H'okay So my X-Fi has died - as they tend to. I don't feel like throwing more money at Creative if I can possibly avoid it, and so need to replace it with presumably an Asus Zonar d2x, or the equivalent Azuntech. My problem is this: I'm really fond of CMSS-3D. I've found that the surround expansion it does makes my 5.1 (Logitech z-5500) sound fuller, rounder and more "5.1" when listening to music than earlier sound cards did. Has anyone else any views on whether the Asus or Azuntech have similar modes to make the rear speakers 'pop' - particularly if they enjoyed CMSS-3D. I'm not a gamer, so EAX etc. doesn't really bother me, and I don't want to spend anything significantly in excess of £100. Any thoughts much appreciated.
I would stick with Creative if I were you... I did, and haven't had any more problems (the first card I had repeatedly died and came back to life). I am using the XtremeGamer and that's a brilliant card. If you really do want to move on from Creative then probably the Asus Zonar D1 or D2X as you suggested would be the best choice.
You can get the X-Fi Titanium. The Asus doesn't have good value and it is really money down the drain. I wouldn't worry about either cards though. There is really no difference in music playback. CMSS-3D is probably a better feature for headphones than surround speakers. Most media like games and movies already come in 5.1 audio which CMSS-3D won't touch.
The Auzentechs win hands down if you value music. Problem is getting your hands on them, they appear for about a month or so then disappear for 6 months.
Thanks for the advice guys. In the end I decided to splash out and get the d2x. Whilst of course one can never be certain whether one looks at a new toy with rose tinted spectacles, I would have to view this card as a really substantial improvement. The sound seems to be significantly more clear, which I'm delighted by. I haven't managed to get the digital linkup working as I would like to for analogue sources, but as someone pointed out in another forum, the DAC on the dx2 is very likely superior to that on the Z-5500s.
