ninjatutle
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA
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| Razer Barracuda sound card, just good for gaming?
I need to get a sound card/headset and the Razer Barracuda Sound Card and headset looks interesting. So is this the card to get? Would it be good for listening to music and for video editing as well?
The sound card usage would be as following:
• 30% Gaming
• 20% Video editing (hobby nothing serious)
• 50% Music listening
Headset would be
• 100% Gaming
I have an M-Audio DX4 studio monitors for music and video. If it wouldn’t be good for my needs, which others should I look at?
Razer Barracuda
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···29153001 |
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Somnam
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| i use it primarily for gaming and music. for gaming, it's Razer ESP is more than marketing fluff. it makes a big difference versus other "gaming" cards. it enhances the sound to make determining distance much easier. it does this without encoding it into EAX or similar.
it has basically the best sound quality available for the PC b/c it's based on the top of the line C-Media Oxygen 8788 audio chipset. this same chipset is used in the majority of $150+ MSRP cards, like the Xonor from Asus or series of cards from HT.
regarding music and video playback, it does DTS encoding, DTS NeoPC, Dolby Headphone, and PrologicIIx. these are all 2channel upconverting which (arguably) enhances music and compressed video playback audio significantly. outside of encoding, it support 96 and 192hz output, so the best speakers out there wont be crippled.
i do not own the Razer barracuda headset, but i have hear absolutely amazing things about it when paired with the AC-1 card. i paired mine up with logitech z5500 and Sennheiser HD500 and both sound great. the problem with the Razer headset is that it uses the proprietary DVI-audio connection on the card which means you'd have to go to the back of your case and unscrew the DVI-type connector in favor of the analogue adapter every time you want to output sound via analogue (ie speakers when gaming). if you'd be using the Razer headphones 100% of the time, or 100% of the time when gaming, this is of no concern, and it does have Optical in and outputs on the back of the card to output to digital speakers and Razer headphones without physically swapping the connections.
since analogue output is the only true 5.1 output for games, i have to connect my logitech z5500s both digitally and via analogue and switch outputs depending on what im doing. this is in no way annoying, but with the razer headphones, i'd have to swap out the headphones for the adapter or vice versa every time i go from music to gaming.
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SEyE TF2 Server
~Choosy moms choose Jif~ |
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Cec
@verizon.net
| reply to ninjatutle
Get a Creative Soundblaster X-FI Extreme Gamer if you can.
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···29102006
You will never look back. =P |
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m8trix
join:2003-12-24
Phoenix, AZ | reply to ninjatutle
as mentioned already the c-media 8788 chip in the razer is used by some other high end cards..personaly i would go with HT OMEGA that uses that chip but use higher end Opamps and DACS which gives a cleaner sound and has a higher SNR 120 vs 117 |
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Somnam
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast
| X-FI is crap compared to whats out now.
yes, m8atrix, HT Omega has a few crads out now, the Striker is the low end 8788 and retails about $70. excellent card for the price. the Clarion and Clarion+ are both high-end and retail about the same as the Razer did before it got flooded by woot.com. yoiu can find Barracuda's for about the same as the HT Omega Striker 7.1 if you look hard enough, and the extra features of the Razer make it a better buy than the Striker or low end Asus Xonor DX. Razer's ESP while gaming is a big difference, and maybe not worth getting the Razer over the high end Asus or HT Omega, but for the price of the cheaper cards, it's a deal maker. |
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m8trix
join:2003-12-24
Phoenix, AZ
·Cox HSI
| just to clarify the striker uses the older chip c-media 8770 which is still a good chip but the 8788 is far better.
there is a third option and that is if you want to have the x-fi chipset but not have to deal with the poor customer service or quality of creative you can get the x-fi from AuzenTech which use higher end parts and have more connections
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···29156005
i went from a x-fi extreme music to the HT OMEGA claro and it sounds so much better then the creative version of the x-fi |
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Dead Newbie
join:2004-05-06
Manassas, VA
| reply to ninjatutle
My wife and I both have a Razer Barracuda (with the Razer Headphones) on our computers and we are completely happy with our choice.
It does take a bit longer to tweak the sound to your personal preferences, but the payoff is worth it.
I have mine configured for games (bit more Bass, ESP tweaked for ranges) and my wife has her set for music (more precise highs and mids).
Worth the money for the complete setup (in my opinion at least). |
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ninjatutle
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA
·AT&T U-Verse
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| reply to ninjatutle
I bought a Razer Barracuda. Been using it for music for a week now. A whole lot better then the integrated and worth the money. What a difference in sound. I haven't had the time to play any games but I'm sure it'll be good. I wish I had gotten a sound card earlier on. |
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m8trix
join:2003-12-24
Phoenix, AZ | ya it cracks me up when people say on board sound card sounds as good as a dedicated sound card |
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Airwolf
And The Heavens Shall Tremble
Premium
join:2001-10-30
Windsor, ON
clubs:
·Cogeco Cable
| said by m8trix  :ya it cracks me up when people say on board sound card sounds as good as a dedicated sound card I own a X-Fi and yes it does sound a bit better. However, I had nothing but issues with the X-Fi, so to me, the integrated sounds on my motherboard out performs the X-Fi.
Soundstorm on my NF7-S was great with base. |
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Somnam
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs: | soundstorm was great. |
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