Sound blaster z or stx ii?

ive had both and prefer the z in games with my modded 558's

also have 2.1 speakers setup and optical to AMP for 5.1 dolby digital which is cool for sofa games on 50" bravia.. and all easily switchable via the software which works perfect..

i couldnt do all this with the stx thats why the z suits me better but for sound quality there is hardly any difference imo!
 
Choimaloy75 said:
I have a soundblaster z and was wondering would I notice a difference if I was to get rid of the soundblaster for a stx in gaming?
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I'm not a huge audio person but I briefly owned the ZX which is just the Z but with a breakout box, I took it back 6 hours after buying it and went for a Xonar which is miles better, That should tell you something ;)

Creatives current lineup minus the ZXR and external DAC/AMP is all cack.
 
I'm using it with some Cal headphones for gaming mainly and music now and again, is there much difference between the stx and the stx ii
 
Choimaloy75 said:
I'm using it with some Cal headphones for gaming mainly and music now and again, is there much difference between the stx and the stx ii
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Keep the Z and spend the money on better headphones. The CAL's are good, don't get me wrong as I used to own them, but spanking £100+ on a soundcard for them will not be anywhere near as good as spending that money on better headphones with that card.

Best upgrades for audio start at the end of the line for improvement, then working towards the source if you need to.

The Z is pretty capable.
 
PapaLazaru said:
Keep the Z and spend the money on better headphones. The CAL's are good, don't get me wrong as I used to own them, but spanking £100+ on a soundcard for them will not be anywhere near as good as spending that money on better headphones with that card.

Best upgrades for audio start at the end of the line for improvement, then working towards the source if you need to.

The Z is pretty capable.
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Word.
 
Westie said:
ive had both and prefer the z in games with my modded 558's

also have 2.1 speakers setup and optical to AMP for 5.1 dolby digital which is cool for sofa games on 50" bravia.. and all easily switchable via the software which works perfect..

i couldnt do all this with the stx thats why the z suits me better but for sound quality there is hardly any difference imo!
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There really isn't any competition between the Z and STX II, The STX II wipes the floor with anything Creative have out.
 
ive only had the stx and z and couldn't really tell much difference in games with my 558's

just z suits my needs more!
 
Dicehunter said:
There really isn't any competition between the Z and STX II, The STX II wipes the floor with anything Creative have out.
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I would bet any money in a blind test you would not be able to tell the difference.

But regardless, the OP is talking about gaming on his CAL's. The Z is as good as it gets for gaming. Spending more won't change anything.

Papalazura's advice is spot on. If you want to improve your gaming experience get better headphones. And it depends on what you want. Do you want more immersion in games or do you want better positional audio?
 
melmac said:
I would bet any money in a blind test you would not be able to tell the difference.

But regardless, the OP is talking about gaming on his CAL's. The Z is as good as it gets for gaming. Spending more won't change anything.

Papalazura's advice is spot on. If you want to improve your gaming experience get better headphones. And it depends on what you want. Do you want more immersion in games or do you want better positional audio?
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You'd lose your money ;)

I went from a Phoebus, To a ZX to try Creative out and took it back for a full refund 6 hours after buying it and could tell the difference immediately when the Phoebus was back in my rig, Even more so when I got the StX II.

If I couldn't tell I wouldn't have taken it back.

As to headphones a good stereo pair should be on the shopping list :)
 
Well as long as you "believe" that you are hearing the difference, that's all that counts.

What headphones/speakers do you have?
 
PapaLazaru said:
Plus, wait until Black Friday - I have reason to believe their may some excellent deals on AKG headphones right here on that day.
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Cheers so what headphones do you recommend that will be an improvement on my cal's. I don't want be spending a lot maybe £100 or there abouts.
 
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Beyerdynamic DT770, maybe? Very good headphones for just under £100. SB Z amp, will have no trouble driving them well.

AKG has been mentioned. K612 are £100 currently, with the K701 and K702 around £130-£150. All very good and they maybe on a Black Friday deal, but they are insensitive headphones though. I've seen at least 3 people mention that they felt the Z's amp could not give the K612 enough power.
 
Marsman said:
Beyerdynamic DT770, maybe? Very good headphones for just under £100. SB Z amp, will have no trouble driving them well.

AKG has been mentioned. K612 are £100 currently, with the K701 and K702 around £130-£150. All very good and they maybe on a Black Friday deal, but they are insensitive headphones though. I've seen at least 3 people mention that they felt the Z's amp could not give the K612 enough power.
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so how would these compare to my cal's, will they be much better or would I have to look at a higher price headphone?
 
I'm not sure how much of an improvement the DT770 would be over the CALs. I guess it might depend on what the listener is looking for, sound signature wise.

The CALs are better headphones than the £50 price tag suggests, based on the old Denon D1001. They do make very good gaming headphones.

Might be worth creating a new thread, as this has changed from a potential sound card upgrade, to a potential headphone upgrade. You'll likely get more opinions that way, rather than continuing that in a sound card titled thread. :)
 
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