Question about HD 598

[nelis]

I have a question about my HD598.

Currentley have it connected via asus xonar u1. Reason for using it is because my dual 570GTX cards is blocking me from installing any sound card. So My motherboard went faulty and got it exchanged. So now rethinking of upgrading my sound card.

My old motherboard

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-GD65.html

new board

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z77A-G45-Thunderbolt.html

I was thinking of upgrading my sound card to the following

https://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_DGX/#overview

or

https://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_Essence_STX/

forgot to mention I mostly play games like battlefield 3, And a couple of single player games. I'm just worried I'm not getting the audio I'm suppose to from my headphone. I want to be able to utilize it to the best and have upgrade abilities

 

[nelis]

what about the sound blaster z http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sound-blaster-z.aspx#reviews

 

[Tim the Techxpert]

Hi There,
I did some looking around for you and found this report
So I would have a look at what creative can offer. I didnt find anyone who has done a recent comparison thogh.

Regards

Tim

 

[NomNom]

It's like comparing apples with golden apples, I would go for the Xonar Essence STX over the Xonar DGX in a heart beat if I could afford it.

 

[nelis]

I went with the sound blaster Z . Been reading lot's of stuff and for gaming it's better than the Xonar STX.

Sound blaster Z cost me about R1055

 

[RogerWilcoZA]

I find the HD 598's sound amazing regardless of whether they're in my pc (xonar dx) or plugged into my amp. Love em

 

[poffle]

+1 , i had a Xonar D1 (non-amplified) sound card and the sound was sickeningly awesome compared to on-board. Have a full time lappy now so 'im gonna need a DAC, this onboard just doesn't cut it.

Let us know what you think of the sound blaster Z, will be interesting to hear.

 

[nelis]

I will not forget to let you all know. BTW my card is only coming next week

 

[nelis]

So I installed my sound blaster Z and to put it short and sweet. if you have non audiophile headphones this sound card won't make it sound amazing. I must say my sound improved quite a bit on my Z-5500 connected via analog. A few things that I like a bout this card is:

1. Virtual surround (in games it works amazing, much better than dolby headphones in my opinion. I've Tested this in Battlefield 3. Any other games I should test it?)
2. Headphone jack independent to the 5.1 jacks
3. Can just press a button in the software to change from headphones to 5.1 speakers.
4. SBX pro studio like Crystalizer, surround and bass enhancement. There is a slider to tweak it to your liking.
5. Scout mode actually works. I can hear footsteps much cleared with it enabled but it's not a mode that you want to use permanently in a game. At least you can set hotkeys for on and off.
6. Able to connect console or other devices to the sound card such as PS3, Xbox, media players etc etc. Haven't tested this yet
7. Beamforming microphone is pretty nice

So was it worth? Yes definitely. Sound is more crisp and clear. I listened to some music and it was much better than my Xonar DG and Xonar U1. The ability to set every settings to your liking is a BIG plus. for R1K I think it's a steal.


also check out this video.

[video=youtube;NrdXJQW443w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrdXJQW443w[/video]

Hope this will help people wanting to buy this card. If you need questions regarding this sound card then just pop me a message here or send me a PM.