I am looking for an exernal 5.1 Sound Card for my new laptop and to work with my Zalman surround sound headphones. At the store nearby the Creative Soundblaster card was $150! Too much for me to spend. On ebay, when I type in "external 5.1" I get the sleek Zalman card for around $50 and an unknown brand that looks cheap that has buy it now for $20. They both do the same exact thing. I am using it for watching movies with my headphones and listening for music. Which card should I buy?
I am planning to purchase a 5.1 channel home theatre system. I have drilled down to two choices 1) Creative Soundblaster 5.1 Live! 2) Hercules Digifire 7.1 and am planning to use Creative Inspire 5.1 5200 speakers.
Would a Hercules Digifire 7.1 make a significant difference as against a Creative Soundblaster 5.1 Live!? My main aim of purchasing is to watch DVD movies.
I have heard that both these cards perform well, but if given a choice which one would you choose and why?
I am going to link my laptop to a reiver and 5.1 speakers, and i want to get true 5.1 dolby digital sound which i use to watch DVDs (via the DVD Drive). Will i have to get a external usb soundcard to get what i desire!?!
HI i also purchased the Zalman 5.1 headphones and i like them, except that when i switch my audio mixer and Power DVD to 6 speaker config, i get a lot of background noise/hiss. As per Zalman, i disconnected the analog connection between the DVD drive and the sound card, and set up the soundsystem to only read the digital signal. BUt it still hisses (it doesn't hiss if it's on stereo or headphone).
I use a cheap soundcard by Innovision. Alex, did you have this problem? Does anyone know if this is due to the soundcard?
I just got a 5.1 surrond system speakers and I'm on a real tight budget and would like to get a 5.1 sound card that's affordable (like under $40) that would really bring out my speaker