# Upgrade to a Xonar or a Titanium HD?



## mp3boy (Jul 11, 2012)

Hi everyone,

I currently have an X Fi Fata1ty Champion (the newer one with the i/o) paired up with a Logitech Z906.

I'm thinking about getting the Corsair SP2500 to replace the Z906...and was wondering whether or not I should also replace my sound card with either the titanium HD or the xonar essence

Would it be worth the money? I game listen to music. Have found the 906 to be lacking in mids :S 

Thanks


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## kenkickr (Jul 15, 2012)

I've been extremely happy with my Titanium HD using PAX drivers.  I've only tried one Asus card a couple years ago and the sound was great/clear with my Z-5300's but had weird issues while gaming which came down to the cards drivers.


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## BumbleBee (Jul 15, 2012)

mp3boy said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I currently have an X Fi Fata1ty Champion (the newer one with the i/o) paired up with a Logitech Z906.
> 
> ...



I wouldn't bother.


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## MilkyWay (Jul 15, 2012)

I wouldn't change the sound card, im not sure it would be a noticeable upgrade. Titanium HD is better than the Champion but i wouldn't think it would be that much better to make it worthwhile.

Better to get newer speakers if you dont think the mids are that great. PC speakers well instead id get some bookshelf speakers or some good satellite ones for surround. PC speakers are okay for some users, like me i just use some cheap logitech x540s and thats fine but if your spending a lot id get something else.

The HD does only stereo analogue but from my understanding uses slightly better components.


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 15, 2012)

Also depends on what you are listening to. If it is just MP3s then no amount of money spent on sound cards will make them sound amazing.


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## Kreij (Jul 15, 2012)

Get a high-end pair of headphones and never look back?


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## MilkyWay (Jul 15, 2012)

Kreij said:


> Get a high-end pair of headphones and never look back?



The Xonar Essence STX and ST both have a built in headphone amp.


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## BumbleBee (Jul 15, 2012)

sound cards are low cost solutions. if you want something better replacing one with another probably isn't the answer. I think most people here would be happy with the Logitech Z906 and Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion sound card.


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## mp3boy (Jul 16, 2012)

So should I just go with the sp2500s and leave the sound card as is? Or pay an extra ~$100 for a pair of Audioengine A5s? I have a really small room (12X12) and that's part of the reason why I'm changing my speakers


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## pantherx12 (Jul 16, 2012)

Sound cards you get massive diminishing returns from.

I find £30-50 quid to be the sweet spot, anything beyond that is only a tiny bit better for a lot more.

Hell my sound card is like 8 years old or something and works great.


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## Octopuss (Jul 16, 2012)

BumbleBee said:


> sound cards are low cost solutions


Uh, what are the other ways of making your PC produce sounds then?


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## FreedomEclipse (Jul 16, 2012)

Octopuss said:


> Uh, what are the other ways of making your PC produce sounds then?



using an AV reciever from a spare HDMi port either from your mobo, graphics card or some soundcards which may support HDMi.


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## Octopuss (Jul 16, 2012)

Uh, yea, so basically like scratching left ear with right foot...


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## Dent1 (Jul 16, 2012)

mp3boy said:


> Hi everyone,
> I'm thinking about getting the Corsair SP2500 to replace the Z906



Buy a receiver and a pair of bookshelf speakers. The quality of even mediocre ones will far surpass computer speakers. You can then add more speakers at a later date if you need 5.1.

I agree with FreedomEclipse's advice. You'd be better off selling your speakers and soundcard. Start again with an AV receiver and use the HDMI output from your video card for audio.


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## FreedomEclipse (Jul 16, 2012)

Octopuss said:


> Uh, yea, so basically like scratching left ear with right foot...



well you could take a meat grinder to your PC - that should make quite a satisfying crunching/crushing or shattering sound as it tears through metals, PCBs and plastics.

AV recievers represent the highest in audio fideltity & quality when it comes to soundcards.

In the past, EAX support was reason alone to have a soundcard not to mention the cycles it takes off the CPU which then can be put back into more important processes and applications like game for instance.

Since EAX is long dead and onboard Audio has progressed quite far where it rivals addon cards, the reason for having a dedicated soundcard has shrunk tremendously. Obviously If you need a soundcard with a dedicated headphones amp to drive a decent set of cans. that can yield good results if done correctly. 

otherwise for everyone else who prefers to use 5.1/7.1 speakers. splurging out on a AV reciever+bookshelf speaker setup will offer much much better sound quality.

The only downside to this is it could cost serious money if you arent buying secondhand. 

but quite often a £300 AV reciever home entertainment kits/sets will offer a lot better sound then any dedicated 5.1 or 7.1 speaker sets for the PC.


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## BumbleBee (Jul 17, 2012)

Octopuss said:


> Uh, what are the other ways of making your PC produce sounds then?



there are external sound cards (MIDI interface and Digital-Analog-Converters) by RME-Audio, M-Audio, PreSonus, Apogee, Focusrite, Peachtree, Grace, Cambridge, Lavry, April Music, Bryston, Benchmark, etc. 



mp3boy said:


> So should I just go with the sp2500s and leave the sound card as is? Or pay an extra ~$100 for a pair of Audioengine A5s? I have a really small room (12X12) and that's part of the reason why I'm changing my speakers



your not going to get a very good stereo image from satellites. I think active monitors are the way to go. take a look at Swan.


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## mp3boy (Jul 18, 2012)

Alright so err the reason why I was getting the Sp2500s is because they were off a friend and for $110 (so pretty frigging cheap)

I really like listening to music...but not enough to spend $300 more  

I have the choice of also getting another friend's titanium HD for $120. Was wondering whether or not I should go with this

although all of your suggestions are very good, I think a lot of them are beyond my budget haha

BTW small thing but my fata1ty champion doesn't have RCA in put at the back. Is RCA noticeably better than the green headphone jack? I thought they were both analogue and would sound around the same..

thanks


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## Dent1 (Jul 18, 2012)

mp3boy said:


> Alright so err the reason why I was getting the Sp2500s is because they were off a friend and for $110 (so pretty frigging cheap)
> 
> I really like listening to music...but not enough to spend $300 more
> 
> ...



Dude.

Your friend's X-fi Titanium $120
Your other friends Sp2500s  for $110. 

You could sell your Z906 and fatal1ty champion for $250 easily. 

That is $480. What is stopping you from buying a receiver and a pair of bookshelf speakers?


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## pantherx12 (Jul 18, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> Dude.
> 
> Your friend's X-fi Titanium $120
> Your other friends Sp2500s  for $110.
> ...




Or some floor standing speakers .....

Even crappy ones easily match/beat top end pc sound systems. ( I say top end, I mean logitech z500 type systems that cost loads)

I've got these





which are as budget as you can get, and they sound far better than any PC speaker system I've used/listened to.


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## Dent1 (Jul 18, 2012)

I don't even rate the Logitech 5500.

I've had £100 sony floorstanding speakers in the past. The clarify for stereo for the highs and the low frequencies is significantly better than anything i've heard from PC speakers. Infact for stereo my old sony floorstanding shits over my current Kef Cresta bookshelf speakers.


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## pantherx12 (Jul 18, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> I don't even rate the Logitech 5500.
> 
> I've had £100 sony floorstanding speakers in the past. The clarify for stereo for the highs and the low frequencies is significantly better than anything i've heard from PC speakers. Infact for stereo my old sony floorstanding shits over my current Kef Cresta bookshelf speakers.



I only mentioned logitech because if you google shopping search pc speakers and do descending price order they are right at the top. ( Plus before I knew better I really wanted 5500 )


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## mp3boy (Jul 18, 2012)

ahhh ok haha you guys got me should I look into the audioengine A5+s?


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## BumbleBee (Jul 18, 2012)

there is also the Emotiva Airmotiv series and Adam Audio A series. these monitors use ribbon tweeters.


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## Dent1 (Jul 20, 2012)

mp3boy said:


> ahhh ok haha you guys got me should I look into the audioengine A5+s?



I think you'll enjoy it. But they are damn near £300. 

On your budget you should be looking for sub £150 speaker pair, if you plan on leaving money left over for a decent receiver.

TANNOYMERCURY V1
http://www.richersounds.com/product/bookshelf-speakers/tannoy/mercury-v1/tann-mercury-v1-sug


My personal recommendation:

WHARFEDALE CR30.4
http://www.richersounds.com/product/floorstanders/wharfedale/cr30.4/whar-cr30.4-blk

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9.1 
http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/WHARFEDALE/?tag=tec053-21


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## SnoopKatt (Jul 20, 2012)

Real bookshelf speakers are the way to go if you have the room. Dollar for dollar they usually destroy logitech speakers. If you want something brand new this isn't a bad option. It even includes an amplifier :
www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-650


Check craigslist as well. Sometimes you can get awesome speakers for really cheap.


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## LiveOrDie (Jul 20, 2012)

MilkyWay said:


> The Xonar Essence STX and ST both have a built in headphone amp.



Only for 2 ch that is if you use 5.1 or 7.1 headphones you cant use the booster, i have Xonar Phoebus and its a great sound card haven't had any problems with it but i will be buying a 2ch set of headphones for music because 7.1 sounds like crap.


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