Suitable replacement for the Creative Sound Blaster X-fi Elite Pro?

[Scougar]

So years ago, I had the X-fi elite pro setup with the T40 speakers, and that combo was great. I could even hook up my guitar to the system using the external box. Both were long since sold since I moved countries.

Now that PCI is basically dead..... what other options are there for an external box etc that is comparable to this setup?

EDIT: My motherboard (B350 Tomahawk) does actually have two PCI slots though..... any reason to NOT get a PCI card?

(Also.. gonna cry again that I miss OCUK members marker so badly not being in the UK anymore )

 

[EsaT]

any reason to NOT get a PCI card?

More properly question should be other way around.
Except for some completely old legacy stuff in industrial uses etc, PCI is dead slot and dead end.

If motherboard makers had had any sense it would have been thrown out from most motherboards years ago to make room for better positioning of PCI-e slots.
(so that gaming graphics card doesn't make most of other slots unusable due to physical conflict and heat)
I don't even remember when chipsets supported it natively without motherboard maker adding extra controller.

I don't think you'll find anymore much sound cards with MIDI-ports.
But analog line ins and optical SPDIF input can be found.
So what do you need to get connected to it?

 

[Scougar]

True, pci should not be on boards at this point.

Line in for guitar, and mic input. Don't think need midi really tbh. I just loved the flexiblflex of the elite pro unit and having the volume control and other stuff right to hand. I looked at the fatal1ty pro stuff, but it is internal bay. If that could be made external that might work.

I

 

[Rroff]

The only worthy successor to the X-Fi I've found is the AE-5 but if you are doing stuff with input from other devices, etc. then an external interface of some kind is a much better solution these days to reduce things like interference.

 

[EsaT]

Line in for guitar, and mic input. Don't think need midi really tbh. I just loved the flexiblflex of the elite pro unit and having the volume control and other stuff right to hand. I looked at the fatal1ty pro stuff, but it is internal bay. If that could be made external that might work.

There really aren't anymore much of such sound cards with lots of connectivity.
Newer products are aimed more to either gaming use, or that fashionable single purpose DAC/music listening use to sell less features as more.

Even apparently to be released in CES, Sound BlasterX AE-9 has only headphone output, RCA line out and TRS/XLR mic connectors in its external connection box, with phantom power for mic being its point.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/332...igh-end-sound-blasterx-ae-9-breaks-cover.html
Lot cheaper Sound BlasterX G6 actually has more inputs with line input and mic input.
But that's again meant for use with headphones, though line in would be just no power draw load for headphone output.

There's now bigger division than ten years ago between traditional sound cards and audio/music production aimed audio interfaces.

then an external interface of some kind is a much better solution these days to reduce things like interference.

That's always been down to quality of design.
Internal soudn card isn't necessarily such sensitive to interference.
While bad designs are interference magnets even in end of USB needing for example those USB isolators.