Forget V3 v TNT2, how bout Live vs MX300?

[AuraEdge]

I know the MX300 has 320 voices, but 256 of em are software outputs, while only 64 are hardware produced. How about SB Live!Value? Ive heard several times that MX300 beats Live, but ive also heard Diamond driver support sucks (also the fact that Creative labs is the flagship soundcard maker)
I can get SB Live at about 7 bucks more than the MX300..and I dunno which i should recommend. Im planing on running it on a 2 speaker system.

[BBA]

I used both!
I bought a MX300 after testing a LIVE, I was extremely disappointed, so I took it back and bought a LIVE VALUE.

It sounds better!, and lets me run IAS surround in Quake2 with hi quality sound where the MX300 chokes.

BBA

[AuraEdge]

Are u running a 4 speaker or 2 speaker system?
sub/no sub?

[Bleeding Edge]

I don't know BBA. The Vortex 3D positional audio on the Turtle Beach card was impressive and very accurate. A lot more realistic than the EA of Creative. Of couse this shines only in the gaming environment. I would presume to beleive the MX300 should be just as good.

When SBL first came out, Buycomp had it for $118. I jumped on it. It definitely has better sound quality. After weighing the pluses and minuses, I stuck with the SBL. And with the recent driver enhancements, it's even better.

High quality sound is something to be desired, especially on an home audio system. This moves me.

I guess this desire, this quest for truer sound, flows over to the computer's audio sub-system too. Of course, we can't be sitting arms length away from a 250W(RMS)/channel pair of speakers...

High quality HiFi headphones may be the answer. I hear that is how A3D really shines.

But for now I'll stick with the SBL. Although I still would recommend the MX300 for gamers.

Edit-

Edge -using Pro-Logic speakers up front, L/R and center, and rears mounted high. Both have their own sub.



[This message has been edited by Bleeding Edge (edited 06-02-99).]

[steveakaflash]

Uh, I have a MX300, and am completly happy. I saw a sblive at wallmart for like 90 bucks, and since they have a great return policy, I thought i'd pick one up to see if I was missing anything. Well, I wasnt! Nothing creative has can compare to a3d in games. creatives surround gave me a headache! Sooo unrealistic(i thought)To boot, I can run my mx300 with just a pair of headphones for full surround, that sounds real.As for midi and stuff, where sb used to shine, well now that the newest mx300 drivers are out, you cant audibly tell the difference between the two. Except in games.

Steve

[BBA]

Steve, you haven't tried either with the multimedia properties on max quality and games with 4 speakers on hi quality sounds. I did a direct comparison between the 2 cards. Yes the A3D effects are a little better than the SB-Live but it is very CPU intensive and wont work smoothly in real on-line gaming with the real hi-fi settings and EAR surround processing. The MX300 just wont do it! The SB Live shines in this example and it has much superior sound quality!

The Ironic thing is, every card in my PC is made by Diamond (two Monster 3D V2's AGP Viper550 and PCI Stealth II) except the sound card and NIC. I tried the MX300 just because I was impressed with Diamond products and thought it neat to have all Diamond stuff, too bad it just wouldn't handle the SB-Live!

BBA

[This message has been edited by BBA (edited 06-02-99).]

[Martin]

I try live and return it for a mx300 and loving,,A3D 2.0 is just tooo cool man
half-life never sound better.
but those card are both best with 4+1 spk
but with 4+1 spk mx300 is better

[Leo V]

Hey people,
Will either card decode Dolby Digital sound when you watch DVD's on your computer? That is, if you have two sets of speakers, will both cards place the 5.1-channel Digital sound over the 4 channels? I think the MX300 can do it, but I'm not sure. Thanks.

[BBA]

Both have the same ability in that area. The MX300 will if you add the non-available accessory card to it, and the SB-Live will if you use a DXR3 decoder and have the full version ( I think you need the full version ).

BBA

[Bleeding Edge]

There is a digital daughter card for the SBL Value that's better than the one that comes with SBL.

http://www.hoontech.com/

When you get to the first page, before you go looking at the neat things, go to the 'Products' page./ There you'll find the daughter card made for the SBL.

[BBA]

I have 4+1 sub, the SBLive is better and does surround in almost all games designed for surround( Huh... They do more than A3D? Yep...)

Must be a matter of your personal opinion!

BBA

[seti]

Sorry to dig up an old one, but I just watched the Mummy and....sorry, not funny I know. Seriously though...Microsoft licensed Creative's EAX for intergration into DirectX 7....does this change anything?

[Bleeding Edge]

I saw that. It's for DirectX8, no? That should tilt the balance to favor EA. Both cards are good. SBL may end up the winner in the long run. But there is room for both.

[seti]

Where I read it, it said the "next" release. Which would lead me to belive 7. But then again, this is fairly big, and it hasn't been mentioned in dx7 previews, so...you're most likely correct.