Audigy2 ZS vs. M-Audio Revolution 5.1 vs. Chaintech AV-710

Audigy2 ZS vs. M-Audio Revolution 7.1 vs. Chaintech AV-710

  • Creative Labs Audigy2 ZS

    Votes: 10 43.5%

  • M-Audio Revolution 7.1

    Votes: 5 21.7%

  • Chaintech AV-710

    Votes: 8 34.8%
  • Total voters
    23
K

_Korruption_

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
4,572
It should say Revolution 5.1 in the poll. (I can't edit it...)

So I've got three choices in the topic title, the Creative Audigy2 ZS, the M-Audio Revolution 5.1, and the Chaintech AV-710.

Basically, I'm looking for a good analog output. I'm currently using the onboard AC97 audio on my A7N8X Deluxe with my new Altec Lansing MX5021 speakers. They hiss and crackle under heavy CPU load, and using my Sony CD-Series monitors, they hiss and crackle even more. I'm looking to offload that work onto a dedicated PCI card. I don't plan on using the surround sound options, just a 2.1 setup. I play some games, but I also want good music output. I don't plan on using the digital output anytime soon.

The Audigy uses its own core logic, where the Revolution and the AV-710 use a solution from VIA (the Envy24GT and the Envy24HT-S, respectively). The Envy24GT is said to be better in terms of CPU usage, in exchange for two extra channels that the Envy24HT-S has. I know somewhat about people's experiences with Creative in the past (bad drivers among one), but have they redeemed themselves in the computer audio market? As of right now, I'm leaning towards the Revolution 5.1, as it's price is in the middle of the three, and the dedicated headphone jack is of big appeal to me.

The Audigy2 ZS and the Revolution 5.1 are in the neighbourhood of $100, and the Chaintech AV-710 is uber-cheap at around $40.

What are your opinions? Thanks in advance.
 
_Korruption_ said:
The only candidate that's one here is the Audigy2... no one seems to know about the Revo 5.1 or the AV-710?
Click to expand...


Do you speak english? :p
Cause that makes no sense at all. :confused:


The Chaintech AV-710 is that cheap for a reason..... as a source for a multichannel system it sucks. The sound quality is severely limited by the performance of the codec.
When used as a two channel source the performance of the supplemental DAC makes it a good value.
 
I've been debating this decision with Korr. here for a while now. Though I've not come accross a review of the av710 that explained in detail how to route the stereo channels through the Wolfson chip. In one case, the reviewer did not mention the Wolfson chip at all.
 
N_Raged said:
I've been debating this decision with Korr. here for a while now. Though I've not come accross a review of the av710 that explained in detail how to route the stereo channels through the Wolfson chip. In one case, the reviewer did not mention the Wolfson chip at all.
Click to expand...
IHere is a description how to reroute the signals to the Wolfson dac on a similar product. The AV710 uses the same VIA driver so I would assume it also applies.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/127/4/
 
Mister X said:
Do you speak english? :p
Cause that makes no sense at all. :confused:
Click to expand...
Bah, I was tired. What I meant that was that Creative was the only choice there that I have listed here. I'm sorta leaning away from them at the moment, so other feedback would be pretty nice.
 
What are you talking about? Creative doesn't make the Revolution or the AV-710.

Dude. Put the crack pipe down.
 
I don't know, but the three cards in question are posted there in the topic title. I believe I know what cards I'm talking about as far as I'm concerned.
 
_Korruption_ said:
I don't know, but the three cards in question are posted there in the topic title. I believe I know what cards I'm talking about as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...


It's not what you think that is an issue here ... which is why you asked the question to begin with right? If we can't sort out what card you mean then how can we cast accurate votes?
By the same token if we cannot understand you then how can we post accurate replies to the questions you ask?
If you wish.... I can edit your poll so that is there no question which Revo card you are talking about.
I can also reset the votes so there is no mistaking which card each person voted for but I think the last poll that pretty obvious. :D ;)


As far as the Creative drivers being "bad"... I once asked what made them so bad and guess what the common answer was?

They are bloated.
Granted 100 plus megs for some sound card drivers is out there but.....
 
If you're looking to buy on a budget, look at a SB Audigy 2 (non-ZS).

I picked up a new OEM one on Ebay the other day for $40 including shipping. I've seen some models (SB0240, SB0244) available from retailers for about $50. They're a 6.1 solution instead of 7.1 like the ZS, and are 2dB less on the S/N ratio, which I think is no big deal, probably owing to their using basic color coded tinplate jacks instead of gold ones like the retail cards. If you're playing any games at all, the Audigy 2 will be the only one of the three cards that has Directsound hardware acceleration, lowering CPU usage during gaming.
 
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