[Stealth]

just bought a pair of these:


http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=110&code=023

they're supposed to be badass, but what kind of sound card would you recommend as minimum for them?  right now i've just got an inboard soundcard, with 2 channel sound  however, how many games really take advantage of the 5.1?  therefore i'm thinking i should just go with it, right?  i mean as opposed to buying a sound card and everything.

but how would i plug the headphones in?  just plug the "center" channel into the sound card?  that would work, but it can't be right.  anyone have any experience with headphones?

[Flipside]

Well, if you've only got a 2 channel card then alas, that's more or less your only option. Though Aureal 3D and other sound systems don't actually need 5.1 iirc.

Obviously surround sound would be a massive improvement even on that, and to be honest, you can pick up a box-standard 5.1 soundcard for a pretty low price these days. Personally, I'd recommend that, then just plug center into your headphones out and surround for the other channels

http://shopping.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/ss_5.1_soundcards.html

It's a UK site, but it gives you some names and prices, if in sterling

[Stealth]

right, but would i, like, connect the "CENTER" lead to the sound card?  or the 'front' lead?  or 'rear'?

[Flipside]

I'd say Front for your main stereo sound, Rear for your surround sound outputs if/when you get them, and center for your sub-woofer, should it be needed. Theres only a single Center speaker, so that is what it suggest to me anyway

[Grey Wolf]

I think he's asking about with his Zalman headset.

Until you get a 5.1 card, which are dirt cheap (the SB Live!, for example), I'd say center is probably your best bet.

[Flipside]

'5.1 channel system is composed of six speakers, front right and left, a center, rear right and left, and a sub-woofer for a Low Frequency Effect(LFE). ".1" refers to the subwoofer.'

That's from the write-up, it mentions stereo for the other speakers in the headphones, but not center, so I suspect that is Mono.

[Grey Wolf]

It's supposed to emulate a standard 5.1 surround sound setup. If you only have one jack, though, your best bet is to use the center input so your sound is balanced.

[Stealth]

yeah that's what i was thinking Grey Wolf

I was also thinking:  I've got an old SB Live! Platinum 5.1 card around here somewhere.  that thing's got to be 5 years old at least, but i'm going to try it!

[Grey Wolf]

That should work perfectly. That's actually roughly the card I recommended to you earlier, only better.

[Stealth]

recommended to me earlier?

what card's better?  the one i have or the one Flipside recommended?

[Grey Wolf]

I had a link in my earlier post to a Live 5.1 at Newegg. Also, Flipside didn't actually recommend a card, but rather gave you a list of cards. I'd recommend just sticking with yours, since you already have it. Not large enough of a difference to merit buying a new card.

[WMCoolmon]

Having an external sound card is also pretty nifty...you don't have to worry about any case noise. Not to mention that some (ie the Extigy) can supposedly be used without a computer hooked up.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Grey Wolf
I had a link in my earlier post to a Live 5.1 at Newegg. Also, Flipside didn't actually recommend a card, but rather gave you a list of cards. I'd recommend just sticking with yours, since you already have it. Not large enough of a difference to merit buying a new card.

yeah i meant the card you recommended  my mistake

so the one i have is better than the one you recommended?

[Grey Wolf]

Yeah. The Platinum is the same thing, but with a better bundle. That's the one with the thing for the front bay and everything, right? Not that really matters, as you'll want to hook them up in the back.

[Fury]

If you buy a SoundBlaster, get Audigy 2 ZS. No reason to buy older, but no reason to buy newer either. Otherwise just go with with a sound card that has VIA Envy24HT chipset. Such as M-Audio Revolution 7.1 or Terratec Aureon 7.1 Space.

Compared to the three sound cards mentioned, sound quality is noticeably better to any older onboard solution. Unless it's based on Intel's HD Audio specification.

[WMCoolmon]

*Points to his previous post*

Nothing beats the convenience of having a headphone jack right there on your desk. Except maybe sex. But even then, it's pretty close.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Grey Wolf
Yeah. The Platinum is the same thing, but with a better bundle. That's the one with the thing for the front bay and everything, right? Not that really matters, as you'll want to hook them up in the back.

yeah it's got the face-plate... the "old" style.  i need to find that thing, the box is around here somewhere.  

also, i think i'd prefer to hook them up in the front, since the front of the computer's facing me.

sound quality is noticeably better to any older onboard solution. Unless it's based on Intel's HD Audio specification.

this nVidia on board is pretty decent.

Coolmon:  i'll look into that, thanks

[Clave]

The centre channel is for dialogue on 5.1, so use the front left and right, but better still, don't use surround channels with headphones at all....

[Fury]

Originally posted by Stealth

this nVidia on board is pretty decent.

"This nVidia on board"?
There's no nVidia onboard audio, unless you mean SoundStorm which is an add-on card, not onboard audio. And if you've got SoundStorm, why would you be looking for a new sound card then?

[Grey Wolf]

SoundStorm was onboard, but it ceased to exist after the NF2 line.  However, on nVidia boards any other chips will be used with the nVidia mixer and recognized as nForce Audio.  My base-model A7N8X's Realtek chip, for example.