Asus Xonar DX vs CL SB Titanium HD

[Mombo]

Hey guys trying to decide between these two cards.

 

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Titanium HD

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=4011352&SID=skim3031X597717Xf6016fe841bd5e5e4736a3ffdf521322

 

Asus Xonar DX

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=4011352&SID=skim3031X597717X06ed34d8cd56e3a236d2de5f81b3eb12

 

I initially bought the Asus card because of the price but seeing as Best Buy clearance'd out the Titanium I ran over there and grabbed it as well. Price wise I would assume the the Titanium is better but you never know. I am wondering from people that have used either of these or even better heard both of them which do yall think I should keep?

 

My main thing is gaming. I want surround sound gaming from my headphones. I just got a pair of Sennheiser 380 Pro's and want to get the most out of them and to get a great virtual surround experience going. I rarely do anything other then gaming that requires me to have sound going so that is my main concern. If the one that is best for gaming is great for music and movies then great but that def isn't the main concern.

[wevsspot]

I still have two of the SB Titanium HD cards, and sold a third because I didn't need it at the time. I can't compare them to the Asus - haven't ever used or heard one. But I can say that I've been 100% happy with the SB Titanium HD cards. A short list of things I really like about the Titanium cards;

 

Three preset listening modes; Gaming / Entertainment / Creation

Two preset configurations for listening via speakers or headsets

xFI Crystalizer

CMSS 3D

Digital Out (especially nice for the HTPC build that outputs to a discrete a/v receiver) my only con here is that there isn't optical out - RCA/SPDIF only

The Audio Creation Mode is excellent at extracting audio only from all sorts of multimedia files

Replaceable op amps

DTS Connect

 

The main con I have with the SB Titanium HD cards is price - but if bought one on sale and payed significantly less than say $160 bucks for it, you did well. My guess it that except for the most extreme audiophiles hiding among us, you'd probably be hard pressed to notice the sq difference between the two cards though.

 

In the case of the HD Titanium cards, I think that Creative took an already great card (xFI Titanium and other variations) and improved on them about two fold.

[Mombo]

Great I think I will go with the Creative then. Ill just sell the Xonar DX to my room mate or something he could use a boost.

[El_Capitan]

Check Best Buy, I hear some stores are getting rid of any Creative Sound Blaster Titanium HD's for $60 to make room for their next top-of-the-line from Creative. I'll be checking tomorrow to see if my local store(s) might be doing so.

 

I already have two, btw. They're pretty sweet. I paid around $99 and $110 for them when they were on sale, but $60 is a steal!

[ekiM]

I have the Xonar Essence STX and it's amazing

Edited October 12, 2011 by ekiM

[Mombo]

Ya I got the Tit HD from best buy for 48 bucks yesterday thats why I am in the ordeal . But ya I am going to stick with the Tit HD and sell my friend the Xonar DX when it comes in.

[wevsspot]

Wow, guess I better stop by the local BB and see if they have any on clearance here in my neck of the woods. That is an unbelievable price............. $48 bucks - man I think I'm gonna go out and shoot myself.

[Mombo]

Ya I have 3 best buys relatively close I found them for 59.99 - 107.99 and 47.99. After I got the 48 buck ones I was like....hmm I should grab the 60 buck ones as well it would be worth it but it was gone of course. def worth a look though.

[MJCRO]

The DX is amazing, the list is too long to put why it's great. The price first of all..

[HeyYoWL]

Well you're really comparing two cards with different uses in mind. The Titanium HD is really meant for audiophiles who want better sound for their PC, while the ASUS is more gaming focused that still has great sound all around. The Titanium HD though is really meant to compete with ASUS Essence ST(X). It's why there isn't inputs for PC multi-speaker setups and instead has stereo inputs and digital out instead. It's a steal for the price you got and there is no doubt in my mind that it's the better card if you can get it for that dirt cheap price. I actually had this card myself because I have a few good audiophile headphones but I ultimately switched to the ASUS Essence STX instead because it had higher amping for my headphones. Just out of curiousity though, do you have any decent headphones at all though? Onboard audio has come a long way and if you're using PC headsets, a lot of them run through USB and skip over the sound card altogether and you could save your money for something else.

 

As for surround gaming, there is no such thing as true surround sound anyways because you're always using stereo headsets. If you're looking for surround gaming your best bet is to find headsets that offer good virtualization. I get great surround sound with my ASUS and my headphones but I doubt my surround experience is on par with gaming headsets with 5.1/7.1 virtualization built into it. But as I prioritize sound quality over surround sound, I'm perfectly fine with that.

Edited November 25, 2011 by HeyYoWL