predator_085 wrote on 2024-02-01, 18:17:

I want to play with some headphones mainly.

Audigy 2 Platinum (not ZS) with the corresponding 5.25" drive. This can get somewhat expensive, but "best" and "affordable" don't really go together.

The front panel has a dedicated headphone jack and volume knob, as well as an extra DAC. With that setup, you can also use the CD_SPDIF input which doesn't introduce any extra noise, unlike the analog version. For headphone gaming, you may want to turn on CMSS-3D in Creative's EAX console.

Edit: Msiread the post. Vortex 2 for the P3 system would be ideal, for the P4 the Audigy is a better bet.

I would personally suggest an Aureal Vortex 2 card, especially for anyone that plans of using headphones.
You can get them plenty cheap. Turtle Beach, Diamond and others all made them.
Stick with the Vortex 2, the OG Vortex isn't quite as nice.

I would get a audigy 2 or 2zs

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-02-01, 19:14:

predator_085 wrote on 2024-02-01, 18:17:

I want to play with some headphones mainly.

Audigy 2 Platinum (not ZS) with the corresponding 5.25" drive. This can get somewhat expensive, but "best" and "affordable" don't really go together.

The front panel has a dedicated headphone jack and volume knob, as well as an extra DAC. With that setup, you can also use the CD_SPDIF input which doesn't introduce any extra noise, unlike the analog version. For headphone gaming, you may want to turn on CMSS-3D in Creative's EAX console.

Thanks for your recommendation. I have already though but best and affordable does not match at all but I man dream.

@Jasin Natael and Pickle Thx for your advice as well.

If headohone use is the primary use case, consider variants of the abive suggested cards that have digital
( S/PDIF ) optical or coaxial output. These can be connected to decent and relatively inexpensive modern external DACs with high quality headphone outputs. This will bypass potentially badly designed/noisy analogue output stages present on some of these cards.

darry wrote on 2024-02-02, 08:55:

If headohone use is the primary use case, consider variants of the abive suggested cards that have digital
( S/PDIF ) optical or coaxial output. These can be connected to decent and relatively inexpensive modern external DACs with high-quality headphone outputs. This will bypass potentially badly designed/noisy analogue output stages present on some of these cards.

thanks for the advice. I am going to do that since headphones are indeed the primary use case. Headphones are the only way to get a decent sound setup. I am using some simple stereo speakers for my Voodoo 3 system now and I do have not enough space to get some nice bigger speakers which means that headphones are the only option left for getting really good sound.

I will check if I can find cards of the above-mentioned models have digital ( S/PDIF ) optical or coaxial output.

@all Do you guys consider Terratec as another nice brand worth checking out that is as good as the already above-mentioned brands?

pentium 3? win98? go isa for dos compatibility. the awe64 and azt2320 cards give a fairly quiet line out.

A Terratec 128 (ESS Solo-1) is both cheap and has a very decent analog amplified (SPK) output that a decent headphone will likely require. It will cost a fraction of what most Creative cards of the Audigy caliber would, and get your job done.

appiah4 wrote on 2024-02-02, 12:39:

A Terratec 128 (ESS Solo-1) is both cheap and has a very decent analog amplified (SPK) output that a decent headphone will likely require. It will cost a fraction of what most Creative cards of the Audigy caliber would, and get your job done.

The Solo-1 doesn't support EAX and A3D.

If the intent is to play late DOS and early Win9x games (1995-1997), then it works fine. But the OP mentioned 2000 and 2001, which is when 3D sound was really taking off.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-02-02, 13:00:

appiah4 wrote on 2024-02-02, 12:39:

A Terratec 128 (ESS Solo-1) is both cheap and has a very decent analog amplified (SPK) output that a decent headphone will likely require. It will cost a fraction of what most Creative cards of the Audigy caliber would, and get your job done.

The Solo-1 doesn't support EAX and A3D.

If the intent is to play late DOS and early Win9x games (1995-1997), then it works fine. But the OP mentioned 2000 and 2001, which is when 3D sound was really taking off.

FWIW, EAX really doesn't do much for me.. A3D, I can understand but I really do not know of many A3D compatible cards that can be called affordable. I suppose going with a CS4624/4630 card is probably your best bet if you want A3D and EAX. In that case, Terratec DMX XFire 1024 will probably fit the bill..

So you want a bang for buck card?

For Windows 98 it's either the Sound Blaster Live! (SB0060; SB0100; SB0220) or the Audigy 1/2 (SB0090/SB0240).
The Live! is dirt cheap, but supports EAX up to version 2.0. These are usually sub-10 $/€ cards.
Audigy 1/2 non-ZS are a bit more expensive, usually 15-20 $/€, have sounds a bit better and supports EAX 3.0 (Audigy 1) and 4.0 (Audigy 2)

Then Audigy 2 ZS (SB350)
This can go upwards from 30-40 $/€ and sounds cleaner than the cheap Audigy 2.

The Vortex 2 is nice to have, but unless you are lucky, it won't be as cheap as the rest. You can reliably get a Vortex 1 for something like 50-60, the Vortex 2 starts from 100 $/€. What you get is better DOS support and A3D which is the lesser used environmental audio system.

ESS Solo-1
Not as cheap as it used to be. I guess it got famous for it's great DOS compatibility and the prices crept up. Now it often costs more than a Sound Blaster Live! or Audigy 1/2 or even ZS. But as a strictly Windows sound card, it's just OK.

appiah4 wrote on 2024-02-02, 13:12:

I suppose going with a CS4624/4630 card is probably your best bet if you want A3D and EAX. In that case, Terratec DMX XFire 1024 will probably fit the bill..

Those cards use Sensaura which (from my experience) is pretty decent with A3D, but not so great with EAX. Specifically, some games don't detect EAX on Sensaura cards, so compatibility can be a bit spotty.

For proper, hardware accelerated EAX support under Win9x, you need a SBLive or an Audigy card.

Thanks for the future info. Many more cards to research and check out.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-02-02, 13:00:

appiah4 wrote on 2024-02-02, 12:39:

A Terratec 128 (ESS Solo-1) is both cheap and has a very decent analog amplified (SPK) output that a decent headphone will likely require. It will cost a fraction of what most Creative cards of the Audigy caliber would, and get your job done.

The Solo-1 doesn't support EAX and A3D.

If the intent is to play late DOS and early Win9x games (1995-1997), then it works fine. But the OP mentioned 2000 and 2001, which is when 3D sound was taking off.

Sorry for creating some confusion. I need to elaborate.

The 2000/2001 time frame is for the upcoming upgraded family p4 system. The project is still in the works though and will take some time to take off.

The thread is primarily about a sound card for my already fully operational

Asus CUV4X-CME
P3 800 mhz
Voodoo 3 3000 agp system.
Win98 System.

For that rig, I play games in from the years 1996 to mid-1999.

I also appreciated the advice for the upcoming p4 system but like I said the thread is mainly about the asus p3 800 mhz system.

predator_085 wrote on 2024-02-04, 09:45:

For that rig, I play games in from the years 1996 to mid-1999.

I also appreciated the advice for the upcoming p4 system but like I said the thread is mainly about the asus p3 800 mhz system.

For that time period, I'd still pick a sound card that supports either EAX or A3D. Games started utilizing those APIs around 1998, maybe even a bit earlier for A3D. Some popular titles from that time like Unreal, Half-Life, Thief: The Dark Project and Need for Speed III could use the supported hardware to enhance positional audio and add reverb/occlusion effects. I have a few threads about that, if you're interested in further reading:

• EAX appreciation thread
• List of Win9x games with surround sound support

There's also the list of EAX games on the Vogons wiki, in case you want to check if your favorite games can use that API.

Thanks a lot for providing further information. I have checked all the links. It was very interesting to read. There are indeed lots of games I want to play that support EAX or A3d. So providing my voodoo 3 system with good EAX or A3d card is a must.

Sorry for double post but are your thoughs about the Aureal Vortex A3D AU8820 card?

I found one at a local trading platform at cheaper price than the average ebay crowd.

Do you guys have any eperience with it? If so would you recommend it or not for the above mentiond V3 system?

predator_085 wrote on 2024-02-05, 08:05:

Sorry for double post but are your thoughs about the Aureal Vortex A3D AU8820 card?

The AU8820 supports A3D 1.0 and DirectSound3D. It should sound pretty good in games which use those APIs.

Note that if you want A3D 2.0 (which is more advanced) you will need a Vortex 2 aka AU8830. Games like Unreal, Half-Life and Quake 3 use that, and sound awesome with it. In particular, the wavetracing functionality of A3D 2.0 can create a pretty unique soundstage. You can read more about it here.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-02-05, 08:47:

predator_085 wrote on 2024-02-05, 08:05:

Sorry for double post but are your thoughs about the Aureal Vortex A3D AU8820 card?

The AU8820 supports A3D 1.0 and DirectSound3D. It should sound pretty good in games which use those APIs.

Note that if you want A3D 2.0 (which is more advanced) you will need a Vortex 2 aka AU8830. Games like Unreal, Half-Life and Quake 3 use that, and sound awesome with it. In particular, the wavetracing functionality of A3D 2.0 can create a pretty unique soundstage. You can read more about it here.

I see. The links are fascinating because I am into games like Unreal, Half-Life, and Quake 3 the AU8830 is the chip I am looking for.

Thanks again for your big help.

Sorry for bringing the old thread back. Have done some more research and I concluded that I would like to try out both audio formats EAX and also A3d.

I am aware that jack of all trades cards might not be as good as deidcated EAX or A3d card but i am still very curious to try it out.

Do have some experience with the Terratec DMX Advance Audio Accelerator? I found one at a good price and this card seems to support both sound formats.

And if that card is not great do you know some other cards that support both formats?