[bigvaL]

Hey guys

It's been awhile and my trusty PCI XtremeMusic has finally bit the dust. I'm looking for a PCI-E 1x sound card that is pretty much the best overall bang for the buck card for basic video gaming, music etc. I have sennheiser HD595's but without a headphone amp or any other hardware. I am using my onboard sound and cannot stand it. People say I'm wrong but the quality difference is noticeable as well as lower overall volume etc.

Is it the soundblaster Z ?

Thanks in advance friends

 

[infranoia]

Bang for buck + basic gaming might be what I've got, the Recon3D. But there are better signal-to-noise ratios out there, and frankly there are probably better overall & cheaper cards out there.

I got it because it was very clear from reviews and in the manual that it supported foolproof digital pass-through and I use a home theater amp, and I could never figure out if any of the competition did the same (pass all audio through digital port, both standard audio and format-agnostic bitstreams).

I can tell you don't get the Recon3D if you're listening to music through cans. Skimming the Z, it looks like they may have addressed their SNR issues, but I can't speak to the op-amps or DACs they use.

EDIT: LOL @ Overclock's own guide:

"Creative Soundblaster Z - This is one of the more recently releases Creative cards. After the Titanium phase they released a set of dreadful cards called 'recon 3D'. It was all a gimmick and performed horribly. Do not EVER buy those cards."

So there you go.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1014902/ocns-most-recommended-audio-products/0_100

 

[orlfman]

Sound Blaster ZxR

comes with a 600 ohm amp and a fancy volume control knob.

 

[senna89]

SB-Z and Zx u cant set the amplification for headphone, u will have permanent max impedance.
if you have an hp with low impedance ( 30-32ohm or little more ) the experience is crap.

only with Zxr model the engineers of creative had introduced the impedance regulation.