Those w/ Vista 64 looking a new sound card

[Nunyabiz]

I had a Creative Audigy Platinum EX sound card which worked great for the 6-7 years I have owned it. (running Win XP)
BUT when I re-built my PC about 6 months ago I lost a lot of the bells and whistles, I did manage to get it to "work" with the 4.1 Logitech speakers I have and it was "sufficient".
Recently I found out that one of those bells and whistles was I could no longer use head phones.

I found this out after buying a nice Sennheiser PC350 Headset (which btw is outstanding for anyone looking an all around head phone Gaming, Music, VOIP).

After researching sound cards for Vista 64 pretty extensively I came up with a sound card that works flawless with Vista 64 plus sounds superb in every way.

HT Omega - Claro halo

With the headset I seriously doubt there is another sound card that can touch it.
It makes these Sennheiser's really stand out and milks every last drop of performance from them.
When I hook these up to my wife's PC (standard Dell Dimension 9150 with some SigmaTel audio which must be just a sound chip) they sound a bit ordinary at best, nothing is as crisp, the bass is no where close to as booming, actually they are disappointing.
I hook them up to the HT Omega Halo and BAM its like they are a different set of head phones.
This is because of 2 things the Sennheisers are a mid range "impedance" headphone (150ohm) so they require an amplifier to get them to sound their best.
The HT Omega Halo has a dedicated headphone amplifier built in.

This card also has a "Dolby Headphone" setting that makes these stereo headphones sound like they are 5.1.
In gaming I can hear every little sound, every stick snap, every leaf rustle, every creak & groan and sound that I rarely heard just playing through my speakers.

As far as how my regular old 4.1 speakers sound, once I got the adapter I needed in order to hook them up they sound great.

However to take advantage of this sound card I really need to invest in a set of Logitech Z-5500 some day and hook them up through the optical connection.

I have no problems with anything, drivers work fine, the card has the highest grade components that you will find in ANY sound card.
Pair it with Logitech Z-5500 speakers or better & Sennheiser PC350 headphones or better and you have the perfect Vista 64 sound set up.

 

[MrNeeds]

at last a sound card that works with vista, ummm ohhh realtek have got onboard which works flawlessly as well, very good find though for people who want a different sound card :D