Sorry!
It has 'Rec out' phono on the back next to the inputs. No idea if that's like a line out or pre out. I'll look up the manual, fair point.
What splitter were you using? How much is it worth spending for my modest setup?
Xonar DG - ultimate budget headphone card?
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Sorry!
It has 'Rec out' phono on the back next to the inputs. No idea if that's like a line out or pre out. I'll look up the manual, fair point.
What splitter were you using? How much is it worth spending for my modest setup?
Nothing doing. Doesn't matter though, not to me anyway. EAX is something I have never bothered with.
Just thought of something else. You wouldn't be running FEAR on Steam would you?
Due to the directory system all Steam Games using DirectSound3D must be added to AlChemy manually, either by pointing steam to the game's .exe or the registry key. Nothing on Steam is autodetected by AlChemy. See the section on source engine games in the link I posted (n.b. Valve changed the sound in most source games from hardware to software a few years ago - so most of it is out of date but you can follow the method).
In my experience, AlChemy pretty much always works but sometimes you need some tweaking to get there. I find the simplest way is just to point AlChemy to the game's .exe, rather than messing about with finding registry keys.
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No. Crossed my mind when I tried it the first time, it could be something patching might fix. Updated with the patches, still no different.
I did wonder about the games registry detection. So I pointed Alchemy to the game's .exe.
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Sorry Marsman, just been reminded of this. When I tried Xonar and X-Fi in same system Alchemy actually stopped working entirely. Only a full uninstall of the Xonar and reinstall of the X-Fi solved it
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Just got this sound card & i'm utterly impressed. It's so much more immersive, especially in games.
I know this is likely to be very subjective but I was wondering what people's favourite settings are for gaming & listening to music (i'm guessing that they're likely to be different).
At the moment i'm using 6 Channels & DH-1 for gaming & 2 Channels & DH-1 for music, what are your opinions?
I know this is likely to be very subjective but I was wondering what people's favourite settings are for gaming & listening to music (i'm guessing that they're likely to be different).
At the moment i'm using 6 Channels & DH-1 for gaming & 2 Channels & DH-1 for music, what are your opinions?
That would be my preference for Dolby Headphone generally - although 8 channel for games also works fine on Xonar.
Caporegime
I tend to use DH1 for movies games and music, 2 channels for music and 6 for movies and games on my Xonar dx.
Sorry Marsman, just been reminded of this. When I tried Xonar and X-Fi in same system Alchemy actually stopped working entirely. Only a full uninstall of the Xonar and reinstall of the X-Fi solved it
Ah ok. Well that would certainly explain why it didn't work. Pain in the rear for people who may want to use both cards in the same machine, but it's likely to work for anyone wanting an X-Fi for EAX.
I have to say, I'm tempted to get a DG. After putting my Essence in my gaming PC, and trying it with other games, I prefer DH to CMSS 3D more now. I thought DH had a slight edge before, but that was with Valve games, which some, maybe all have their own sound processing to a degree.
Hmm, that might be quite tempting. If I decide to get a DG, I'll have to read more into this VAC.
Uriel said:
Hmm, that might be quite tempting. If I decide to get a DG, I'll have to read more into this VAC.
Just remember that installing a Xonar seems to kill AlChemy on the X-Fi. That gets rid of a good deal of X-Fi's appeal to me.
I just hope it's not a physX style lockout where features stop working when rival hardware is detected. Surely it can't stop working when all alternative sound devices are detected? That would mean that onboard, graphics card based sound and USB headsets would all cause problems.
It could be a conflict with DS3D-GX I suppose, but it still didn't work for me with the GX button turned off.
Edit: I asked about this on Creative's forum. Someone confirmed the issue is with newer Xonar drivers. Apparently if you disable the DS3D-GX process in task manager AlChemy will work. Unfortunately it sounds like there's also an issue with FEAR 1 with Alchemy 1.4. It supposedly works up to 1.3.
I just hope it's not a physX style lockout where features stop working when rival hardware is detected. Surely it can't stop working when all alternative sound devices are detected? That would mean that onboard, graphics card based sound and USB headsets would all cause problems.
It could be a conflict with DS3D-GX I suppose, but it still didn't work for me with the GX button turned off.
Edit: I asked about this on Creative's forum. Someone confirmed the issue is with newer Xonar drivers. Apparently if you disable the DS3D-GX process in task manager AlChemy will work. Unfortunately it sounds like there's also an issue with FEAR 1 with Alchemy 1.4. It supposedly works up to 1.3.
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Soldato
Defo a tempting sound card. I'm looking of getting a sound card myself up to £70. This is one I'm mostly tempted by due to its price.
Soldato
So just to confirn, GX allows EAX in games.
I am happy with most of the settings, bar the channels.
2 for music?
8 for games?
I am happy with most of the settings, bar the channels.
2 for music?
8 for games?
2/6 Channels doesn't make any difference if I play music in Foobar, it does however change when you play mono/stereo content such as the one on Youtube.
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Since getting this card i've started to care more and more about the quality of my sound.
Are VLC & Windows Media Player fine to use? Or are music players better, I just tried one called Foobar and it did seem to make a noticeable difference.
Also does the player make a difference to Dolby Headphone, or is this just emulated from stereo anyway?
Are VLC & Windows Media Player fine to use? Or are music players better, I just tried one called Foobar and it did seem to make a noticeable difference.
Also does the player make a difference to Dolby Headphone, or is this just emulated from stereo anyway?
Placebo. Or different output settings+mixer+DSPs. Or any of the mentioned. Like for like there's no difference though. On the side note, foobar is the best player I've ever dealt with.
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I'm not an audiophile but to me Foobar it sounded a bit clearer & provided a better sound effect - it was more immersive.
I'm inclined to say it's not a placebo effect as there's one difference I can clearly make out: switching between 2 & 6/8 channels made no difference to the sound in Foobar, whereas it made a massive difference using Windows Media Player and VLC didn't sound right at all with surround, even at 2 channels; the audio for each instrument seemed to keep switching places. So I suspect it might have something to do with the different software's compatibility with DH?
Overall I found Foobar to be the best.
I'm inclined to say it's not a placebo effect as there's one difference I can clearly make out: switching between 2 & 6/8 channels made no difference to the sound in Foobar, whereas it made a massive difference using Windows Media Player and VLC didn't sound right at all with surround, even at 2 channels; the audio for each instrument seemed to keep switching places. So I suspect it might have something to do with the different software's compatibility with DH?
Overall I found Foobar to be the best.