Speakers and Sound card

I did install without the speaker setup and it still happened, nothing changed. There are quite a few posts in the big Soundblaster Z thread at Head-Fi about the driver defaulting to 5.1 every time anything is changed. This even includes switching between headphones and speakers. The sound quality from the Z is very good, certainly better than the Xonar DGX I had before it. I really enjoyed everything about the card, though it's headphone amp was being pushed a bit hard to get decent volume out of the Beyers (it doesn't have a gain switch like the ZxR). The problem I had was that through my Beyers the soundstage got "squashed" when the speakers were in 5.1 mode (windows 8 source manager - config window) and when I clicked back to Stereo everything was fine again. The best test was to listen to a binaural file, when the setting was 5.1 the sound was placed in my head, with little or no movement but when setting it to stereo 2.0 the sounds moved around the soundstage normally.
I don't know whether this problem is just with Windows 8 or if it is more widespread but there is definitely a problem. Trouble is, a lot of people don't even know it's there, I didn't until it was pointed out but when it was pointed out it was clear as day.
 
Yeah i have read the whole thread on headfi and other forums about it. For most people that have the sound squashing issue that you describe, uninstalling the speaker setup worked. Others don't have the problem at all. For example i don't get the problem on any of the Z cards that i use. But all the computers i use have windows 7. They all default to 5.1 on reboot, i have checked that, but there is no problem with the soundstage.
 
Maybe I was just unlucky then but it's the main reason I upgraded to the STX, it was driving me nuts and there was nothing I could do about it. Without the problems I had, I would happily recommend the Z and it would be more than enough for the OP's setup.
 
rids57 said:
Maybe I was just unlucky then but it's the main reason I upgraded to the STX, it was driving me nuts and there was nothing I could do about it. Without the problems I had, I would happily recommend the Z and it would be more than enough for the OP's setup.
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Welcome to the world of electronics!! It's nearly impossible to get something that works right for everyone :-)
 
A lot to think about. I will give myself one more night to decide. Going to pick up everything tomorrow. Decided on the ZxR, and the Corsair speakers. Still not quite sure on the headphones.
 
Should be a cracking setup, those headphones should suit your needs perfectly, they wouldn't work for me because I like a bit of thump n growl in the bass but for positional audio they are hard to beat.
 
Those speakers are very good and are perfect for what you want. Sure you can get much better ones, you could get some top end studio monitors and add a monster subwoofer but you'd be spending a huge amount of money on something you don't need. The 2500's are aimed at gamers and fit the bill extremely well. As you've ordered some very good headphones you want a good source to get the most out of them and the DAC and headphone amp on the ZxR is on a par with the STX plus it will make those Corsairs sing.
I spent days going over options and whether I even "needed" to upgrade but since I got the STX I haven't stopped grinning - I think you'll feel the same about the ZxR.
Why don't you pick up the speakers and order the sound card on line? That way you could order the ZxR and the Z and decide whether the more expensive card is worth the extra, then simply return the one you don't want.
 
sukotto85 said:
melmac, why wouldn't you recommend the ZxR or STX for me? Also what about the Audio-Technica ATH M50 ?
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Hi, sorry, wasn't online earlier and only seeing this now.

I wouldn't get the M50's as they are a closed headphone and you wanted open. But I see you picked the AD700's, good choice and way better than the M50's for gaming.

But, I still don't recommend getting the Zxr or STX. For gaming I don't think you will notice one bit of difference between the Z and the Zxr in the speakers and headphones you have selected.

It's about cost mainly. If you don't need the mic then you can get the OEM version of the Z for around £50, the Zxr will cost more than 3 times that amount.

LOL, all this is a bit late since you made your choice!!

good luck with it and let us know how you get on!! :)
 
sukotto85 said:
From what I am reading the ZxR is overkill for my speakers? But surely I will have this card for a long time. Never spent so long deciding, haha!
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lol you should have seen me deciding. I bought the Z back in October, a very, very early adopter!! no reviews, nobody knew anything about them. It worked out thank god!! :D

Rids57 has a good idea though, maybe you should buy both online and return the one you don't want under DSR.
 
I decided to go for the Z, but when coming back I noticed they gave me the Zx, which I didn't really want. I have no real use for the controller that comes with it. Is there any difference between Z and Zx?
 
just checked the specs of both and as far as I can see they are exactly the same except for the controller that you don't want anyway. Did you pay for the Z or the Zx? If it's the former, keep it and if it's the latter, take it back ;)
 
Apparently you get the higher quality Nichicon FG capacitors on the Zx and the ZxR - not sure whether that make an audible difference to the sound. My Z had ordinary caps and sounded fine and the kind of subtle differences in sound wouldn't show up in gaming anyway.
 
Me either. Sounds great anyway. There's a £30 difference. Will cost £10+ petrol and my time is worth the other £20, lol. So I may just leave it.
 
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you could get the Z OEM, that's only £54 and the only difference with the Z (retail) is that you don't get the em guard and the microphone.
 
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