doppler? How does the Dolby Headphone, Dolby? Pro Logic IIX, Dolby? Digital Li've, DTS? Interacti've & DTS? Connect technologies hold up against their Creative counterpart EAX3-5, CMSS/CMSS2 etc? IMHO, EAX2 alone is not good enough & does not cut it when it comes to fast FPS-games. Maybe some of you have had first-hand experience with the Razer Barracuda AC- card instead? The reviews tell me a story about "nice first try" for Razer, considering it's their first shot at serious gaming audio. Positional is mentioned to be somewhat over optimistic etc. As I understand it, their "EAX3-and-up-killers" are called Razer Fidelity?, Razer Enhanced Sonic Perception? (ESP) architecture and Razer?s 3D (720?) Positional Gaming Audio Engine?. Any hardcore gamers tried it's?Of course, both the X-Mer & AC- utilize EAX2, but as I mentioned.., that's an obstacle to get around for the companies serious about getting gamers to migrate from Creative. It's simply not enough for some of us The substitute technologies must at least come very close of making up for the lack of EAX3-5. Many reviewers barely touch the gaming audio aspects of the tested card, simply stating that "it's adequate enough" (?!!). Well.., that might not hold true for those of us who expect to invest several more hours on virtual battlegrounds than playing mp3's or mixing etc.Happy hunting!
-------------------------------------------------------------- - Auzentech X-Meridian 7.
http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-meridian.php?Feature-by-Feature Sound Card Comparison
http://www.auzentech.com/site/support/Gaming.php
http://www.auzentech.com/site/support/Audio_Quality.php
http://www.auzentech.com/site/suppor...c_Playback.php
http://www.auzentech.com/site/support/Connectivity.php?Auzentech X-Meridian 7. Reviews
http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/399
http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie...dian/index.htm
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/auzentech/index.php
http://www.elite*******s.com/cms/ind...=282&Itemid=27
http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/auzent...an/index.shtml
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006//2...ech_x-meridian
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post9339200
http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...threadid=88528?X-Fi Elite or X-Meridian
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...37&page=&pp=30?-------------------------------------------------------------- - Razer Barracuda AC-
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...ing-Sound-Card?Razer Barracuda AC- Reviews
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/revie...AC/index.shtml
http://www.modders-inc.com/reviews-story--62.html
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razerbar...dio/page.shtml (Sponsored by Razer)?-------------------------------------------------------------- - [color="#ff6600">Great Headphone Stuff Baby!?HeadRoom - Headphone Amplifiers
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps?HeadWize - A Quick Guide to Headphones
http://headwize.com/articles/hguide_art.htm?HeadWize - Technologies for Presentation of Surround-Sound in Headphones
http://headwize.com/tech/sshd_tech.htm?HeadWize - Judging Headphones For Accuracy
http://headwize.com/articles/judging_art.htm?HeadWize - Preventing Hearing Damage When Listening With Headphones
http://www.headwize.com/articles/hearing_art.htm?HeadWize - The Elements of Musical Perception
http://headwize.com/tech/elemnts_tech.htm?Aureal - 3-D Audio Primer
http://headwize.com/tech/aureal_tech.htm?Ethan Winer - Audiophoolery
http://www.ethanwiner.com/audiophoolery.html?HeadRoom - The Psychoacoustics of Headphone Listening
http://headwize.com/tech/headrm_tech.htm?Sensaura 3DPA (3D Positional Audio)
http://www.sensaura.com/technology?-------------------------------------------------------------- - [color="#ff6600">H4rl3qun?s Audio Setup? |? Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS? |? C-Media 9880 High Definition Audio Device? |? Sennheiser HD 650 Reference Class? |? Sennheiser PC55 USB? |? Sony MDR-V700DJ? |? PreSonus HP4 Headphone Amplifier? |?

Answer 1

Danke Cat.., but it's pretty much just a pure love letter to honey EAX, who happens to be sorely missed by my big rig if you manage to take notice? - Not dangerous at all really since Creative will hopefully outperform the competition anyhow in the end, right? I'm counting on it anyway. In general, these OS-shift problems currently stirring up are most likely a passing thing; taking audio & audio technology more into the spotlight than anything else. - Which is a good thing for Creative as well (handled nicely), promise, & so is acknowledging / discussing differences between soundcards.
If you are referring to the reviews as inhibiting some sort of advertisement character then yes, advertisement leaning towards Creative since none of the other products have been able to outperform any of the Creative cards when it comes to the topic of gaming ^^ as of yet. Many also use Creative cards as reference in tests, link to & publish Creative specifications etc. Does not necessarily have to be a one way street. Or do you perhaps mean that it's not ok to namedrop? Or hyperlink? Ahwell.., I should have read the manual I guess.
As marshall_lai also kindly pointed out, there is also a huge business opportunity helping lesser incorporated to implement EAX+ & technologies in a proper manner!
Anyway.., Parental Advisory & brainpower recommended in any reply & Enjoy!
:P