Auzentech X-Fi Home Theater HD

Nameless_87

Nameless_87

Nameless_87

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Link to the official site:

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_hometheater_hd.php

Does anyone has any reviews about this ?

Or anyone knows how it performs against the forte?

I'm thorn between this and the Forte since my main aim is movies this card is better than the Forte for that aspect.

Here is a comparison chart:
http://www.auzentech.com/site/support/comparison.php

May I remind you that I got X-540 logitech speakers and will get the sennheiser HD 555 headphones. Later I may upgrade to Z-5500 speakers.

I plan on investing a good amount of money on the sound card to leave it there for future proof and then just maybe buy better speakers.

I don't know how the home theater HD performs and no one in the UK seem to sell it.

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Edit -- Forgot to say and I think it's important... I don't watch blu ray movies, just normal dvds (sometimes ripped too not originals). Also I just seen how you could connect the sound card to the graphics and to the monitors... My monitors (in sig) do not have HDMI and the 2 DVI are used to power 2 monitors (extended desktop).
 
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Tbh, that is overkill of the highest order. If you plan on getting a Blu-ray drive and maybe a sound system that can support Dolby True HD at some point, then yes by all means consider such a sound card. Imo, using that card, or the Asus HDAV for watching solely DVD's AVI's etc, along with analogue 5.1 speakers and headphones is well... madness.

That's the equivalent of having an ATi 5870 and playing games on a 15" 1024x768 monitor.

There is some logic however, as Blu-ray drives will come down in price, the films themselves will come down eventually. Of course, if you were to get a BR drive at some point, and got a 1080p monitor too, then it would be worth looking into an AV receiver that supports Dolby True HD, and some decent speakers. Going for the Z-5500 would be rather pointless if you get this card.

If you are planning to invest in some sound system that can support Dolby True HD and DTS HD audio, then aforementioned sound card will be a worthwhile investment. If you don't, then I would probably go for the Forte. It's not cheap either, and not easy to find. £180 or more wouldn't surprise me.
 
Thanks for that...

In fact after some searching and reviews, i don't got the equipment for DTS and such so I think it will be a waste of money as the Forte will basically fulfill all my needs to the fullest.

When the time comes that I start investing in a blu ray drive I will probably start building a new pc so... will get it with that :p

Thanks Marsman
 
That's a very good question. To be honest, I feel the HD650 are for audiophiles. They are for people who can appreciate fine differences between headphones. Guest2 mentioned the more you spend on audio equipment, the gap in price gets bigger, but the gap in performance gets smaller the higher you go. Something to that effect.

I cannot speak from experience, but from doing a fair bit of reading around, the HD650 are phones that some people end up buying. For a first pair of decent phones, the price is very steep imo. Normally people start with more affordable phones, then gain the desire for that little bit extra, then go and spend more money.

I would say, it is best to compare, you may feel for the extra £150 that difference is not worth it. For some it is, it depends on the individual. I know you are probably not in a position to compare, so it's somewhat a tougher choice. If the 650's were significantly better, then if you can afford them, it's an easier choice to make. My friend has the HD25, which he paid £115 for at the time. When I tried them, they were very good, no doubt about that, but to me, not worth £115. But that's just me, and that's the problem with paying a lot for headphones you cannot try out first. You may be more then happy with the HD555.

I would read as many reviews as you can, goto head-fi.org, and find some threads concerning the 650's and 555's.
 
Certainly, that's why I recommended them in another thread. I think for someone looking for phones for mainly movies they are a great starter.

The only thing I do not like about them, and this applies to the 595, and probably the 515, and maybe more of Sennheiser's phones. The jack is 6.3mm, and you use an adaptor which converts it to 3.5mm, normally it's the other way round. This can put extra weight on the socket the phones are plugged into. Sennhesier do the same with the 650's and probably the 600 too, but instead of a solid adaptor, they have included an adaptor which is on a cable, so minimal strain is put on the socket the phones connect to.

I think it may only cause concern is if the cable is pulled tightly, if someone walks away with the phones on further than the cable allows, this will put more strain in the socket. 3m cable should allow for plenty of movement without pulling the cable, so as long one just doesn't walk away with them on lol.
 
I was actually thinking of getting some kind of extension cable so that I will leave it on the desk and just connect from the desk since I cant mute the headphones whenever I want to listen to speakers (I posted this thing in another thread).

So I won't crawl donw the table to attach the headphones everytime but instead the extension will be connected to the headphone amp and will be lying on my desk and connect the headphones to it whenever I want to use them.

Will I lose sound quality this way? And can you recommend a high quality extension or something?

Thanks
 
No. Some people will say yes, maybe. I have my Sennheiser PX100 connected to a extension cable I made myself. I noticed no difference, they still sound awesome to me. :D

If you can't get the extension I mentioned in the other thread, then just get one off the popular auction site, as long as it is not a cheap as you like one. They can have crap sockets. If you can't get an extension with volume control, a straight cable will be fine, you will just have to unplug. Loops headphone extension looks decent quality.
 
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I am sorry to bump like this.. but although everybody here has given you very good info..
what I am still missing is what exactly you want to achieve,
and by that I mean what kind of sound quality are you aiming for....

Ok, I get all your tech issues.. but still.. at the very end.. it all comes down to your ears.
So I ask again.. what's your aim??

and pls.. don't tell me play games.. watch dvd,
we all do that.. what differs.. is what are you getting out of it...

are you someone who is looking to rock the place out?
someone who enjoys loud base and volume?
do you go for soundstage? for clarity?
is the surround of higher importance than stereo?
do you spend more time with your headphones on?

imo there are a lot of details that I am not sure you are settled with yet.
and what is your budget?
are you going for a fast solution.. or something that will please you for atleast 6-7years
or even 10.
are you planning on any future upgrades..

I hope I haven't confused you, but instead given you something to think...
 
grs_link said:
I am sorry to bump like this.. but although everybody here has given you very good info..
what I am still missing is what exactly you want to achieve,
and by that I mean what kind of sound quality are you aiming for....

Ok, I get all your tech issues.. but still.. at the very end.. it all comes down to your ears.
So I ask again.. what's your aim??

and pls.. don't tell me play games.. watch dvd,
we all do that.. what differs.. is what are you getting out of it...

are you someone who is looking to rock the place out?
someone who enjoys loud base and volume?
do you go for soundstage? for clarity?
is the surround of higher importance than stereo?
do you spend more time with your headphones on?

imo there are a lot of details that I am not sure you are settled with yet.
and what is your budget?
are you going for a fast solution.. or something that will please you for atleast 6-7years
or even 10.
are you planning on any future upgrades..

I hope I haven't confused you, but instead given you something to think...
Click to expand...

ok so...

1) I went with he Auzentech Forte since I won't upgrade sound card for quite some time... possibly never again with this current rig.

2) Main aim is movies and gaming... i would say 60% movies and music, 40% gaming

3) When watching movies I want the 'cinema' feel... dunno if you understand that, but good base along with speech clarity is what I want.

4) I prefer headphones but I use speakers as well. Same thing with my brother but he prefers speakers.

5) The amp/volume controller I need is for the technical issues. I already decided on the hardware... Forte, Hd 555, and already have X-540 speakers. The only problem I got is when the speakers and headphones are connected at the same time (which I intend to do this and leave them on) and I want to listen to speakers only, there isnt a way to mute headphones. Auzentech maybe are working on a driver for this but so far from what I've read there isnt a solution
 
Ok.. I get what you are after..

I just want to point out a few things..
Auzentech are nice cards.. they used much better parts than creative, which do make a diff.
However.. if you went for the one from the link above.. it doesn't have any EMI shielding and thus it will pick up quite some noise.
Something that would be more noticeable with your headphones. That is why I would have recommened en external one, but since you allready bought it.. there is no point.

secondly.. I would suggest to go in a shop and tryout a few headphones before you get something.
First of all try to see if you want cosed or open design. and then you should also consider AKG, AudioTechnica and Denon.

About the connectivity.. the easiest solution would be to just connect the front panel of your case.. so you can have easy access to the minijack. That will make it easy to plugin/off your headset.

Other option is to go to a soundstore and ask them for a sound switch.
which is nothing more than an output selector.
it would go soundcard-->box=>speakers/headphones.. and it will have a switch to select which one would be active. They are quite cheap to get.(40-50$)
Most shops use them for hooking up lots of speakers in the same amp for audio demonstration.

best of luck

**edit**

on another thread you were inquiring about headamps:
search on that famous auction site this: ZERO (Tianyun) 24/192 DAC + Headphone Amp (OPA627+USB)
it's "audophile on a budget category" and it is upgradeable.
In that price range you will not find anything better, trust me on this.
it will bypass your souncard though.. even if you use the spdf connection from your card (instead of usb)

otherwise.. invest on a good suround amp. The components used there are far superior to these of internal soundcards.
but we are moving to different price range
 
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ok..

1) Havent really heard any bad reviews about the lack of EMI shielding on the forte so I'm not worried about this but thanks for pointing it out.

2) I live in Malta and the Headphones I want aren't available from here (Yeah we kinda su** lol), so I have to buy based on reviews and experiences of other users.

3) The front panel sound is horrible due to the fact that it pics up quite a lot of interference since the wire is passed from the back to the front in the case. Even if the interference is minimal, it won't sound quite as good as the rear headphone jack.

4) As I said before (not sure which thread) I can't use a switch since the headphones will be plugged in the dedicated headphone jack. The switch can be used in case the front speakers and the headphones are plugged in the same audio jack, but this is not the case with the forte. It has a dedicated headphone jack since it has its own circuitry and amp.
 
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So that switch can solve my problem and I can mute the headphone and only listen to speakers while everything is still connected?

If yes, any idea where I can buy one?
 
Yes, if you only connect the phones, then switching will turn them off. Normally they are used for phones and speaker connected to the same socket, just switching between them. No reason not to use in this case, connect only 1 output, in this case, phones, to the other output, nothing.

Someone did mention such a thing in one of the threads, could have been Plantronics, not sure.
 
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The popular auction site has such things, look for headset switch. Plantronics one is there, it's more expensive than it is on the rain forest site, but a reviewer on that site said it worked well, and they noticed no loss of quality. There are others on the auction site.

Seems to be a few places that sell them, just gotta find an international delivery place.
 
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