Audigy Original or A7N8X onboard Nvidia APU???

[jdulmage 0]

I've been having a discussion with a few folks and we haven't been able to come to a clear understanding. So I'll ask some expert panelists for feedback on this.

 

A7N8X comes with an Nvidia APU which is superb (probably best onboard sound out there), but I was thinking of getting an Audigy sound card. I have been told by a few that the onboard apu on this board is way better than the Audigy sound card.

 

I have no reason to buy an Audigy card if this is the case, so I ask you people here (perferably ones with A7N8X) if you have been able to compare these and come to a conclusion or at least a half-conclusion.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Copernicus 0]

The A7N8X doesn't have Soundstorm certification. So it's better to put an Audigy sound card in it,than leave it using onboard sound.

[jdulmage 0]

Quote:

The A7N8X doesn't have Soundstorm certification. So it's better to put an Audigy sound card in it,than leave it using onboard sound.

Uhm...A7N8X Deluxe has Nvidia Soundstorm on it. That's what i'm talking about. Not the certification. I already knew that.

I've since decided to stick with the SoundStorm onboard anyways, unless it is giving me hassle.

[ThC 129 0]

i have a A7n8x deluxe. No problems here, that and my new Aiwa headphones make everything sound wonderful!!

[Mr.Guvernment 0]

Depends on what you want to do..lol

 

a PCI sound card is likely to give you more options - but even onboard sound now is kicking butt

 

 

my Abit BH7 has built in 6.1 surround sound..lol it is incredible!

[jdulmage 0]

yea, only thing is that Asus has been taken off the list for certification and I think that is what Copernicus was speaking of.

 

I've decided to go with an Audigy OEM instead.

 

But that may change by the time I buy it, I'm the kind of person that researches heavily and changes his mind about 4 times before buying it.

 

I've learned that is the best way to buy new things.

[tweaked 0]

the audigy is FAR better at taking multiple channel tracks and mixing it into the number of speakers you have...

 

IE 2 channel into 5.1.

 

upconverting there is only a mild difference..

 

but downconverting there is a huge difference.

 

with soundstorm if you play back a 5.1 signal through say a 4channel setup, you completyely lose the center channel, it doesn't downmix it into the front channels.

 

kinda wierd...

 

only noticeable in very few situations (playing back a 5.1 dvd on a 4 speaker setup for instance)

 

audio quality is a liiiiitle bit better on the audigy as well.

 

Edit:

Actually i should have qualified the statement as "you CAN lose the center channel" as you don't always. After experimenting with the 2 audio solutions for quite a while i find that creatives drivers are more mature (WHAT?! good drivers? creative? HELL HAS FROZEN OVER!!!).

 

However, I think if we give Nvidia another 1 1/2 years then they will own the consumer audio Market.

[ViolentGreen 0]

From what I understand, the soundstorm is way better then the Audigy. It is debateable whether it is as good or better then the audigy 2. Got to www.nofrcershq.com and check the faq on the ASUS board. If that isn't enough, search the forums. There are probably a hundred of topics on this matter.

[tweaked 0]

the nforce has 3 things that the audigy 1 does not.

 

1. 64 hardware accelerated 3d audio channels.

 

2. dolby digital ac-3 5.1 output.

 

3. basically comes free on nforce boards.

 

The audigy has a much higher signal to noise ratio, IE cleaner signal.

They both use about the same amount of cpu time +-~5% depending on audio codec used and the game, blah, blah, blah. close enough.

 

For just 3d games i would definately go soundstorm if my board had it.

 

But being a media Whore i like the audigy 2 for my HTPC as i have less difficulty in making a variety of sources sound exactly as i want them to.

 

Sounstorm can be quite a bit tricky in HTPC configs:

 

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=37&sid=a452da86e4dcadbe12c67351a8ef8243

[gilgamesh 0]

I have a problem with the onboard Soundstorm. I have the Logitech Z-640 5.1 speakers. I am pretty sure i have them hooked up correctly. Green(front) plug to line-in, orange(center) to center channel input, and black(rear) to the purple rear input. That said, when i select Dolby Surround Encoding in the SoundStream options the back speakers cut out, the center channel comes through though. But when i turn it off the rear speakers come on but the center channel cuts out. I have to push Matrix3D to get center. It seems I shouldn't need to do this but is there anyone out there that knows more about this than I do? Help is appreciated.

 

-gilgamesh

[gilgamesh 0]

Nevermind, just clicked on the Nforcershq forum link and found the solution by using nvswap. Works great now

[Szego 0]

Hey, I just bought a kickass new system, A7n8x dlx, radeon 9800 pro, gig of ram, athlon 3.2ghz, its awesome, along with my 19 inch monitor, exceot for the fact that i bought the Z640 spakers. You see my onboard sound has is 6 channel. So it has 6 jacks (one of which you cant even plug anything into cuz its too small) and there are only 3 wires to plug the speakers into 6 jacks. As of now one wire worked, the front and the sub but thats it. Any ideas?

[pmistry 0]

My sis has the same motherboard and uses the onboard and its good, the best onboard audio solution out there. My P4 board has a Realtek ALC650 codec on it and its crap compared to even an SB Live in my opinion. I put my SB Live in because I lost about 10-15 FPS in games because the SB Live is accelerated and uses less CPU cycles than the Realtek, and this is the only thing that sucks with onboard audio but the NForce audio is accelerated and much better than Realtek or VIA.

 

If you want a good sound card, upgrade to the Audigy 2 series, a noticed a big difference between that and my old SB Live, and it would be better than the NForce but the NForce is better than the Audigy 1.

[Brian Frank 0]

The Audigy 1 is pretty crappy actually. If you want an Audigy, go with the 2, or stick with the Soundstorm.